Q1 2009 Costs to Buy a Business
How Much Is My Milwaukee Business Worth?
Every quarter, BizBuySell.com published business valuation data, and we now have their latest Milwaukee, Wisconsin business valuation data for First Quarter 2009.
Q1 2009 Business Valuations in Milwaukee, WI
According to statistics issued by BizBuySell.com, Milwaukee business-for-sale listings in Q1 2009 had a median asking price of $300,000.
That compares to a median ask price of $392,500 in Q1 2008. Given that Milwaukee, WI median business asking prices appear to be dropping, it suggests that larger Milwaukee businesses in may be holding off on selling until the economy turns around.
Please understand that this is the median asking price for a business. If you want to buy a business, you may be able to buy a Milwaukee company for much less. However, some Milwaukee businesses may be selling for much more.
Also, this is the asking price for a Milwaukee business. When an owner lists a business for sale, they typically set a price that ends up being more than the ultimate sale price. A sale-to-ask ratio typically might be between 0.85 and 0.90, but of course it varies considerably. If an owner lists a business for $150,000, it might end up selling for between $127,500 and $135,000.
Number of Milwaukee Businesses for Sale in the Dataset
The study data comprised 100 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 Milwaukee, but they are in the area and so are probably representative of Milwaukee business valuations.
One year ago, in Q1 2008, the BizBuySell.com dataset for Milwaukee spanned 98 listings. The downward trend in the number of Milwaukee business-for-sale listings is indicative of the current down economy.
Q1 2009 Revenue Multiples In Milwaukee, WI
In the Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI metro area, businesses will typically sell for 1.04 times the selling company's revenues. That was the mean revenue multiple for Q1 2009 in this metro area.
In other words, a firm with revenues of $200,000 might list for $207,939. Keep in mind that this is just an average for revenue multiples in the area. Some firms will have higher revenue multiples and others will have lower revenue multiples.
According to BizBuySell.com, the median revenues for its business-for-sale listings was $493,087 in Q1 2009.
To put this in perspective, the Q1 2008 revenue multiple was 1.04 and the median revenue for listed businesses was $517,540.
Q1 2009 Cash Flow Multiples In Milwaukee, WI
Cash flow multiples are another common way to value a business.
For Q1 2009, the average cash flow multiple for listed businesses in the Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI metro area was 4.49.
So, a company with cash flows of $150,000 might have an asking price of $673,370. That's only if the firm complies with the local average. In practice, cash flow multiples can vary considerably from one business to another.
In case you were wondering what typical cash flows are for a business in Milwaukee, BizBuySell.com reports that the median cash flow for Milwaukee area businesses was $92,418 in Q1 2009. In Q1 2008, cash flow multiples clocked in at 3.74 and the median cash flow was $118,334.
Things to Consider When Selling a Business in Milwaukee, WI
The best time to sell a business is when you don't have to sell the business. If you have to sell under time pressure, you are not likely to get the best sale price. So, don't wait to sell a business until something (e.g. bad health, a divorce, etc.) forces you to sell. This advice on selling a business comes from Domenic Rinaldi, managing partner of Sun Acquisitions, a leading business brokerage firm.
Business Valuations for Milwaukee, WI Businesses
If you are contemplating buying a business or selling a business and would like to value a specific business, we suggest you try the BizBuySell.com Business Valuation Tool. You can modify the dataset that creates business valuation estimates to meet your specific criteria. As a bonus, 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 report that tracks trends in the business-for-sale marketplace. If you find these trends interesting, take a moment to visit BizBuySell.com Insights Report for more information.
Historical Data for Milwaukee, WI Business Valuations
If you are interested in trends in business-for-sale asking prices, here are the median asking prices for companies in the Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI metro area for the last 9 quarters.
Here is how median revenue multiples are changing in the Milwaukee area, based on BizBuySell.com's quarterly reports.
The table below shows how cash flow multiples are trending in the Milwaukee area, based on BizBuySell.com's quarterly reports.
Flow Multiple
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