[View Point] Preparing for Tomorrow

“What a difference a day makes.” I saw this saying recently and it really rang true for me — for example, it may be that one day your house is on the market and the next day you have a buyer lined up who’s offering full asking price. One day you’re simply a woman who’s expecting a baby and the next day you’re a mother. One day you’re singing to yourself at a gas station and the next day you’re on “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno (http://bit.ly/16k4Yww).

One day, things could be humming in your pest management business and the next day you might realize that you need to start thinking about selling that business. For reasons that no one can anticipate, it’s possible you’ll have to consider selling or transfering your firm to someone else. Shouldn’t you be prepared?

Or, perhaps you have been thinking about entering the mergers and acquisitions market as a buyer. Do you know how to approach a seller? Or what questions you need to ask before you sign on the dotted line? What about integrating the new company’s employees into your own firm?

If you’re not sure where to begin or whom to turn to for answers, I’d like to suggest PCT’s Mergers & Acquisitions Virtual Conference 2.0.

In less than two months, PCT will host our second (thus the 2.0!) M&A virtual event. In the January 2013 issue of PCT magazine, we featured a special editorial supplement based on the presentations at the first M&A conference (in August 2012). We’ll do the same with the content from this August event in our December issue.

By attending PCT’s Mergers & Acquisitions Virtual Conference 2.0 on Wednesday, Aug. 14, you’ll acquire expert advice from the industry’s leading authorities on mergers and acquisitions without leaving your home or office.

What’s so great about these virtual conferences (we have two other full-day events under our belt — hundreds of PMPs have taken advantage of them) is that they’re a full day of programming for just $99. If you take away just one nugget of information, it’s well worth your time and money.

And this is a virtual conference — which means you “attend” them from the comfort of your own desk. There are no travel hassles or expenses. And, as a bonus, we’ll send you a DVD of all the presentations and Q&A sessions post-conference.

Here’s the speaker lineup for PCT’s Aug. 14 event:

• The Successful Exit: Planning a Sale or Internal Transfer of Ownership
  Presented by: Paul Giannamore, director of mergers and acquisitions, The Potomac Company
• What is Your Company Worth? A PMP’s Guide to Valuing a Pest Control Business
  Presented by: Lance Tullius, managing partner, Tullius Partners
• M&A Survival Guide: Mistakes to Avoid When Selling Your Business
  Presented by: Tamera Dosenbach, business intermediary/consultant, A+ Business Brokers
• Best Practices in Legal and Financial Due Diligence Prior to the Sale
  Presented by: Dan Gordon, owner and president, PCO Bookkeepers, and John Corrigan, attorney, Corrigan & Baker
• Successful Integration Strategies Following an Acquisition
  Presented by: Rand Hollon, licensed broker, Preferred Business Brokers
• Life After the Sale: When Golf Isn’t Enough
  Presented by: Norm Cooper, president, Norman Cooper & Associates

Today, there aren’t many business topics in the pest management industry more popular than mergers and acquisitions. Registration for the conference is now open so for more information, visit www.pctonline.com/virtualevent, call 800/456-0707 or e-mail conference@gie.net.

We hope to “see” you there!

The author is editor of PCT magazine.