25 Sep Built to Sell: He 10X’d His Money in 3 Years With a Painting Franchise
Zac Smith was a mechanical engineer who wanted more flexibility and upside than a corporate career could offer. He bought an existing CertaPro Painters franchise in North Carolina with three employees and under $1 million in revenue. He put down about 10% in cash and financed the rest with an SBA loan and a small seller note, backed by a personal guarantee.
Three years later, the company was on track for $3 million in revenue and $600,000 in profit. Smith sold it for $1.5 million, all cash at closing. In this episode, you discover how to:
– Raise prices without hurting your close rate, which took Smith’s gross margin from 42% to 50%
– Think of your business as a sales and marketing company first, no matter what you actually deliver
– Win against low-cost competitors by selling trust instead of price
– Walk away from customers who only care about price, so you avoid being busy without being profitable
– Shift your revenue mix toward customers who send repeat work without new marketing spend
-Frame a limitation buyers might see in your business so they notice its strengths first
– Handle a surprise during due diligence in a way that builds the buyer’s trust instead of costing you the deal
