Entrepreneur Plus - Short White
For Subscribers

What's Your Company Worth?Whether you're selling your business, getting insurance or sorting through estate taxes, knowing your business's value comes in handy.

ByBill Fiduccia

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Valuing a business is always an imprecise science, even withlarge-cap public companies. For example, is the value of a largepublic company based on its market price? Its book value? Itspotential worth if broken into parts that have more perceived valuethan the whole? The answer is, there are many ways to determine thevalue of a company. Perhaps the best way to understand the value ofany business, large or small, is to look at who's doing thevaluing and for what purpose. For example, we'll wager that youwould value your family business differently for estate purposesvs. a sale of the business. This is why in many instances, morethan one value can be correct.

Regardless of how a business is valued, there are bothquantitative and qualitative factors that play a role in acomprehensive appraisal. Many of the elements that go into abusiness valuation can be classified in three categories:

Continue reading this article — and all of our other premium content with Entrepreneur+

Join the internet’s leading entrepreneur community! With your subscription you’ll get:

  • Unlimited access, including premium content
  • No ads
  • Subscription to狗万官方magazine
  • Four free e-books a year
  • Subscriber-only events with our experts

Editor's Pick

Related Topics

Business News

An 81-Year-Old Florida CEO Just Indicted for a $250 Million Ponzi Scheme Ran a Sprawling Senior Citizen Crime Ring

Carl Ruderman is the fifth senior citizen in the Miami-Fort-Lauderdale-Palm Beach metropolitan area to face charges in connection with the scam.

Business Culture

The Newest Workplace Trend Has HR Sounding The Alarm

HR departments are still figuring out how to handle "quiet quitting," but a new trend is taking over.

Business News

McDonald's Is Launching a Spinoff Restaurant Chain Based on a Beloved, Blast-From-the-Past Mascot

The company saw a lot of success with another former mascot, Grimace, in June.

Money & Finance

Want to Become a Millionaire? Follow Warren Buffett's 4 Rules.

企业家是不能过度指狗万官方望太多a company exit for their eventual 'win.' Do this instead.

Business News

Taco Bell Slammed With Lawsuit Over 'Especially Concerning' Advertisements, Allegedly Deceiving Customers

The class action lawsuit claims the chain is advertising more than they deliver.

Business News

Body of Missing 27-Year-Old Goldman Sachs Banker Found in Nearby Body of Water

John Castic, a 27-year-old Goldman Sachs employee, went missing around 2:30 a.m. on Saturday after attending a concert at the Brooklyn Mirage in East Williamsburg.