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A 28-year-old business owner found themself facing a decision that many entrepreneurs dream about. After building a home services company straight out of high school, a competitor approached them with an offer of $1.5 million in cash to buy the business.
They recently shared on Reddit that the company had produced about $30,000 a month for the past five years with unusually high profit margins thanks to low overhead and repeat customers.
The owner said they had done almost no marketing during that time, relying almost entirely on word of mouth. A few months ago, they started running small Google and Yelp ad campaigns. This month, revenue is on pace to hit $60,000.
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A Business That May Be Ready to Grow
The timing left the owner questioning whether they were about to sell too early.
“Part of me feels like I’m about to sell right as the rocket ship leaves the pad,” they wrote. “Part of me knows that a competitor offering that much probably sees something I’m underpricing.”
When readers questioned why the business had stayed flat for so long, the owner explained that growth only picked up after they finally started advertising.
“It’s flat for 5 years because I never marketed it at all, word of mouth only,” they wrote. “Started running small budget Google ads a couple months ago for the first time ever and this month’s the first one where it’s visibly moved the needle.”
They also shared more financial details in the comments, saying the business had historically produced roughly $320,000 a year in profit with margins between 80% and 90%. If the recent jump in revenue continues, those numbers could change quickly. Even so, they admitted they did not know whether this represented lasting growth or one unusually strong month.
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Several commenters believed the buyer was paying for more than current earnings. The owner agreed.
“My read is he’s not pricing off [Seller’s Discretionary Earnings] multiple at all,” they wrote. “He’s pricing off what it’d cost him to build this from scratch in this location vs just buying it.”
Others warned the owner to stay cautious because the offer came from a direct competitor. One commenter suggested the deal “could be a ploy to steal the client list or business intel,” while another cautioned that the buyer “may not actually follow through with the acquisition after due diligence.”
A third advised the owner to “be VERY wary of the terms and conditions and representations/guarantees,” reminding them that “the amount of money isn’t everything in an acquisition.”
More Than Just a Price Tag
The discussion soon shifted past just the money. One person told the owner to really look closely at any non-compete agreement instead of just focusing on the sale price.
“This is the piece I hadn’t fully thought through honestly,” the owner replied. “I was so focused on the yes or no of the offer I wasn’t thinking about the non-compete terms as their own negotiation.”
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Others recommended negotiating a partial sale, asking for a higher price or securing an earnout tied to future performance. Some shared stories of turning down buyout offers only to watch their businesses lose value years later. Others believed the owner had barely scratched the surface of the company’s potential.
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One question stayed with the owner throughout the discussion.
“Now I don’t know if the goal is bigger business, different business, or just more time back,” they wrote. “This offer kind of forced the question before I’d actually answered it for myself.”
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This article I’m 28 and My Biggest Competitor Offered Me $1.5M in Cash. I’m Torn Between Selling and Betting on Myself. It Could Also Be a Ruse originally appeared on Benzinga.com
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