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Marion, Williamson County

Marion Lawn Care Business for Sale

A lawn care business in Marion is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Carbondale — not on a statewide rumor multiple. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. The statewide lawn care businesses playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Marion file. Confidential sale. No upfront listing fee.

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Marion market

Selling a lawn care business in Marion

A lawn care business in Marion is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Carbondale — not on a statewide rumor multiple. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. The statewide lawn care businesses playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Marion file.

Marion is Williamson County’s I-57 commercial city — regional retail, the Illinois Centre corridor, and hospital orbit for the southern coal counties, not SIU’s Carbondale and not Herrin’s older Main Street.

Interchange and medical-campus licenses differ from a downtown shop. Southern Illinois operators and a few St. Louis buyers shop here. Heartland/SIH-adjacent professional books are a different file from a Route 13 restaurant. Herrin is the next town, not this city’s clone.

Marion has about 17,593 residents in Williamson County, inside the Carbondale-Marion area. Nearby markets buyers already compare this book to include Carbondale, Herrin, Benton, West Frankfort. That comparison changes who shows up: a buyer who will drive from Carbondale is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.

Planning facts

Typical multiple
2x–3.5x SDE
Typical timeline
4–8 months
SBA eligible
Often — confirm
County
Williamson County
Population
17,593
Metro
Carbondale-Marion
Nearby comps
Carbondale, Herrin, Benton, West Frankfort
Closing clock
Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago
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Williamson County demand

Southern Illinois demand

Downstate and southern Illinois businesses are thinner on platform buyers and thicker on neighboring operators. Seller financing and a clean lease do more work than a headline multiple.

CBS-1 still applies. Local clerks and landlords set the real calendar.

Marion demand for lawn care businesses is the customer list and the license path — not the Census population figure. About 17,593 residents is context for who already lives in the trade area. It is not a sale price.

Lawn Care Business in Marion

What a Marion buyer will underwrite on this lawn care business

Marion is not a collar-county density play. A lawn care business here usually sells to an owner-operator who already covers Carbondale, Herrin, Benton, not a platform that needs a hired dispatcher and a second licensed person. Municipal registrations still reset on a new entity.

Lawn Care Businesses statewide typically plan around 2x–3.5x SDE and a 4–8 months process when books and the lease are ready. That is a planning range, not a price for this Marion shop. Buyers here usually argue recurring customer contracts, equipment condition, crew count, route density.

Closing clock for this Marion file: Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. License path: The Illinois Department of Agriculture pesticide applicator and operator licenses are the license that matters on a chemical program. The industry hub teaches the statewide rule. This URL is the Marion application of it.

Marion is a regional market. The first serious call is often an owner-operator from Carbondale, Herrin, Benton, not a platform that needs $2 million of earnings to pay for diligence. SBA 7(a) and seller financing usually matter more here than a headline multiple.

Buyer pool

Who buys a lawn care business in Marion

Southern Illinois operators and a few St. Louis buyers. Marion retail/interchange vs. Herrin small-city books.

Illustration: a residential lawn-care route in Plainfield and Oswego with 420 program customers, two spray techs holding IDOA cards, and a mow crew that does not do hardscape. Not a closed sale.

A lawn care business whose customers already sit in Carbondale, Herrin, Benton, West Frankfort is a larger business than one that stops at the Marion city limit. Tell the truth about the route. Buyers will map it.

SDE recast

How a buyer will read the books on this Marion lawn care business

Lawn-care recasts on the residential route book — mow frequency, fertilizer-and-weed programs, and cancellation — not landscaping install gross. Add back owner W-2, then strip a one-time aeration-and-overseed promotion and any unlicensed spray work. Density (stops per hour) is the earnings quality test. A thin rural route is not a Naperville Tuesday.

Illustration only — not a quote for any Marion shop. A lawn care business whose tax return shows $39,000 of net profit is not worth $39,000 × a rumor multiple.

Add back the owner’s $35,000 W-2 and payroll tax, $18,500 of discretionary benefits, $10,000 of accepted one-time cost, and $7,000 of personal expenses that a buyer will not run. Then subtract $19,000 of replacement labor if the owner still diagnoses, sells, or closes the books.

Adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings are $90,000. At the planning range 2.0x–3.5x, enterprise value is $180,000 to $315,000. Mid-range 2.75x is $247,500 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. A Marion buyer will argue the multiple after they ride with the staff and read the lease.

At 2.75 times $90,000 of seller’s discretionary earnings, enterprise value is $247,500 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. That is the planning conversation. It is not a listing-site guess.

