This is the time of year when most of us look around and give thanks for the good things in our lives. That includes the people who work hard and help your business thrive. If you’re planning to sell your business in the next few years, it’s never too early to take stock of your staff and the value they add to your company.

When a buyer looks at a franchise, they look closely at sales, location, and profitability – all the things that help them decide what kind of offer to make. One of the most important factors they consider is the team that works at the location. A stable, well-trained, and customer-focused team will be a valuable asset. An unreliable or unmotivated team can cost the franchise owner a deal.

In the service industry, you have a lot of competition for workers who show up on time, do their work competently, and take care of customers. You’re not just competing within your franchise; you’re competing with retail, restaurants and food service, and a host of other industries. Your employees have options, and the more you do to let them know you appreciate their efforts, the less likely they’ll be to explore those options.

If you haven’t raised salaries for a while, the end of the year is a good time to consider doing it, especially for key employees. You’ll start out 2025 with wages that are based on market data, and your workers will start out the year knowing you did your research and made necessary – and welcome - changes. Buyers will have a realistic picture of the cost of labor in your business, and they won’t have to face making adjustments right after closing on the business.

There will be some owners reading this who will argue that they can’t afford to raise salaries without raising their prices. We’ve written about this before: you should probably also consider an in-depth analysis of your costs and begin raising prices for your customers. Just as buyers don’t want to have to raise labor costs right away, they may also be reluctant to buy a company in need of a major price overhaul. They’d rather purchase a company whose leadership has done the hard work for them, so that’s one less thing they must tackle as a new owner.

In any case, finding, hiring and training new employees is always more expensive than keeping the ones you have. Your show of appreciation and investment in their well-being will pay off in multiples when you’re ready to sell your business.