General Manager

General Manager | Fire Protection | CA | $200K Base + Uncapped Cash Bonus | On-site

Run a fire protection business on the California coast with a permanent backer and no ceiling on what you earn.

$7M combined revenue. Revenue up 25%. Margin upside already identified. Two CA fire protection brands, with loyal customers and a strong name with the general contractors.

The owners are building a long-term holding company and plan to be doing the same thing 20 years from now.

The Role

Full P&L across both brands: construction, inspection, service and repair. You report to the owners, sit in every acquisition conversation and run operations your way. The two businesses complement each other.

One is construction-led (roughly 60 to 65%) with a strong contract pipeline, and the other is service-led (roughly 60 to 65% inspection and repair) and delivering excellent results.

What you’re actually building here

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• One operating engine behind two respected brands: unify the back end (CRM, service software, billing, reporting) without touching the names customers trust. No rebrand. The brands stay local
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• Margin: costs have grown faster than revenue, and fixing that through pricing discipline and tighter cost control is a first-year win
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• A real management layer: clear roles, accountability and a leadership bench for a team of 25
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• Growth by acquisition: the owners expect 2 to 3 add-ons in the next 5 to 10 years and a business at least twice its current size. You help source them, and acquisitions never count against your bonus
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• A wider remit over time: the owners are open to folding in other specialty contractors and service businesses under the right leader
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Why Strong Operators Take This Seat

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• Paid on what you build: an uncapped cash bonus
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• A long-term home: permanent capital, no plan to sell, no exit clock
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• Real autonomy: no platform playbook, no regional VP, no roll-up targets
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• A seat at the table: you meet the owners directly, and you’ll bring them deals, not just run what you’re handed
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• The Santa Barbara to Ventura coast, with relocation support
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What the Role Requires

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• A $7M+ fire protection P&L behind you as GM, branch or district manager, or owner
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• A record of modernizing operations (systems, reporting, process) or integrating acquired businesses
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• The ability to lead a long-tenured team that is loyal to the business. This is a local market that rewards local brands, and it expects an operator who respects that
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• Based in, or ready to move to, the Santa Barbara to Ventura corridor
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• C-16 ideal but not required.
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What This Role Is Not For

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• Anyone who needs equity or a sale event. This is cash, by design
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• Operators who want a national platform’s scale, structure or promotion ladder
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• Leaders who want to rebrand, relocate the business or impose a national playbook
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• Sales or technical leaders who haven’t yet owned a P&L
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Compensation

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• $200K base range
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• Uncapped cash bonus
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• Up to $25K relocation, a new company truck and full healthcare
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Confidential and managed exclusively by INC’D. The process is short: you meet the owners first, then a small circle of no more than five people.

If you want the honest picture before deciding whether to proceed, including the parts that are difficult, that is exactly the conversation we have.

If this is worth a conversation, contact Nick or Cosmos directly.