Selling a Successful Service-Oriented Business

Peter Wild fielded offers to buy his business for years but sold only after being introduced to the searcher community. 

Topics in Peter & Carlos’ interview:

• The psychology of a seller
• Recognizing the business as “searcher friendly”
• Finding the right individual to buy the business
• History of the organic tree health industry
• Why this sale was a “reverse search fund”
• Upgrading to Salesforce from a 40-year-old custom database
• Upgrading to digital contracts from paper
• Why he wouldn’t sell to a strategic
• Overcoming skepticism about selling to a “searcher”
• The owner’s life as a proxy for whether to buy a business

Listen to Part 1 of this story:

• Buying a 45-Year-Old Industry Pioneer

References and how to contact Peter & Carlos:

• Peter Wild
• Carlos Laconi
• Boston Tree Preservation
• Don Gourley, the buyer of the business
• Searchfunder.com, where Carlos posted the business for sale

Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:

• Contact mark@aspenhr.com or visit Aspen HR

Connect with A-players who can run your business remotely:

• More Staffing

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter