Selling one’s company is a very personal matter. Even when all of the signs indicate that now is the time, it can be a very difficult thing to deal with. The company, especially if the owner is the founder and the prime developer over many years, is the owner’s identity, at least in part.

For any business executive—and particularly for building service contractors—true success is contingent on a detailed, disciplined approach of focusing on the overall mission of the company. Long-term sustainable growth is the objective, along with optimum valuation.

Whether a strategic or investor buyer, acquiring a company engaged in providing cleaning and other services for commercial buildings can be a good way to supplement a strategic group’s growth effort, or if an investor group, a good addition to the investor’s portfolio. The industry is solid, is recession resistant, and has recurring monthly revenue.

Business ethics is a tricky area because the point of business, to produce a profit, often conflicts with what might be termed ethical. Ethicists rarely have a strong grasp of business or life outside of idealized environments.

As you make plans for growing your business in the years ahead, first make sure you aren’t carrying any old baggage along with you. Here are five common mistakes that were made by many small business owners during the economic downturn.

Confusion and ambiguity reign supreme in assessing current state of M&A markets. So are the markets really back? As can be imagined, this is amongst the most frequently debated topics in times like these. The root questions at issue for most BSCs are twofold: one, are buyers buying again? And two, are buyers paying higher prices for companies?