Fruita sits on the west end of the Grand Valley, along I-70 in Mesa County, with the Colorado River on its south side and the Book Cliffs to the north. The 2020 census counted 13,395 people, up from 12,646 in 2010. The town started as farm country. Its Fall Festival dates back to 1914, and it still fills the downtown streets every September.
These days Fruita is better known for bikes, dinosaurs and a chicken. Kent & Tamarack helps owners of trade and service companies here sell their business: plumbers, electricians, HVAC companies, builders, landscapers, cleaners and the shops that keep the town running.
A farm town that became a bike town
Fruita changed over the last few decades. The 18 Road trails in the North Fruita Desert drew mountain bikers from all over, and the system has kept growing. Kokopelli's Trail runs about 142 miles from Loma, just west of town, to Moab. Bike shops, guides and makers followed.
On the edge of town, Colorado National Monument rises over the valley, reached by Rim Rock Drive, a 23-mile road built mostly by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. In 1901 paleontologists found most of a Brontosaurus skeleton on Dinosaur Hill, and the Dinosaur Journey Museum still draws families. Every year the town throws a festival for Mike the Headless Chicken, who lived 18 months without a head.
All of this brings visitors, new residents and new homes. For a trade company, that means more work: new houses to wire and plumb, rentals and short-term lodging to keep running, shops and restaurants that need service fast when a cooler or a water heater fails on a busy weekend.
The farms are still out there
Bikes get the headlines, but the land around Fruita is still farmed. Many of the farms and ranches around town still have wells, pumps, irrigation, shops and old wiring that need a trade company that knows rural work.
If you serve farm and ranch customers along with town homes, that mix is worth showing. Farm customers tend to stay with one company for a long time, and the work is different from a subdivision service call. A buyer from a city may not know how to price a pump job ten miles out on a gravel road. Your records of those jobs, and the tech who knows each property, help a buyer see what they are getting and keep those customers after you leave.
Close to Grand Junction, but its own place
Fruita is part of the Grand Junction metro area, and many Fruita companies work across the whole valley. A plumber based here may drive to the Redlands, Orchard Mesa or downtown Grand Junction on the same day. Others stick close to home and serve Fruita, Loma and Mack.
Both models can sell. A buyer just needs to know which one you run. We look at where your jobs are, how long your trucks spend on the road, and which areas bring the best margins. A company that owns the west end of the valley fits what a Grand Junction competitor wants. A company that works the whole valley from Fruita may appeal more to someone who wants to live here and keep it as it is.
The lifestyle buyer
Fruita attracts people who want to live near the trails, the river and the monument. Some of them have sold a business somewhere else, or left a corporate job, and want to own something real. A working trade company with a good name can look very attractive to them.
These buyers suit some sellers well. They have cash, they plan to stay, and they want the company to keep its local feel. The risk is that they may not know the trade. A buyer who has never pulled a permit or priced a furnace job needs your crew more than most.
So we ask the hard questions early. Who will hold the trade licenses? Who will estimate jobs? Will your lead tech stay, and on what terms? If the answers are solid, a lifestyle buyer can be a great fit. If not, we tell you plainly and look elsewhere.
Who else looks at Fruita companies
A Grand Junction competitor may want your west-end customers and your techs. A key employee may want to take over and pay part of the price over time. A regional company may want a foothold in the valley. Each kind of buyer pays differently and has different plans for your name and your people. We line the offers up so you can compare them on more than price.
Small-town quiet
Fruita has grown, but it still feels like a small town. People notice changes. Our early descriptions of your company leave out the name and anything that points to you. A buyer signs a confidentiality agreement before learning who you are, and you decide when the news goes out.
Getting ready to sell
Before buyers see the company, a few things help:
- Books that match your tax returns, with personal costs separated out.
- Trucks, tools and accounts in the company's name.
- A lead tech who can run jobs and talk to customers without you.
- Written service agreements for repeat customers.
You do not need all of them on day one. On the first call we help you sort out which ones matter for your company.
What your company is worth
A fair value looks at what the company earns for an owner in a normal year, how much work repeats, the crew, the equipment and the records. You get an honest range and the reasons behind it.
How it works
A sale goes through four steps: a private first call, a fair value range, a quiet search for the right buyer, and a close with your accountant and attorney. See the steps. Landscapers and yard care owners can read about selling a landscaping business.
Call (983) 900-6537. The founder will pick up. For the rest of the valley, see the Grand Junction page.