Buying a flooring and tile company in Southwest Florida

• A mix of homeowners, designers, remodelers and builders, with no single builder dominating.
• A showroom or designer relationships that bring in better-paying retail work, where the company earns on both material and installation.
• Installers who have worked with the company for years, with documented insurance. Good tile setters are hard to find, and customers judge the company by their work.
• Accurate measuring and ordering, so jobs don't stall waiting for a missing box of tile.
• Good prices and terms from suppliers, and little stock that won't sell.
• Few callbacks for cracked tile, lifting floors or countertop seams.
• For countertop shops, well-kept equipment and skilled templaters and fabricators.
• Clear written estimates and change orders, so customers know what they're paying for.

• Revenue by type of work (showroom retail, remodelers, builders, insurance restoration) and the largest customers' shares.
• Margins on each, since builder work at a fixed price per square foot can be thin.
• Inventory: what's on hand, how old it is, and special-order stock nobody picked up.
• Customer deposits on open jobs, and whether the materials have already been bought.
• Installers: employees or subcontractors, how they're paid, and proof of insurance.
• Callbacks, warranty claims and disputes with builders over failed work.
• For countertop shops: equipment condition, dust controls and any OSHA inspections.
• Showroom lease terms, and whether the landlord must approve a sale.
• Supplier and distributor agreements, and whether exclusive product lines would carry over to a new owner.

• How does your work split between showroom customers, builders, remodelers and insurance jobs?
• Who are your installers, and how long have they worked with you?
• Who are your main suppliers, and are any terms tied to you personally?
• What happens when a customer's tile cracks or a floor lifts a year later?
• How much inventory do you carry, and how much is slow-moving?
• Who measures, estimates and sells when you're not there?
• When you cut stone for countertops, how do you keep the dust down?

This region covers Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Sarasota and Manatee counties on the Gulf coast and Hendry, Glades and DeSoto inland: Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Naples, Bonita Springs, Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, Sarasota, Venice, Bradenton, LaBelle, Clewiston, Moore Haven and Arcadia. The coastal economy runs on people who choose to live or spend the winter here: retirees, seasonal residents, and the construction, real estate, health care, financial and home services that follow them. Tourism, golf and boating add to it.

Inland, the economy is agricultural: sugarcane around Clewiston, citrus, cattle and vegetables, with Immokalee in Collier County a center for farm work. The building trades, pool, landscaping and pest control companies, property managers, medical and dental practices, and marine businesses tend to do well along the coast.

This is one of Florida's most seasonal markets. From roughly January through April, restaurants, shops and service companies run at full speed. Summers are slower, so look at monthly revenue, not only the yearly total. The coast has taken two major hurricanes in recent years: Ian came ashore at Cayo Costa in Lee County in September 2022, and Milton at Siesta Key in Sarasota County in October 2024. Rebuilding brought a wave of work for contractors that won't last forever, so ask how much recent revenue came from storm repairs. Insurance costs and flood zones weigh on every property.

Housing costs near the coast make hiring hard, especially around Naples. New communities east of Interstate 75 in Lee, Collier, Charlotte and Manatee keep service companies busy.