Buying a personal services business in Orlando and Central Florida

• 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.

• 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?

This region covers Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Lake, Sumter and Marion counties: Orlando, Winter Park, Kissimmee, St. Cloud, Sanford, Clermont, Leesburg, Ocala and the large retirement communities of Sumter and Lake counties. Tourism is what the area is best known for, built on the theme parks, the hotels, the vacation rental homes around Kissimmee and the Orange County Convention Center. It's far from the only business. The University of Central Florida and the military simulation and training offices near it support a technology base, and health care is a major employer.

Marion County is horse country, with thoroughbred farms around Ocala, and it has added warehouses and distribution centers along Interstate 75. Retirees in Sumter and Lake create steady demand for medical practices, home care, home maintenance and auto services. The building trades, restaurants, and companies that serve hotels and rental homes do well across the region.

Central Florida is inland, so storm surge isn't the worry it is on the coasts. Hurricanes still bring wind damage and flooding, though: Hurricane Ian flooded neighborhoods in Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties in 2022. Ask whether the business or its customers were affected.

Tourism keeps demand steadier through the year than in markets that depend on winter residents, with busy stretches around school holidays. Hotels, parks and restaurants compete hard for workers, which pushes up wages for any company that hires hourly staff. New homes have spread fast in Osceola, south Lake and southeast Orange counties and around Ocala, so check whether a company's customers are in growing areas or older ones. Traffic on Interstate 4 limits how much ground a service company can cover in a day.