First World Issues Contractors Encounter After Promoting the Enterprise

With the surge of private equity in the HVAC industry, more contractors than ever before are grabbing the brass ring and selling their businesses. Some will stay on for a few years, waiting for the next flip when the private equity portfolio is sold. Some will walk away on day one. Restrained by non-competes, many will attempt to retire. Retirement brings its own set of challenges. Fortunately, most of them are first world problems. Here’s what the retired contractor can expect.

• The retired contractor will have nothing to do, yet be very, very busy. When pressed about why he is busy, he will be unable to come up with a reason.
• Every day will seem like Saturday. Because every day is Saturday, the actual day of the week will be confusing. The retired contractor will either need to look at his phones or a pill box to know the day. If he forgets to take meds one day, he will be off a day for the rest of the week.
• The retired contractor will find he is in great need of a financial advisor, an estate attorney, and a good CPA. Hopefully, these were lined up before retirement.
• Hunters will have lots of time for hunting, fishermen for fishing, and golfers for golf. The hobby-less will go crazy.
• A retired contractor who used to depend on office staff, will have to learn how to depend on himself. He will have to learn how to scan documents, track down credit card issues, remember important dates, and everything else he relied on other people to do.

A retired contractor whose job was a large part of his identity will lose that identity once he is no longer working. He needs to find a replacement. 

•  A retired contractor who used to attend industry shows and mix in networking groups with other contractors will miss this interaction far more than he anticipates. Many retired contractors continue to attend industry shows just to mix it up with old friends.
•  If a retired contractor builds wealth sufficient for his financial health, he may find he still needs to work for his mental health.
•  A retired contractor might cringe when he watches what happens to his old company. It will be a challenge to bite his tongue. It will feel like watching his child fall in with a bad crowd and know he can do nothing about it. Worse, he made the introductions. The only solace this contractor can take is checking his financial portfolio.
• Because he has no control over his old company, but is still associated with the company by many in his community, the small town retired contractor might find it necessary to relocate.
• A retired contractor whose job was a large part of his identity will lose that identity once he is no longer working. He needs to find a replacement.
•  Working in a contracting business means being part of a team. This loss of team camaraderie is a difficult loss to overcome. He will need to find other teams to join.
• After his non-compete expires, the retired contractor might flunk retirement and start a new contracting business or he might relocate to an area not covered by the non-compete and start up sooner. This time, he will not need to figure out what to do to build a company, he will know what to do. This time he will not need to bootstrap, he will be well-financed.

If you want help learning how to build a salable business so you can experience the problems of the retired contractor, check out the Service Roundtable at www.ServiceRoundtable.com. They have the resources you need.