First, you determine the company's profit or their gross income minus expenses. Once you arrive at an annual profit, you multiply that amount by a multiplier that you determine. The result is the value of the business.
The Sharks will usually confirm that the entrepreneur is valuing the company at $1 million in sales. The Sharks would arrive at that total because if 10% ownership equals $100,000, it means that one-tenth of the company equals $100,000, and therefore, ten-tenths (or 100%) of the company equals $1 million.
For example, a business that is doing $300,000 in profit per year sold for at 2.44X would have a sale price of $732,000 ($300,000*2.44=$732,000). This works in reverse as well — if a business sold for $732,000 at 2.44X, then ($732,000/2.44) means the profit was $300,000.
To find the fair market value, it is then necessary to divide that figure by the capitalization rate. Therefore, the income approach would reveal the following calculations. Projected sales are $500,000, and the capitalization rate is 25%, so the fair market value is $125,000.
So as an example, a company doing $2 million in real revenue (I'll explain below) should target a profit of 10 percent of that $2 million, owner's pay of 10 percent, taxes of 15 percent and operating expenses of 65 percent. Take a couple of seconds to study the chart.
The Revenue Multiple (times revenue) Method
A venture that earns $1 million per year in revenue, for example, could have a multiple of 2 or 3 applied to it, resulting in a $2 or $3 million valuation. Another business might earn just $500,000 per year and earn a multiple of 0.5, yielding a valuation of $250,000.
Factors affecting small business valuation
Thus, buyers have to approach the deal as if they are purchasing a job. Businesses where the owner is actively-involved typically sell for 2-3 times the annual earnings of the company. A business that earns $100,000 per year should sell for $200,000-$300,000.
The multiple used might be higher if the company or industry is poised for growth and expansion. Since these companies are expected to have a high growth phase with a high percentage of recurring revenue and good margins, they would be valued in the three- to four-times-revenue range.
A business will likely sell for two to four times seller's discretionary earnings (SDE)range –the majority selling within the 2 to 3 range. In essence, if the annual cash flow is $200,000, the selling price will likely be between $400,000 and $600,000.
The Revenue Multiple Method
The revenue multiple used often falls between 0.5 to 5 times yearly revenue depending on the industry. For a company doing $2 million in gross annual sales, that could equate to a business valuation between $1 million (0.5X multiplier) up to $10 million (5X yearly sales).
Unicorn is the term used in the venture capital industry to describe a startup company valued at over $1 billion.
Take your total assets and subtract your total liabilities. This approach makes it easy to trace to the valuation because it's coming directly from your accounting/record keeping.
As mentioned, the most typical rules of thumb are based on a multiple of sales or earnings that other similar businesses have sold for. For example, an accounting firm generating $200,000 in revenues that should sell at 1.25 times (125% of) annual sales would have an asking price of $250,000.
The typical range for a small business is 1.5 to 3x SDE. Higher earnings, fast growth, and stellar margins can all help to increase the multiple. Bring it all together. Next, we determine the expected value of the business by multiplying the company's SDE figure by the determined multiple.
While $3 million in sales is certainly impressive, it doesn't automatically translate to a specific valuation. The true worth of your business depends on a complex interplay of factors, including: Profitability: Your net profit margin (after all expenses) is a critical driver of value.
Main Street Deals (Sub $3m Revenue)
Companies with under $3m in sales will typically sell for 2.5 – 3.5 X their discretionary earnings (total cash the owner could take out of the company). Smaller companies that are even more owner-reliant will even be lower than that.
What's a good profit margin for a small business? Although profit margin varies by industry, 7 to 10% is a healthy profit margin for most small businesses. Some companies, like retail and food, can be financially stable with lower profit margin because they have naturally high overhead.
The IRS recognizes that it generally takes a few years for startup businesses to become profitable. As long as you made a profit in three of the past five tax years (including the current year), the IRS considers your business a for-profit activity.
Middle class is defined as income that is two-thirds to double the national median income, or $47,189 and $141,568. By that definition, $100,000 is considered middle class. Keep in mind that those figures are for the nation. Each state has a different range of numbers to be considered middle class.
A $100,000 salary is considered good in most parts of the country, and can cover typical expenses, pay down debt, build savings, and allow for entertainment and hobbies. According to the U.S. Census, only 15.3% of American households make more than $100,000 annually.
Becoming your own boss can improve your chance of becoming a millionaire by unlocking unlimited earning potential. In fact, according to Forbes, 67% of the richest American billionaires are self-made entrepreneurs! Owning a business isn't for everyone – and it can be difficult to know what your first steps should be.
Additionally, statistics show that the top 2% of the United States population has a net worth of about $2.4 million. On the other hand, the top 5% wealthiest Americans have a net worth of just over $1 million. Therefore, about 2% of the population possesses enough wealth to meet the current definition of being rich.
Business valuators determine the blue sky value by multiplying by pre-tax earnings by the blue sky multiple. The second element of the method is the net assets value (value of tangible assets) determined from the adjusted balance sheet.
9% of small businesses make over $1 million
It's likely that this number is higher today. There are 16% of owners less successful, making less than $10,000 per year. If you were to start a small business now, the most lucrative industries are technology, health, and energy.