America's new millionaire class: Plumbers and HVAC entrepreneurs

My dad bought a failing HVAC business 30+ years ago, then made it profitable over the years and sold it back to his employees last year. He had the option to take a few highly lucrative PE deals, but it was clear they would squeeze the life out of the employees and customers he had worked hard to support over many years. I can’t imagine how low quality this kind of trade work will become if PE owns them all. It will be similar to vet, dentist, and dermatology clinics which now feel like factories that don’t care about the humans on the other end - often employing fear tactics and sales quotas to incentivize upsells.

There’s a PE cycle in several industries because economies of scales don’t help nearly as much as a skilled workforce. So PE companies can’t maintain customer service while maximizing profit and customers move to new small business which grows until owner wants out, and repeat.

I find it fascinating which industries are vulnerable and which aren’t. PE has been more successful with morticians because they can more effectively own an area and people only deal with so many funerals. Vets on the other hand seem to be easily taken over despite regular visits and skilled workers, presumably regulatory bodies play a major role? No really sure.