In 2011 I was working as an Economic Development Officer with Community Futures, and I had a client looking to retire and sell their plumbing business.

One problem in this industry is when you put up a for sale sign, your suppliers and your customers get nervous. Your suppliers start asking for cash on delivery, which screws up your cash flow, and your customers do not want to buy a water heater from someone who won’t be around to service the warranty in five years.

I looked into options for my client to list their business: online posting boards, brokers, and classified ads. None of these options gave them the privacy they needed to sell their business in a cost effective manner. That is when I started my company called SuccessionMatching.com.

SuccessionMatching.com has evolved a lot over the past five years, from my speaking tours, feedback from our members, and 1on1s with our clients, I have documented trends and pain points experienced by thousands of business owners who are going through the transition process and rolled out different programs to address these pain points.

One of the initiatives that we rolled out this year is the VC Program. Last week I was meeting with an investment firm in Calgary that is interested in investing in employee share ownership plans (ESOPs).

Given the markets that this firm is currently invested in, I was surprised at the first question they asked me “What do you have available in Manitoba?”. They later went on to explain that they have found that Manitoba is one of the best places to invest in for the following reasons.

1. The economy is stable

2. Cost of doing business is low

3. The lifestyle is one of the best kept secrets in Canada

After five years, someone who starts a business has a 10% success rate and someone who buys a business has a 70% success rate.

If you are interested in buying a business in Manitoba, please check out this Step-By-Step Guide on the Futurpreneur Canada website. For more info on Manitoba communities, checkout Manitoba’s Townfolios.