“Welcome back,
business owners.”

The Hartwell Group (THG) is primarily a sell-side advisory firm, built for owners of blue-collar, service-based businesses.

Most owners sell exactly once. The buyer across the table has done it dozens of times. THG helps you understand what you have, what it's worth, and what your options are — long before you commit to anything.

Start a Confidential Conversation See What We Do

Every inquiry is private. No obligation, no pressure, no cost to talk.

Veteran Owned & Operated

Background at a glance

100+

Acquisitions negotiated and closed

30+

Years in blue-collar service industries

12+

Years in acquisitions and business development

Years U.S. Navy — USS Puget Sound (AD-38)

The THG Difference

Built a business. Bought 100 businesses. Now THG is here to help your business.

Most advisors have only ever been advisors. That matters more than it sounds — because knowing how a buyer builds an offer is not something you learn from the sidelines.

Built It

An owner first.

From technician to business owner — payroll, trucks, techs, customers, and every 2 a.m. problem that comes with it. He knows what you actually built, because he built one too.

Bought Them

Then on the buying side.

Over a decade in acquisitions, worked alongside 4 private equity firms, met with hundreds of business owners. Sat on the buyer's side of the table and knows exactly how offers get built — and where sellers lose value.

Represents You

Now in your corner.

THG exists to put that experience on the seller's side of the table, where most owners have no one at all. The buyer's playbook, working for you instead of against you.

Why Owners Reach Out

The questions that keep coming up.

If you've asked yourself any of these, you're exactly the kind of owner that THG was built to serve.

“

What is my business actually worth?

The multiples you've heard at industry events are usually wrong, or wrong for your situation. Real valuation depends on earnings quality, customer concentration, recurring revenue, and how much the business depends on you personally.

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Where do I even start?

There's no obvious first step — and asking around risks word reaching employees, customers, or competitors before you're ready. That silence is exactly why most owners stall for years without ever getting an answer.

“

Who can I trust?

Start with someone who has been where you're sitting — who built a service business, sold it, and has sat across the table from private equity. You know your trade better than anyone. Selling it is a different skill entirely, and THG is built for that purpose.

What Drives Value

Buyers aren't just buying your revenue.

Two businesses with identical sales can be worth very different amounts. These are the factors that move the number most — and several of them are fixable with enough lead time.

Owner dependence

If the business can't run for two weeks without you, a buyer isn't purchasing a company — they're purchasing a job. This is the single most common value killer, and the most fixable.

Recurring revenue

Service agreements, inspection contracts, and maintenance plans are valued very differently than one-off jobs. Contracted revenue is the closest thing to certainty a buyer can get.

Customer concentration

If one or two accounts make up a large share of your revenue, a buyer sees risk — because losing that account after closing changes everything about the deal they just paid for.

Quality of earnings

Clean, defensible financials get better outcomes than strong financials that can't be verified. Buyers discount what they can't confirm — and diligence will find everything.

Your team

Tenured technicians, a capable second-in-command, and low turnover are real assets. In a labor-tight trade, a buyer is often buying your crew as much as your customer list.

Timing and readiness

The worst time to sell is when you have to. Owners who plan 12 to 24 months out consistently get better terms than those responding to burnout, health, or an unsolicited offer.

Recognize your business in any of these?

Most of these are fixable with enough runway — but only if you know which ones apply to you. A short, confidential conversation will tell you where you actually stand.

Book a Confidential Call

What We Do

Straightforward support at every stage.

Most owners come in wanting one thing and leave needing another. These are the ways we work with service business owners, whether you're two months or five years out.

01 — Core Service

Sell-Side Advisory

Full representation from preparation through closing. We run the process, manage the buyers, and negotiate on your behalf — so you keep running your business instead of running a transaction.

02 — Start Here

Business Valuation

A grounded, defensible view of what your business is actually worth in today's market — not a rule-of-thumb multiple you overheard at a trade show. The starting point for every other decision.

03 — Highest Impact

Pre-Exit Preparation

The work that happens 12 to 36 months before a sale is where the largest gains in final value come from. Reducing owner dependence, cleaning up financials, and shoring up the weak spots a buyer will find anyway.

04 — Other Paths

Partial Sale & Recapitalization

Selling outright isn't the only option. Minority or majority recapitalizations let you take money off the table now while staying involved — often the right answer for owners who aren't ready to walk away entirely.

The Process

No commitment until you actually want one.

The first conversations cost nothing and obligate you to nothing. Most owners who reach out aren't ready to sell yet — and that's exactly the right time to be talking.

A private conversation

A straightforward call about your business, your timeline, and what you're hoping to do next. Nothing is shared with anyone. Many owners are simply gathering information for a decision that's still years away.

