Hey all , I'm about 6 weeks from closing on the sale of my 22-year-old HVAC company. The buyer is a first-timer, mid-30s, got financing through the SBA. I've agreed to stay on for 6 months as a consultant, mostly for customer relationships and vendor intros. My question: what are the real pitfalls of advising the new owner after closing? I don't want to be a crutch, but I also don't want to watch him run it into the ground. Any practical advice on structuring that handoff?
Exit Planning
Everything to know about advising the new owner
Structuring the handoff: define 'advising' in writing. Do you get paid? Is it hourly or a flat fee? Can you be fired? I've seen too many sellers give away 6 months of free consulting and then resent the buyer. Also, weekly standing meetings help.
The biggest trap: don't become the de facto decision-maker. The new owner needs to feel the consequences of his own calls, even if he makes a few that make you cringe. If you swoop in and save every deal, he never learns. Let him make a $5k mistake now so he doesn't make a $50k One later.
Greg — that's my fear exactly. I'm a fixer by nature. Already caught myself drafting an email for him yesterday and had to delete it.
Ha, I love that you caught yourself. My prior boss sold his plumbing co and stuck around for a YEAR. By month 3 the new guy literally stopped opening his emails. People only learn when they have to.
Also consider the customer handoff. If your old customers know YOU, they might keep calling you instead of him. That's a problem. Make warm intros early and explicitly say 'X is your guy now, I'm just here for the transition.' I've seen sellers keep the relationships alive and the buyer feels like a middleman.
Non-compete scope matters too. Some buyers get paranoid. Make sure you actually want to be available for 6 months — that can be a drag if you have other plans.
JitteryPilot makes a good point. If youre likely to move into 'advisor' mode while planning your next thing, your heart may not be in it. Honesty up front with the buyer is better than quietly checking out.
No mention of payment anywhere in the OP. Please tell me you're charging for those 6 months. Free advice gets ignored AND resented. Charging a nominal fee sets the frame: you're a consultant, not a safety net.
runs_on_coffee — it's baked into the purchase price as a consulting retainer. So technically paid, but already priced in. I do wonder if that makes it feel 'free' to him. Obviously not going to reopen the purchase agreement over it.
Agreed on the fixed meeting cadence. And use the first two weeks to write down a list of 'here’s how we do it' things. Then let him change them. If he wants to change all of them in week 3, that's his right, but at least he knows why the old system existed.
So basically you're saying the OP should act like a docent, not not a crutch? Point the way, explain the history, then step back and let the guy trip over the rug.
Exactly. A good advisor builds a map, and then lets the new owner pick the route. And if he insists on the cliff, say 'I'd avoid that' once. Then let him jump.
OP — make sure you define your exit too. If he keeps calling you at month 5, what do you do? Have a taper plan now: weekly at first, biweekly at month 3, as-needed by month 5.
Also, document your turnover. Six months is short. Hire a second-in-command BEFORE you leave so the new owner has someone internal who knows the day-to-day. But that's a bigger topic.
Lots of food for thought here. The taper plan idea is going straight into a one-page doc I'm drafting for him. And yeah, the 'let him jump off the cliff' part is going to be the hard one for me. Appreciate it, all.