Buying a Business
Cost to Buy a Business in West Allis
Considering purchasing a company in West Allis, Wisconsin? Your first question will probably be "How much does it cost to buy a business in West Allis?"
The good news is the folks at BizBuySell.com have made some data available on what businesses are going for in West Allis.
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 want to buy a company in Wisconsin, check out the BizBuySell Wisconsin listings to see the latest business-for-sale listings for West Allis and other Wisconsin municipalities.
Business Valuations in West Allis, WI
According to BizBuySell.com, the median asking price for an West Allis business-for-sale listing in Q4 2008, the quarter when they most recently released their data, was $367,450.
That was based on 84 listings in the Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI metro area. As such, some of the businesses used to derive the median valuation might be outside of West Allis, but they are in the area and so are likely representative of West Allis 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 West Allis business for much less. At the same time, some West Allis businesses may cost much more.
Another thing you should know is that this is the asking price for an West Allis 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. In other words, a business listed for $100,000 might sell for between $85,000 and $90,000.
If you are interested in trends in business-for-sale asking prices, here are the median asking prices for businesses in the Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI metro area for the last 8 quarters.
Revenue Multiples In West Allis, WI
In the Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI metro area, small businesses will typically sell for 1.02 times the selling company's revenues. That was the mean revenue multiple for Q4 2008 in this part of the country.
In other words, a business that has revenues of $200,000 might list for $203,239. Keep in mind 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 West Allis area, based on BizBuySell.com's quarterly reports.
According to BizBuySell.com, the median revenues for its business-for-sale listings was $505,433 in Q4 2008.
Cash Flow Multiples In West Allis, WI
Another popular way to value a business is through cash flow multiples.
For Q4 2008, the average cash flow multiple for businesses listed in the Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI metro area was 4.42.
So, a business with cash flows of $120,000 might have an asking price of $530,939. 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 West Allis area, based on BizBuySell.com's quarterly reports.
Flow Multiple
If you are interested in what cash flows are for a business in West Allis, BizBuySell.com reports that the median cash flow for West Allis area businesses was $97,640 in Q4 2008.
Tips for West Allis, WI Business Buyers
Before you start the process of buying a business, line up a team of professional advisors. Alert your attorney, accountant and financial advisors that you are looking for a business to buy. This good advice comes from Domenic Rinaldi, managing partner of Chicagoland Sunbelt, a leading business brokerage firm.
Business Valuations for West Allis, WI 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 published on a quarterly basis. If you find this data interesting, be sure to visit BizBuySell.com Insights Report for more information.
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