Understanding what you have

A realistic look at how a buyer would actually see your business — the strengths that drive the number up, and the issues that quietly pull it down. For many owners, this alone reshapes what they do over the next year.

Understanding your options

Selling outright isn't the only path. Depending on your goals, a partial sale, an equity rollover, or staying on post-close may fit better. The point is seeing the full menu before choosing from it.

Preparing before you go to market

If there's runway, we use it. Cleaning up financials, reducing owner dependence, and shoring up weak spots ahead of time is where the largest gains in final value usually come from.

Going to market — only when it makes sense

When you decide to move, you have someone in your corner who has been through this many times from both sides, negotiating on your behalf against buyers who do this professionally.

Chuck Reimel

Partner, The Hartwell Group, LLC

Kure Beach, North Carolina

About

Thirty years in the trades. Six in the Navy. One side of the table.

Chuck Reimel started his career as an Electronics Technician in the United States Navy, serving six years aboard the USS Puget Sound. He left the service in 1991 and went into fire & safety — not at the top, but at branch level, managing service crews and learning the business the way the owners he now represents did.

In 2004 he did what a lot of good operators eventually do: he went out on his own. For five years he owned and ran Veteran Fire, Inc. in Wilmington, North Carolina — meeting payroll, keeping trucks on the road, and carrying the weight that every owner of a service business carries.

He then spent more than a decade at Pye-Barker Fire & Safety, ultimately as Executive Vice President of Business Development for M&A, followed by a year as Chief Business Development Officer at LawnPRO Partners. In those roles he sat on the buying side of countless conversations with owners just like the ones he works with today — which is precisely why he knows where sellers leave money and leverage behind.

Selling your business can be many things: scary, exciting, intimidating. You shouldn't have to go through it without someone in your corner. — Chuck Reimel

The Hartwell Group was founded in 2026 as a sell-side advisory firm focused entirely on blue-collar, service-based businesses. Veteran owned and operated, the firm exists on the principle that the person who spent thirty years in this industry should be working for the owner — not the acquirer.

Is This You?

Being honest about fit saves everyone time.

Not every owner is a fit, and pretending otherwise wastes your afternoon. Here's roughly where the line falls.

Likely a good conversation

These are the situations this firm is built for.

You own a service business — fire & safety, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, landscaping, pest control, cleaning, or a related trade
You have steady revenue and real, demonstrable profitability
You're thinking about retirement, slowing down, or a change within the next one to five years
A buyer has approached you and you don't know how to evaluate the offer
You're simply curious what it's worth, with no intention of acting yet

Probably not yet

No hard feelings — and we'll point you somewhere better.

The business is very early stage or pre-revenue
You're looking to buy a business rather than sell one
You need financing or a loan rather than a transaction
You're seeking legal or tax advice specifically — that calls for a licensed attorney or CPA

Common Questions

What owners ask first.

Will anyone find out I'm exploring this?

No. Confidentiality is the entire foundation of this work. Nothing is shared with employees, customers, competitors, or anyone else without your explicit direction. Most owners we speak with have told no one — often not even their spouse yet — and that's completely normal at this stage.

What does an initial conversation cost?

Nothing. The first conversations are free and carry no obligation. Many end with a recommendation to wait a year or two and fix a few things first — which is genuinely the right answer more often than people expect.

I'm not ready to sell for several years. Is it too early to talk?

It's the opposite of too early. Owners who start the conversation two or three years out consistently end up with better outcomes, because there's time to address the things that actually move valuation — owner dependence, financial clarity, recurring revenue. Waiting until you're ready to sell means selling the business as it is, not as it could be.

A buyer already approached me. What should I do?

Don't respond with a number, and don't sign anything yet — particularly anything with exclusivity language. An unsolicited offer is a signal that someone sees value in your business, but a single unrepresented buyer negotiating against an owner with no advisor rarely produces the best outcome. That's worth a conversation before you go further.

How is The Hartwell Group compensated?

Compensation is discussed openly and agreed in writing before any engagement begins. There is no cost for initial conversations, and you'll never be surprised by a fee.

Do you work outside of North Carolina?

Yes. The firm works with service business owners across the country — the industry knowledge travels, and most of the process is handled by phone, video, and secure document sharing regardless of where you're located.

Get Started

Two ways to start. Both confidential.

No cost, no obligation. Most owners who reach out aren't ready to sell — they just want to know where they stand.

Fastest — pick a time now

Book a 20-minute call

Tell us when works and Chuck will confirm directly. No prep needed, no documents required, and nothing is shared with anyone.

Prefer to talk now? (910) 612-6252

Discreet — no calendar, no trace

Send a private message

Not ready to put something on your calendar? Send a note instead and you'll hear back privately, usually within one business day.

“Welcome back,business owners.”