The Business Was Supposed To Stay In The Family. It Didn't
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Guest Introduction
Mark Oliger is the former owner of Garrhs, an HVAC company in Durango, Colorado with three generations of family history behind it. His grandfather started the business in Phoenix in the late 1930s and moved it to Durango in the early 1950s. Mark grew up in the shop and went to vocational school for heating and air conditioning. When the family business closed in 1983, he started his own from scratch, brought his younger brother Travis in a few years later, and grew it into the largest company of its kind in the region.
Summary
In this episode, John Marsh sits down with Mark Oliger for a real client story told from the seller's chair. Mark walks through the part most owners avoid: being ready to step back, having your children in the business, and learning that none of them want to own it.
The conversation covers the first advisor who took the business to market and couldn't get it done, the year and a half Mark spent off-market fixing his financial reporting, and why that rework changed how buyers saw the company. Mark is candid about post-LOI diligence, including weekly work-in-progress statements he had rarely produced in more than 30 years of ownership, and about the SBA rule change on rolled equity that landed mid-diligence and nearly ended the deal.
It closes on what came after: 90 days full-time, nine months part-time and remote, and then months at a time cave diving in Mexico. Mark's assessment of his own outcome is the line that stays with you. He knew he was in a good position for retirement. He did not know how much better that position could be.
You’ll Learn
- Why Mark's son and nephews were in the business but didn't want to own it, and how he worked through that decision.
- What happened when he offered ownership to long-term employees, and why that path closed too.
- Why the first advisor didn't work out, and what "buyer reach" actually means in practice.
- The specific change Mark made to his financial reporting, and why it reframed the business for buyers.
- Why he chose an individual buyer with hands-on industry experience over a roll-up, despite broad interest.
- What surprised him most in diligence, including weekly work-in-progress statements.
- How an SBA rule change on rolled equity landed mid-deal, and what it took to keep the transaction alive.
- The one thing he'd prepare differently: showing the buyer how the business runs without him, before they have to ask.
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