I think the real point of this thread is why so many go out there way to undervalue there own achievement.
This window cleaner wants to sell his business for a £100K, thats great
How many are going to do the same? And if you’re not going to sell your business for a reasonable amount, why not?
Well for starters, my own business is currently based on one man working fairly hard. Although my pricing in recent years would turn a profit if carried out by an employee, some of my older pricing is more about decent wages. It dates from before I acquired knowledge about WFP.
Secondly, a chunk of my work is subcontracted from various contractors. Obviously this does not belong to me so could not reasonably form part of a business valuation. This situation has occurred in the main due to me needing cashflow. That was (and sometimes still is) more important than going out there and getting my own work. As I have steadily reduced (and continue to reduce) my level of indebtedness, I gradually intend to wean myself off the subcontracted work. This cannot happen all at once because it would leave me short of money and work.
At the moment it might be possible to get as much as £25k if I sold on everything but I would be pushing it to even get that much.
I'm not going to work out exact figures but under a reasonable charging structure (not some of the rubbish rates I see quoted), the work I do that actually belongs to me could fetch say £15k. The van plus delivery unit (incl. resin bottle) might fetch another £5k. The assorted tools/poles/static unit/RO/trolley (when mended/backpack etc - perhaps £1.5k - £2k. That makes £22k. The fact that there is a reasonably priced rented unit that these things are in (including a plumbed in static unit) saves someone the hassle of sourcing such a place (and believe me they would struggle to find one at this price) is probably worth something too. Also, I could provide the contacts for the subbie work which would be worth a bit.
If someone were prepared to work reasonably hard, they could go in and make a good wage for themself pretty much from the off. Yes the round would need to be learnt as would using WFP. So maybe the first couple of months would see them going a bit slower. They would certainly make their entire outlay back within a year and if they didn't want to do the subbie work, they would have a decent bit of spare time to seek more work (or just relax).
There is a good base to build on. Like most businesses it is a work in progress.
I've deliberately been vague because, althougfh I run a straight business, my income is between me, my accountant, and HMRC. It is not the business of anyone else unless I were to ever sell up.
