When an owner decides to sell, they revisit every part of their business with us. We learn what shaped the success of the business. We learn more than what makes a business sellable and maximizes its value; we begin to understand its unique personality. Yes, this helps us find a good match in a buyer. 

In the case of Bob Rothacker, I knew when I sat down to talk with him that I was in for a treat. Bob is a legend, and those first-meeting conversations carried over long after he'd signed on the dotted line and the sale of his business was finalized. Bob is a story teller from way back, and the small part that RBA has played in his story has been such an honor. By helping him share his story, I hope to honor him and share just a bit of the impact he has left on the restoration business. 

"I spent the first year in business arguing with my insurance agent that we didn’t want the insurance claims for restoration work he kept sending over. Five years later restoration work is all we did…."

When Bob started Roth Construction in 1967, the company did a mix of construction, new and remodel. Insurance agents would knock at his door with projects, primarily restoration jobs. Bob always said no. The same strong will that kept him in business for over fifty years nearly kept him from taking on work that first year that would become his bread and butter. 

"I got a call from my insurance agent asking me to do some roof repairs for some claims from a recent storm, says Bob. "I turned him down. We didn’t have anybody who could do that type of work. He really needed help so I went out and did the work myself. He called to thank me and asked where my bill was. I told him I wasn't charging him because I did the work and we weren’t interested in getting anymore of it. He sent me a check anyway. I called him back and told him he paid me too much and he said that was the going rate – "that’s what the insurance companies pay."

Things were very, very different back then…

Bob was talked into a couple more jobs, and on one of those, an adjuster pointed out that Bob was the perfect fit for restoration work. In the late sixties, there were only six companies that specialized in restoration in Cleveland. The adjuster taught Bob how to do estimates, and Roth Construction started doing jobs for him and making good money on restoration projects.

 "And by the way," notes Bob, "back then the computer I used for estimates was a yellow pad, an eraser, and a #2 pencil."

After five years, Roth Construction was only  taking insurance work, primarily serving three companies.  

The "good old days" of reconstruction and restoration work were all-in times where a small industry and fewer players meant collaboration, and Bob learned large parts of his craft from those around him, and soon the student was stepping into the role of teacher.

"I eventually created a price book for them that I shared with the three insurance companies we primarily worked with. Their training program for new adjusters was riding along with me for a week. Can you imagine that happening today?"

 Under Bob's leadership, Roth Construction built a name for itself throughout the Cleveland area and eventually across northern Ohio. As years turned into decades, the family-owned and operated restoration business continued to add services, expand its territory, and steadfastly uphold its reputation for stellar customer service and unmatched craftsmanship.

BUILDING PAST THE LEGACY

As Roth hit its fiftieth year in business in 2017, Bob recognized that what he wanted for the company he had built would need something fresh to continue its trajectory. 

"We kept growing until it became clear to me that to compete with the bigger and better funded national and regional companies was going to cost more money than I wanted to invest. That’s when I started looking for someone to help us sell."

This far in the game, Bob was more than a name known round the Cleveland construction sites. He was the reluctant recipient of a new title that symbolized his status in the greater restoration industry. Known by his peers as The Granddaddy of Restoration, Bob had earned the respect of others for his smart business sense, industry knowledge, and integrity. He knew a company at Roth's level would be appealing to the growth-focused national players acquiring businesses on an exponential scale. 

"I figured the guys wanting to buy us would know far more about buying a company than we knew about selling one, so we looked for someone to represent our interests. Even though I had a lot of folks telling me I had a great business and it would sell itself. I wasn’t about to try to run my business and sell my business at the same time."

For a man who had dedicated five decades of his time, talents, and heart to his business, it took some time to adjust emotionally to the idea of selling. Bob was looking to the future, his priorities were changing, and he had more than the sale price to think about.

"I knew regardless of what I did, I wouldn’t be here in another 15-20 years but most of my people would. The best thing I could do for them and their careers was to find the right buyer," says Bob. "And even though Lisa, my daughter, could run the business, she was running the business, I felt we needed the backing of someone bigger. I’m not a big legacy type guy. You can’t buy groceries or a house with legacy. So I started to look for someone to help us sell. Ya know, I haven’t sold a hundred businesses. I’ve never sold one, so it made sense to look for help."

 LOOKING AHEAD TO SELL WELL

The decision to sell didn't come suddenly, and Bob took a sound, measured approach to making the call that would make such a sale a reality.

"We didn’t know anything about selling and whoever buys us probably would, so we needed help."

Bob's daughter, Lisa reached out to her trusted contacts in the industry, and the recommendation that came back was RBA. 

Bob notes, "People told me I could do this myself. I told them I have a lawyer, I played football with him in high school, and an accountant. And we knew we needed a specialist to lead us through this. We wanted to feel comfortable with the process."

The idea that a company of Roth's size continuing to grow against bigger players in the industry wasn't out of the question, but in Bob's eyes, it wasn't the safe bet, and it wasn't what Bob saw was best for the company he had built. He was looking for an acquisition that would give Roth the opportunity to keep moving forward and making its mark in the industry. 

 "It was hard to arrive at the decision to sell, but the more I thought about it the more I realized we have a lot of people who will be working another 15-20 years…I won’t, but they will. They got me here and I can’t get them all the way down the road in their careers."

The selling process for a company the size of Roth requires attention, care, and a clear picture of what a seller wants the future to look like. Bob was presented with multiple offers, and his final decision was made with great consideration and thought. When the company went under LOI with the national restoration group, ATI, Bob had weighed all the options and decided on his best fit.

"ATI...They are a family business, father and three sons, I liked their people, they were people I would hire, down to earth, they understand the business, (our business) not just any business, but ours," says Bob.

An acquisition with a company like ATI meant new opportunities for Roth Construction and its employees. The national reach appealed to Bob and the potential for not just the business but for his team helped Bob make it through the arduous due diligence process that came next. 

"It was an emotional roller coaster. Some of the due diligence was really hard, mostly because it was new."

Bob recognized ATI as a good steward for his employees and customers, and he stands by his path toward selling his business. 

"What would you say to someone taking themselves to market? If you are going to sell your house, would you do it yourself, or buy one yourself? Without an inspector? I picked up the phone many, many times and said Hey Gokul, what about this, what about that? I’m not going to run my business and sell my business at the same time. I would never recommend someone try to sell it themselves."

In August 2023, ATI acquired Roth Construction, and Bob was able to fully retire. Chatting with him a few weeks into that retirement, Bob is still creating story-worthy moments.

"Right now there aren’t enough hours in the day. I’m still busy, just with different things: playing golf, tending to my 100-acre farm, getting up to our cabin, playing cards, and enjoying that cup of coffee each morning I never managed to quite get to when I owned the business."

About Gokul Padmanabhan

Gokul has spent his entire career as a small business owner like you. He learned a lot throughout the process of starting, growing, and selling several businesses. One important lesson: most business brokers didn't add much value to the process of selling his businesses because they didn't understand them.

So, he became a business broker and immediately learned another important lesson: to really understand the businesses you sell you need to specialize in a single market.

So, he specialized in selling restoration businesses, and so was born Restoration Brokers of America.

After more than 15 years  of evaluating and selling restoration businesses, RBA has learned another important lesson: most businesses we see can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and, sometimes millions, more if the owner will manage his or her business a bit differently as they prepare to sell.

We call this Managing for Value. It's not complicated. It's not difficult. It's just different.