Should I buy an existing plumbing company or start one?
Buying gives you customers, vehicles, a crew and a working phone number on day one, along with inherited habits and the risk that goodwill leaves with the owner. Starting gives you a clean slate and a slow climb to a customer base. Which fits depends on your skills, your cash and how much risk you accept.
People who want to run a plumbing business often wonder whether to buy one or build one. Both are reasonable, and neither is a shortcut. They trade one kind of difficulty for another. This page compares what each path hands you in the first year. It does not tell you which to pick, and it leaves questions about qualifications for a lawyer or the licensing body.
What buying hands you
An existing company comes with customers, vehicles, tools, a phone number people already call and, with luck, a crew who know the work. You can be taking jobs in the first week. You also inherit the owner’s habits, the old quotes and any unhappy customers. Check how much of the goodwill belongs to the owner personally, since a name only helps if customers keep calling it.
What starting asks of you
A new company begins with no history. You choose your own trucks, prices and paperwork, and nothing is inherited. The cost is time. Early months are quiet while you win reviews, builder contacts and repeat customers, and you carry the work of marketing as well as plumbing.
Questions to settle before choosing
- Do you want to work on the tools, or run people who do?
- How much cash could you keep in the business through a slow stretch?
- Are you comfortable taking over someone else’s staff and customers?
- Who can confirm what you are qualified to operate?
If buying appeals, our guide to buying a plumbing contractor walks through what to check in a target.
Related reading
15 pages on the same subject, grouped by topic.
Buying
- GuideBuying a plumbing contractor in Canada
- GuideBuying a HVAC contractor in Canada
- GuideBuying an electrical contractor in Canada
- GuideBuying a construction company (general contractor) in Canada
- Expert answerWhat if the technicians leave after you buy an HVAC company?
- Expert answerHow do I tell what a plumbing company owner actually takes home?
- Expert answerHow do I check where a plumbing company’s calls come from before buying?
- Expert answerDo a plumbing company’s phone number, website and online reviews come with the sale?
- Expert answerWhat do owners wish they knew before buying a plumbing company?
- Expert answerWhat catches new owners off guard after buying an HVAC company?
Sources
This answer is checked against primary sources. Links were last confirmed on the dates shown.
- 01Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentWhat are the steps to buying a business?
- 02Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentHow to conduct due diligence when buying a business
- 03Canada Revenue AgencyGovernmentSole proprietorships and partnerships
- 04Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentAfter buying a business, what is the next step?
Deavo is an advertising and listings platform, not a brokerage, law firm or valuation firm. This page is general information, not legal, tax, accounting or valuation advice, and rules differ by province. Confirm anything you rely on with a qualified professional before you act on it.