21 in-depth owner guides

Business valuation guides.

Understand earnings, methods, multiples, risk, transferability, and sale preparation—without treating one formula as a final answer. Every guide includes a direct answer, evidence framework, worked example, owner action plan, failure analysis, expanded questions, and source notes.

Owner question and seller intent

What Is My Business Worth?

A practical framework for turning reported profit into a realistic preliminary range without mistaking a formula for a sale price.

9-minute read · 1,851 words · Read the guide →
Informational and commercial investigation

How a Small Business Valuation Works

The practical sequence from defining the purpose to reconciling earnings, selecting methods, and explaining a range.

8-minute read · 1,618 words · Read the guide →
Informational

Business Valuation Methods Explained

A plain-language comparison of the market, income, and asset approaches used for closely held companies.

8-minute read · 1,561 words · Read the guide →
Commercial investigation

Business Valuation Multiples: How to Use Them

How earnings and revenue multiples work, what belongs in the numerator and denominator, and why comparability matters.

7-minute read · 1,478 words · Read the guide →
Commercial investigation and owner intent

Business Valuation Multiples by Industry

How to read national sold-business benchmarks without turning an industry table into a one-line valuation.

7-minute read · 1,437 words · Read the guide →
Informational and calculator support

SDE Versus EBITDA

Choose the earnings measure that fits the likely buyer and the owner’s real operating role.

7-minute read · 1,470 words · Read the guide →
Informational and calculator intent

How to Calculate Seller’s Discretionary Earnings

A documented SDE bridge for owner-operated businesses, including what not to add back.

7-minute read · 1,514 words · Read the guide →
Informational and calculator intent

How to Calculate Adjusted EBITDA

A practical EBITDA bridge that keeps necessary management costs and separates genuine adjustments from wishful recasting.

7-minute read · 1,400 words · Read the guide →
Informational and commercial investigation

Revenue Multiples Versus Earnings Multiples

Why revenue is usually a reasonableness check for a profitable small business, not the final answer.

7-minute read · 1,420 words · Read the guide →
Informational and seller readiness

How to Normalize Business Earnings

Turn reported accounting results into a maintainable earnings view a buyer can reproduce.

7-minute read · 1,409 words · Read the guide →
Seller intent

How to Value a Business Before Selling

Prepare a market-oriented valuation before price expectations harden or buyers begin diligence.

7-minute read · 1,436 words · Read the guide →
Seller readiness

How to Increase the Value of a Business

Improve the durability and transferability of earnings instead of chasing a cosmetic multiple.

7-minute read · 1,442 words · Read the guide →
Seller intent

How to Prepare a Business for Sale

A practical readiness sequence covering records, operations, confidentiality, and buyer diligence.

7-minute read · 1,435 words · Read the guide →
Transaction-oriented seller intent

How to Price a Business for Sale

Turn a valuation range into a market strategy without confusing asking price, enterprise value, and seller proceeds.

7-minute read · 1,420 words · Read the guide →
Commercial investigation

Documents Needed for a Business Valuation

A prioritized document list for a confidential preliminary review and the deeper work that follows.

7-minute read · 1,412 words · Read the guide →
Owner education and seller readiness

What Lowers a Business Valuation?

The operational and financial risks that reduce transferable earnings or the confidence placed on them.

7-minute read · 1,437 words · Read the guide →
Owner education

How Customer Concentration Affects Business Value

Measure the revenue, gross profit, relationship, and contract risk hidden behind a top-customer percentage.

7-minute read · 1,422 words · Read the guide →
Owner education and exit planning

How Owner Dependence Affects Business Value

Identify the jobs, licenses, relationships, and decisions a buyer must replace when the owner steps away.

7-minute read · 1,401 words · Read the guide →
Owner education

How Recurring Revenue Affects Business Value

Separate true contracted or behaviorally recurring revenue from sales that merely happened more than once.

7-minute read · 1,410 words · Read the guide →
Informational and transaction support

Enterprise Value Versus Equity Value

Understand the bridge from operating-business value to what the owner may receive before taxes and expenses.

7-minute read · 1,432 words · Read the guide →
Evaluation checklist for owners

Questions to Ask Before Trusting a Business Valuation

A due-diligence checklist for testing an online estimate, broker opinion, or preliminary valuation before relying on its number.

7-minute read · 1,516 words · Read the guide →