Buying a personal services business in Florida

This covers personal services that don't fit anywhere else: wedding and event planning, party planning, personal concierge and errand services, dating and introduction services, personal organizers, bail bonding, and similar businesses. What they share is that customers are buying a person's time, judgment and network, usually one occasion at a time.

Revenue is mostly one-time: a wedding, an event, a bond. Repeat business comes from referrals, from venues and vendors that recommend the company, and for some, from retainers or memberships. Seasons matter: outdoor events in Florida tend to avoid the hottest, stormiest months. Many of these companies are small: an owner, a few planners or agents, and a network of contractors and vendors. That makes the key question for a buyer simple to ask and hard to answer: will clients and referral sources stay when the owner leaves?

• A brand and reputation that don't rest only on the owner's name and face. A business named after its founder can still sell, but plan for a long handover.
• A steady referral network of venues, vendors, attorneys or other professionals that sends work to the company, not just to the owner.
• Staff who can deliver the service and manage clients without the owner.
• Written client contracts with clear deposits, cancellation terms and scope.
• Booked future revenue, such as signed weddings or events for the coming year.
• Good client reviews and few complaints.
• Systems for proposals, scheduling and payments, rather than everything on the owner's phone.

Requirements depend entirely on the service, so list exactly what the business does. Many personal services need only a county or city business tax receipt, but some carry strict rules.

The Florida Department of Financial Services licenses bail bond agencies. Only a licensed, appointed bail bond agent who has been actively working for at least the preceding 24 months may own or hold a financial interest in one (section 648.285), so a buyer without that license can't own one. Each location also needs a designated bail bond agent in charge.

Event businesses that serve alcohol need the right license from the DBPR's Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, or must work through licensed caterers and venues. If any part of the service touches health, money or real estate, assume a license may be needed and ask the agency involved before you sign. Florida requires workers' compensation for non-construction businesses with four or more employees.

• How much revenue depends on the owner personally, and whether clients would stay with someone else.
• Bookings and deposits for future events, and how they're handled in a sale.
• Client contracts: cancellation and refund terms, and any disputes.
• Vendor and venue relationships: in writing, or only personal?
• Reviews and complaints, including any filed with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which takes consumer complaints in Florida.
• Busy and slow seasons, and cash flow through the slow months.
• Any licenses required, and who holds them.
• Liability insurance, especially for events.
• How prices are set, and whether they've kept up with vendor and venue costs.
• How much the owner works, including nights and weekends, and who would cover that time after a sale.

• Where do most new clients come from?
• How many clients know you personally, and how would they feel about a new owner?
• What bookings and deposits do you have for future events?
• Who on your team handles clients from start to finish?
• What contracts do you use with clients and with vendors?
• Does any part of the business need a license, and who holds it?
• What does your slowest season look like?