Do I have to keep working after I transition, and for how long?

The short answer

Will you have to keep working after your physical therapy business is acquired, and for how long? It is negotiable, and the longer you can commit, the better your outcome. Paul Martin, Founder and President of Martin Healthcare Advisors, explains why.

In this video:

• Owners have stayed anywhere from zero days to five years after closing
• Three years or more typically brings a better price, a better structure, and a better partner
• Acquirers are buying growth, and you are at the center of it: your staff, your referral sources, your culture
• Why a strong leadership team matters, sale or no sale
• Want to exit and go? It is harder, but very doable with someone behind you who can run the business

Full transcript

Whether you keep working after the transition, and for how long, is negotiable, and the longer you can commit, the better your outcome. Let me start with the principle before I give you any numbers. The longer you're willing to stay, the better the price and the better the structure. That's just how it works.

I've seen everything from an owner who walked out the day of closing to owners who committed to five years and stayed seven to 10 years. And what I can tell you from 27 years of doing this is that three years or more will typically get you a better price, a better structure, and frankly, a better partner.

Think about what an acquirer is actually buying. They're not buying your equipment. They're not buying your lease. They're buying a growing business, and they want a company that's growth-oriented and growth-minded. And you sit at the center of that. No matter how big you are, you're the one your staff trusts. You're the one your referral sources have known for many years. You're the reason the culture is what it is. When you commit to stay, you're telling the acquirer the growth they're paying for is going to be there, and they'll pay for that confidence.

Now, here's where I don't want you to draw the wrong conclusion. None of this means you're stuck. There's a practical side to this that has nothing to do with a sale. It is very important that you have a team in place so that if anything ever happened to you, the business is in good hands. That's just good ownership, and it happens to be exactly what an acquirer wants to see.

So, if you're an owner who wants to sell and go, we can still sell that business. Trust me on that one. As long as there's somebody behind you who can run it, we can take you to market. Is it harder? Yes. Is it impossible? No. It's just a very different negotiation and probably a different structure, but it's very doable.

And here's the thing. Most owners don't actually know what they want until we sit down and talk it through. Some owners who swore they were done end up staying three years and loving it. Some who thought they'd stay forever realize they're ready for the next chapter. That's part of what we figure out together. So, nobody should watch this and think they're trapped. You have options. The question is, what do you want your next few years to look like?

Transcript lightly edited for readability.