BBC Blog
Research-backed posts for owners and brokers in trades businesses — HVAC, plumbing, pest control, electrical. Every article is grounded in transaction data, not opinion.
Valuation
Working-owner businesses sell at 4.0x EBITDA. Professionally managed businesses with the same revenue sell at 7.5x. The Stratford Analytics 4,712-deal database shows exactly which eight operational signals create that gap — and how long each one takes to close.
Trades
ABC's industry-average GC backlog sits at 8.4 months. Brokers see 'backlog' and assume value. Buyers see backlog and ask one question: is this recurring service revenue or project revenue that ends the day the job is done?
Operations
SBA underwriters and strategic buyers don't just look at EBITDA. They score eight operational dimensions, and each one swings your multiple by 0.3–1.0 turns. Here's what good looks like, what bad looks like, and a self-score worksheet.