Selling an owner-operated business in Dallas-Fort Worth.

The Dallas-Fort Worth business mix

North Texas has added people and employers for decades, and the private companies that serve them are spread across Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Denton counties. The owner-operated businesses we see most often fall into a few groups:

• Distribution and logistics: trucking, warehousing, third-party logistics and wholesale distributors working off the interstate network, DFW International Airport and the AllianceTexas area north of Fort Worth.
• Home and building services: HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, pool, pest control and landscaping companies serving suburbs from Frisco and McKinney to Arlington, Mansfield and Burleson.
• B2B services for corporate campuses: IT managed services, staffing, facilities maintenance, janitorial, security and commercial printing firms whose clients are the regional and national headquarters in Plano, Irving, Las Colinas and downtown Dallas.
• Construction trades and specialty contractors working for commercial, industrial and residential builders across the metro.
• Manufacturing and aerospace suppliers: machine shops, fabricators and electronics firms, many in Tarrant County, supplying aerospace, defense and industrial customers.
• Healthcare and franchised businesses: dental, veterinary and therapy practices, and franchise units in fitness, food and home services.

Who buys Dallas-Fort Worth businesses

Few US metros have as many active buyers in one place. That helps a well-prepared seller and exposes a poorly prepared one quickly.

Private-equity add-ons

Dallas is home to a large number of private-equity firms and family offices, and many own platforms in home services, distribution, IT services and healthcare. They buy local companies to add technicians, routes, contracts and coverage, and they arrive with a diligence checklist already written.

Search funds and ETA buyers

North Texas has an active entrepreneurship-through-acquisition community, with searchers coming out of local business schools and from across the country. They want recurring revenue, a second layer of management and an owner willing to stay through a transition.

Individual operators using SBA 7(a) financing

Corporate managers and former executives who would rather own a business than run a division. Many finance with an SBA 7(a) loan, which can go up to USD 5 million, and the lender will test the documented cash flow line by line.

Strategic acquirers

Competitors expanding across the Metroplex or into it from Houston, Austin and Oklahoma, and suppliers buying a customer channel. They often pay well for a trained workforce and an established service area.

What Dallas-Fort Worth sellers typically get wrong

• One headquarters client carrying the business. B2B firms that grew with a single corporate campus need to show the contract, its renewal history and the relationships below the person who signed it. If that client is a third of revenue, expect part of the price to depend on it.
• Franchise approvals left to the end. A franchise unit cannot change hands without the franchisor's consent, usually a transfer fee and often a new agreement for the buyer. Read the transfer section of your franchise agreement before you settle on a price.
• Contractor-heavy crews. Fast-growing service companies often rely on 1099 contractors. How your workers are classified affects what a buyer inherits, so have your CPA and attorney review it before a buyer's diligence does.
• Owner-held vendor and bank relationships. If supplier pricing or the credit line rests on your personal guarantee and history, a buyer will discount it. Start moving those relationships onto the company and a second manager early.
• Ignoring the lease and the property. Check the lease term, the assignment clause and any personal guaranty now, because a buyer's lender will. Where the sale involves real property or the negotiation of a lease, that part is handled by a real estate professional who holds the right Texas license, working alongside us.

How we value a Dallas-Fort Worth business

With so many professional buyers in the market, a valuation has to hold up against their models. We start from seller's discretionary earnings across the last three years, add back only what can be documented, and apply a multiple that reflects size, recurring revenue, customer concentration and how much the business depends on you. Then two tests. The debt-service test asks whether a buyer using SBA 7(a) financing could pay the loan from the cash flow with a margin left over. The asset floor shows what vehicles, equipment, inventory and receivables support on their own. You get a range with each assumption shown, so you can see which ones move the number.

How the process runs

1. Conversation. A confidential discussion of the business and your timing. No cost, no obligation.
2. Valuation and readiness. A written range from your tax returns, bank statements and payroll, with a list of what to fix before buyers look.
3. Buyer search and qualification. An anonymized profile goes to qualified buyers only, after an NDA and proof of funds or lender pre-qualification.
4. Negotiation and closing. Letter of intent, diligence and closing, run alongside your attorney and CPA.

Every engagement is agreed in writing and signed before any work begins. The first conversation is confidential and carries no cost or obligation. See the United States overview, or our pages on Houston, Austin and San Antonio.