Staying small feels safe. I get it. But here’s the thing most guys don’t realize: the operator who goes out there and actually grows his business doesn’t just make twice as much. He makes 10 times more money over his lifetime.
That gap is massive, and most people never sit down and do the math. So I’m going to walk you through five different company sizes and show you exactly what staying small is actually costing you.
Let’s start with a $350,000 company. You’re doing everything yourself. You’ve got a good route, built it up over 3 to 5 years, your pricing is solid. At 30% profit margins, you’re taking home about $105,000 a year. That’s good money. Nobody’s going to argue with that. Over 20 years, you’ll earn roughly $2.1 million.
Now here’s where it gets real. When you go to sell, you’re probably going to get a 1x multiple. Maybe $350,000 for the whole thing. I know you’ve seen online that companies sell for 3 to 5 times revenue. That’s what everybody reads. So you think your $350K company is going to bring in $1.2 million. That’s just not real. I’m not sorry to tell you that. At best, you’re getting $350K for this thing.
So over 20 years, your total comes out to about $2.4 million. You earned that money. But hopefully you can live the rest of your life on it. And if you didn’t invest along the way, you probably can’t. Which means you’re going to need another job. Maybe you’re Ubering. Maybe you’re working at Walmart as a greeter. Maybe you’re DoorDashing. I see it all the time.
Don’t get caught in the trap. There’s nothing wrong with running a solo operation. I’m just trying to save you from being the guy who thinks his company is worth more than it actually is.
The $1 Million Company
Now let’s say you take that same $350K company and grow it to a million. You hire three technicians. You’re still working in the field with them. You’ve built a small team.
At a million in revenue with 20% profit margins, you’re making $200,000 a year. Over 20 years, that’s $4 million. When you sell at a 4x multiple, you’re walking away with about $800K to a million on exit. Maybe more. I’ve seen some crazy numbers, but I’m using averages here.
Total lifetime earnings from this million-dollar company: $4.8 million.
Yeah, you’re going to deal with some headaches. You have a few employees. You have to build some systems. I get it. But was hiring three more technicians worth an extra $2 million and change? Absolutely.
The $3 Million Company
Same 20 years. Same 20% profit margins. At $3 million in revenue, you’re making $600K per year. Over 20 years, that’s $12 million.
Sell at a 4x multiple, and you’re pocketing another $2.4 million on exit. Over your lifetime, that $3 million company made you $14.4 million.
I’ve seen way higher multiples than this, but I’m keeping it simple.
The $5 Million Company
Simple math here. At 20% profit margins, you’re clearing roughly a million dollars a year. Over 20 years, that’s $20 million.
Let’s say you get a 5x on exit. That’s another $5 million. Probably more. Over that 20-year period, your $5 million company makes you $25 million.
The $10 Million Company
Now we’re talking about a monster. You put in real work to get here. You’ve got solid systems, an operations manager, key leaders, someone running your office, a sales team. You built something serious.
At 20% margins, you’re making $2 million a year. Over 20 years, that’s $40 million. I’m going to be conservative and say you sell at a 6x multiple. Anyone who knows this space knows that’s conservative. That’s $12 million in cash at exit.
Over those same 20 years, that company made you $52 million.
The $50 Million Decision
Let that sink in. It’s the same 20 years. Same industry. Same work ethic. Just a different mindset. The solo operator walks away with about $2.4 million. The owner who built a $10 million company walks away with $52 million. That’s a $50 million difference from one decision: not hiring a few technicians.
And here’s the kicker. The bigger you get, the more valuable every single dollar becomes. A one-truck business sells for 1x revenue. And it dies if you’re not working. Heaven forbid something happens to you. You get hurt on the job, break your ankle, something stupid. Then what? You generate zero money. So what’s actually more risky? Hiring a technician, or gambling that nothing ever happens to you?
That 1 to 3 million dollar company sells for maybe 4x because you built some systems. But once you get to that 5 to 10 million dollar range with a real foundation, private equity or a strategic buyer might come in at 5x, 6x, 8x, maybe even 12x depending on where you sit in the market.
Big businesses don’t just make more. They sell for more per dollar of profit.
The Real Reason People Stay Small
The biggest reason people don’t grow is the fear of losing control. They’re afraid quality will drop. They think they’ll spend a lifetime putting out fires. And look, your job for a while is probably going to be full-time firefighter. I get it. You’re going to have to go through some stuff. We all do.
But you don’t get control by doing everything yourself. You get control by building systems that don’t need you. Building teams that can run without you.
When I hired my first technician, I was scared too. But once I did, I finally had the time to think clearly, work on the business and not in it. That’s what gave me real control.
The Invisible Costs
And what’s worse than losing money is losing moments. The birthdays you missed. The vacations you skipped because you couldn’t leave your route. The family events. The Saturday and Sunday callbacks that interrupted your family time. Your kid’s sporting events that you never made it to.
Those are the invisible costs of staying small. You don’t see them on a spreadsheet, but they’re there, and they drain you.
I’ve seen operators after 20 years and they’re just done. Their bodies are wearing out. Their health isn’t good because they spent two decades working 50 to 60 hours a week doing the same thing over and over. We all age, and eventually you just can’t keep up with the demand anymore.
Then they go to sell, and they’re just worn out. They’re basically giving the thing away because they didn’t build anything worth selling. They’re trying to find someone to take it over. They’re giving their customers away. We literally just did this 3 weeks ago. An operator who’d been doing this for 30 years. Had a couple hundred customers. No one wanted to buy it. He literally gave them to us.
Don’t be that guy.
Stop Thinking Like a Technician
Here’s the shift you need to make. Stop thinking like a technician. Start thinking like an owner and an investor.
The ladder goes like this. First you’re the sole operator. Then you’re an owner with a technician. Then two technicians. Then three. Then you bring on an ops manager. Maybe you step into inside sales. You take on different roles as you grow. Then you become the CEO. Then the investor.
Every step gives you more leverage, more time, and more freedom. The goal isn’t to work less. I want to be clear about that. We don’t work less the bigger we get. We deal with bigger problems. But we still work. The goal is to build something that runs without you. If you need to leave to watch your daughter’s cheer or dance, or your son’s football game, you don’t have to miss it.
Choose Your Pain
Growth is going to be uncomfortable. I promise you, you will hire the wrong people. You will lose money. You will make mistakes. I promise you. But your batting average is going to get better the more you learn. And you’ll build something that was worth it all.
There’s one thing worse than the pain of growth, and that’s the pain of regret. I never want to live wondering what I left on the table, what I could have done. I don’t ever want to be that guy, because I felt that once before, and I never want to feel that way again.
You can spend the next 20 years in the truck and walk away with $2.4 million. Or you can build a team, create jobs, and walk away with $10, $15, $20, $30, $40, $50 million to live the rest of your life on.
One path buys you comfort. The other buys you freedom.
The pain of staying small compounds. The pain of growth fades. I promise you. But you have to choose your pain. Only you can decide which one hurts more. Stop being the technician. Start being the owner.
