Buying a Business
Cost to Buy a Business in Tulsa
Considering purchasing a company in Tulsa, Oklahoma? You're no doubt wondering how much a typical Tulsa, Oklahoma business costs to buy.
Fortunately, a company called BizBuySell.com has made some data available on what businesses are going for in Tulsa.
BizBuySell.com is the biggest business-for-sale listings site on the Internet, offering over 50,000 businesses for sale at any given time. When a business broker in a local city has a listing, the broker will typically post it on BizBuySell.com. In addition, many business owners who are selling on their own, without a broker, will place listings on BizBuySell.com.
If you are looking to buy a business in Oklahoma, peruse the BizBuySell Oklahoma listings to see the latest business-for-sale listings for Tulsa and other Oklahoma municipalities.
Tulsa, OK Business Valuations
According to BizBuySell.com, the median asking price for an Tulsa business-for-sale listing in Q4 2008, the quarter when they most recently released their data, was $410,000.
That was based on 35 listings in the Tulsa, OK metro area. Many of the businesses in the dataset are outside of Tulsa, but they are close by and so are probably representative of Tulsa business valuations.
Note that this is the median asking price for a business. If you are in the market to buy a company, you may be able to buy an Tulsa business for much less. At the same time, some Tulsa businesses may cost much more.
Another thing you should know is that this is the asking price for an Tulsa business. Typically, when a business owner lists a business for sale, they start with an asking price that is higher than the eventual sale price. The sale-price-to-asking-price ratio varies considerably but typically might be between 0.85 and 0.90. As such, a business listed for $175,000 might sell for between $148,750 and $157,500.
If you are interested in trends in business-for-sale asking prices, here are the median asking prices for businesses in the Tulsa, OK metro area for the last 8 quarters.
Tulsa, OK Revenue Multiples
In the Tulsa, OK metro area, companies will usually sell for 0.85 times the selling company's revenues. That was the mean revenue multiple for Q4 2008 in this area of the country.
In other words, a business that has revenues of $200,000 might list for $169,076. Remember, however, that this is in fact an average for revenue multiples in the area. Some firms will have higher revenue multiples and others will have lower revenue multiples.
Here is how median revenue multiples are trending in the Tulsa area, based on BizBuySell.com's economic data.
According to BizBuySell.com, the median revenues for its business-for-sale listings was $513,000 in Q4 2008.
Cash Flow Multiples In Tulsa, OK
Another useful technique to value a business is through cash flow multiples.
For Q4 2008, the average cash flow multiple for businesses listed in the Tulsa, OK metro area was 4.09.
So, a firm with cash flows of $120,000 might have an asking price of $490,550. That's if the business fits the area average. Actual cash flow multiples are based on business specifics.
The table below shows how cash flow multiples are trending in the Tulsa area, based on BizBuySell.com's quarterly reports.
Flow Multiple
If you are interested in what cash flows are for a business in Tulsa, BizBuySell.com determined that the median cash flow for Tulsa area businesses was $108,647 in Q4 2008.
Things to Consider When Buying a Business in Tulsa, OK
When buying a business, always start with a self assessment. Ask yourself why you want to buy a business. What types of work activities do you like and what kind of lifestyle do you want to pursue? Be sure to include your family in the assessment. This helpful tip comes from Domenic Rinaldi, managing partner of Chicagoland Sunbelt, a leading business brokerage firm.
Business Valuations for Tulsa, OK Businesses
If you have a specific business in mind and want to look at comparables in the area, we recommend the BizBuySell.com Business Valuation Tool. You can refine the dataset that generates business valuations to meet your specific needs, and access to the tool is very affordable -- less than $100.
More Information on BizBuySell.com's Quarterly Reports
The BizBuySell Insight Report is a nationally-recognized economic indicator that tracks the health of the U.S. small business economy. If you find this data interesting, be sure to visit BizBuySell.com Insights Report for additional information.
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