How do you value and sell our type of business.

I think it depends on what kind of customer list you have. A plumbing customer list is a dime a dozen. It's not that hard to set up shop, get a few trucks, start advertising and get to work. Buying a customer list will give you a head start, but a headstrong contractor will think he can succeed without one.

Hydronics is a different story. Not many shops will touch a boiler because they've tried before and failed or they're just not interested. Customers may not remember the last plumber in their house, but they sure will remember someone that feels comfortable with their system and can fix it without multiple visits.

And from the contractor side, a new contractor will have a hard time getting their foot in the door if they want to specialize in hydronics. Out West here, homes with hydronics are few and far between. That's on the service side and I think you have to start building a reputation and a skill set in hydronics before you get into new construction.

I was thinking how much a customer list is worth. If you can get 10 boiler replacement jobs a year that you wouldn't have without the list, it might be very valuable.

The hard part as the seller is that you have to find the right person to take over your hard-earned customer base. They've got to be interested and also trained and qualified to take on the responsibility of serving your customers.

If you quit the business, your competitors will get all your customers, without needing to pay a dime Pennies on the dollar for used equipment.

What you CAN sell is your phone number, prove you have a loyal customer base and your phone number ringing to their company is probably the best $$ value, and a negotiable cash value..

The best, least expensive way for a company to grow is by acquisitions, so bigger fish will swallow smaller.

If you plan on selling in the future keep meticulous books, P&L statements, tax returns, anything that proves you have a viable, profitable company, including proof that you have taken a wage:), not run it as a charity.

In some cases you may get paid to stay on through the transition
or hire on as an employee.

The toughest deal is when a dad tries to sell his company to the siblings and expects a big salary and benefits for the rest of his life, those rarely work out for the best and can unfortunaltly split families.

I knew a guy who sold his oil heating business, customer list, equipment and everything. I know he made enough money to take a few years off, set up trust funds for his 3 kids college and first homes to be paid in full and set the rest aside to retire. He had around 5000 customers if i recall.
I would have to agree with others in the thread, the $$$ would be in your name and phone number.

I, too, have heard that service contracts are the key.