SDE line items

  1. Reported net profit (tax return, not the marketing P&L)
  2. + Interest expense
  3. + Income taxes (not payroll, sales, or property tax)
  4. + Depreciation and amortization
  5. + Owner W-2, bonuses, and payroll taxes on the owner
  6. + Discretionary owner benefits that a buyer will not keep (auto, personal travel, family on payroll with no role)
  7. + Accepted one-time or non-recurring expenses
  8. − Market-rate replacement labor for owner work that will not transfer
  9. = Seller’s Discretionary Earnings (SDE)
Illustration recast for a Marion lawn care business — not a quote
Net profit$39,000
Owner W-2$35,000
Benefits$18,500
One-time$10,000
Personal$7,000
Replacement labor (subtract)−$19,000
Recast SDE$90,000
Planning EV at 2.75x$247,500

Recast Seller’s Discretionary Earnings, then apply a planning multiple for lawn care businesses. Replacement labor is subtracted. This is a planning tool, not an appraisal.

Recast SDE—
Planning enterprise value—

Before debt, working-capital peg, holdback, and tax. Educational only.

Enter your annual Seller's Discretionary Earnings (SDE) — your net profit plus owner's salary and any personal expenses run through the business — to estimate a range.

$
1x 3.0x 8x
Estimated Value Range — to —

This is an estimate for planning purposes only. Actual value depends on lease terms, asset quality, customer concentration, and current market conditions. Request a professional valuation for a precise number.

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Williamson County closing

Licenses and closing steps for a Marion sale

Williamson (Marion, Herrin) uses state CBS-1. I-57 interchange and medical-campus (Heartland, SIH orbit) licenses differ.

The Illinois Department of Agriculture pesticide applicator and operator licenses are the license that matters on a chemical program. They are personal and do not transfer with the customer list. Mow-only shops still need municipal contractor registration in many suburbs and CDL or proper vehicle registrations if they tow. Fertilizer application rules and containment are IDOA issues, not optional branding.

Labor and lease

What has to keep working on Monday after close in Marion

For a lawn care business in Marion, the first labor question is: Program-customer retention and auto-pay penetration.

I-57. Regional medical and retail hub for the southern coal counties.

More commercial density than most southern counties. Still not a PE default.

Diligence

What a serious lawn care business buyer will open

Levers that move the multiple in this vertical: Program-customer retention and auto-pay penetration; Staying IDOA-licensed applicators; Route density inside a tight radius; Mow-plus-chemical attach rate; Software-owned customer list the seller cannot walk with.

Have these ready before anyone hears the name of the Marion business: Route density, stops per crew-hour, and skip/cancel rates by program; IDOA applicator licenses on the people who will still spray after closing; Program mix: mow-only vs fertilizer/weed vs mosquito add-ons; Customer-list ownership, door-hanger leads, and software (Service Autopilot, Jobber); Spreader, sprayer, and containment compliance; Whether snow or leaf cleanup is contracted or hoped.

Buyer tool

SBA payment sketch for a Marion lawn care business buyer

Most Illinois owner-operator acquisitions use SBA 7(a). This is a payment sketch, not an approval.

SBA 7(a) loans are the most common financing for business acquisitions. Estimate your monthly payment and required down payment based on the purchase price.

$
%
%
yrs
Down Payment Required —
Loan Amount —
Est. Monthly Payment —

This calculator provides estimates for planning purposes only. Actual SBA loan terms depend on your credit profile, the specific lender, and current market conditions. Contact us to connect with SBA-approved lenders in Illinois.

Sale steps

How to prepare a Marion lawn care business for sale

  1. Recast this Marion lawn care business. Start with the tax return. Add owner pay. Subtract replacement labor if the seller still does the work a Marion buyer must hire. Do not treat a spike year as the new normal.
  2. Name who can operate on Monday. List every credential that lets this lawn care business pull a permit or see a patient in Marion, and whether that person stays. Personal licenses do not transfer with the assets.
  3. Tell the truth about the Marion trade area. Map customers against neighboring towns. Buyers will. A book that already covers those towns is larger than a book that stops at the Marion limit.
  4. Open the lease and the labor file. Remaining term and assignment in Williamson County. Whether the crew can run without the seller living eight minutes away.
  5. Calendar the notices that apply here. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. Start them at letter of intent, not the week of funding.
  6. Read the statewide playbook, then talk. The Illinois lawn care businesses hub is the statute and recast teaching. This page is the Marion file. Confidential consult — no upfront listing fee.
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Related Marion and lawn care businesses pages

Questions

Questions about lawn care businesses in Marion

Answers for owners and buyers in Williamson County, including local closing steps.

Service Area

Lawn Care Business Brokerage Near Marion

We serve lawn care businesses owners and buyers across Williamson County and the surrounding region.

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