By Stephen Tweed

The other day I was at the NAHC annual convention in Orlando, and had a chance to spend some time with our friends Steve Braff and Mark Kulic at The Braff Group.  The Braff Group is a leading merger and acquisition advisory firm specializing in helath care services, including home health, hospice, and private duty home care.

Source: The Braff Group

Mark gave me a copy of their most recent “Perspectives” newsletter that highlights M&A activity in the various sectors they serve.  We were talking about what has been happening with home health and private duty.

The data show that the number of acquisitions of private duty home care businesses dropped off dramatically in the 2nd quarter of 2012, and it was already down significantly from highs in the first quarter of 2010 and the 2nd quarter of 2008. 

What Does This Mean for YOU?

What this means for you is that now is not a great time to sell your home care business.  It is a great time, however, to prepare your business for sale at some time in the future by increasing it’s value.

There are five things you can do to increase the value of your business for future sale:

1.  Build the brand name in your local marketplace.

2.  Build your local marketshare.

3.  Grow your revenue and your profits.

4. Put in place people and processes to increase the number of clients served, even when you are not there.

5. Put in place people and processes to recruit, select, train, and retain high quality caregivers.

None of these are quick fixes, but if you hope to someday sell your business and retire, now is the time to begin working on these strategic issues.   The stronger your company is in the local marketplace, the more value it has for a future buyer.  If we can help, let us know.

If you would like some insights from The Braff Group, follow the links.