What's Your Business Worth?
Individual investors are used to keeping a close eye on the value of their portfolios. But as a small business owner, are you also keeping careful watch over the value of what’s probably your biggest investment—your business? Although you may regularly monitor sales and profit figures, doing so without knowing how much your business is worth in today’s market is a mistake.
Most small business owners realize the importance of knowing their company’s worth during major transitional periods such as mergers and acquisitions, shareholder buyouts, and initial public offerings. However, every major business decision you make has the potential to affect the value of your company. Have you ever thought about relocating to more modern facilities, upgrading your technology, expanding your product line, or changing your management team? If so, knowing the current value of your business will help you predict more accurately what the impact of such actions is likely to be.
When asked, small business owners regularly overvalue or underestimate the worth of their companies by as much as 50 percent—which is understandable, given the complexity of the valuation process. Although no one formula can realistically estimate the value of your business, there are some basic variables that can be applied in most situations: current market conditions and the company’s stock value, earnings history, financial condition, and future earnings capacity. However, these basic components may not be as simple as they appear since they deal with factors such as supply and distribution contracts, tangible and intangible assets, and pending legal and regulatory issues, among others. Professional valuation firms—some of which specialize in serving small to medium-sized businesses—have the resources and experience to collect and interpret this essential information.
Different types of business valuations feature different levels of complexity. As a small business owner, the type that’s best for you probably will depend on why you’re having the valuation prepared. If you’re preparing a valuation for tax and estate planning purposes, a 59-60 appraisal may be your best choice. Based on IRS Revenue Ruling 59-60, this valuation compares a privately held company to public companies in the same or a similar line of business and then applies a lack of marketability discount or a control premium.
If you’re preparing a valuation for a specific purpose such as a sale, merger, or acquisition, you’ll probably need a more detailed appraisal tailored specifically for your purpose. In general, transactional appraisals require more time and money than 59-60 valuations because of additional factors such as products, management, and competitors to be examined.
Regardless of which type of valuation you need, it should be updated on a regular basis. If you review your business plan once a year, consider updating your business valuation at that time. Doing so will help you evaluate the effectiveness of last year’s business decisions and may even offer some insight into the year ahead. IBI
Most small business owners realize the importance of knowing their company’s worth during major transitional periods such as mergers and acquisitions, shareholder buyouts, and initial public offerings. However, every major business decision you make has the potential to affect the value of your company. Have you ever thought about relocating to more modern facilities, upgrading your technology, expanding your product line, or changing your management team? If so, knowing the current value of your business will help you predict more accurately what the impact of such actions is likely to be.
When asked, small business owners regularly overvalue or underestimate the worth of their companies by as much as 50 percent—which is understandable, given the complexity of the valuation process. Although no one formula can realistically estimate the value of your business, there are some basic variables that can be applied in most situations: current market conditions and the company’s stock value, earnings history, financial condition, and future earnings capacity. However, these basic components may not be as simple as they appear since they deal with factors such as supply and distribution contracts, tangible and intangible assets, and pending legal and regulatory issues, among others. Professional valuation firms—some of which specialize in serving small to medium-sized businesses—have the resources and experience to collect and interpret this essential information.
Different types of business valuations feature different levels of complexity. As a small business owner, the type that’s best for you probably will depend on why you’re having the valuation prepared. If you’re preparing a valuation for tax and estate planning purposes, a 59-60 appraisal may be your best choice. Based on IRS Revenue Ruling 59-60, this valuation compares a privately held company to public companies in the same or a similar line of business and then applies a lack of marketability discount or a control premium.
If you’re preparing a valuation for a specific purpose such as a sale, merger, or acquisition, you’ll probably need a more detailed appraisal tailored specifically for your purpose. In general, transactional appraisals require more time and money than 59-60 valuations because of additional factors such as products, management, and competitors to be examined.
Regardless of which type of valuation you need, it should be updated on a regular basis. If you review your business plan once a year, consider updating your business valuation at that time. Doing so will help you evaluate the effectiveness of last year’s business decisions and may even offer some insight into the year ahead. IBI