What’s My Business Worth?

How valuation really works (and what to ignore on Google)

You’ve typed it into Google. You’ve clicked through the calculator sites. You’ve seen the multiple ranges: “3x EBITDA,” “5x SDE,” “10x ARR” — whatever that means. But here’s the truth: your business isn’t worth what a formula says.

It’s worth what someone’s willing to pay for it. And that number depends on more than just a spreadsheet.

Let’s cut through the fluff and show you how valuation actually works.

1. You’re Not Selling a Product. You’re Selling a Risk Profile.

Buyers don’t just pay for profit. They pay for predictability.

The more stable and transferable your business looks, the more it’s worth.

The more chaos, dependency, or mystery, the more discount you’re getting — if you get an offer at all.

Ask yourself:

• Can this business run without me?
• Are the financials clean and up to date?
• Are customers, vendors, and key staff locked in or floating loose?
• Does this business have staying power — or is it riding a one-time wave?

2. Multiples Are a Starting Point — Not a Promise

You might hear “Businesses like yours go for 4x SDE.”

Great. But what if:

• Your industry is in decline?
• You’re customer-concentrated?
• You’ve got one foot out the door, and everyone knows it?

That 4x might drop to 2.8 in real life — or climb to 5.5 if your business is turnkey, growing, and clean.

Multiples are shorthand. The real number comes from the deal’s structure, your buyer type, and how well you’ve prepped.

3. Valuation = Price 

Structure Terms
Say you get a $3 million offer.

Are you getting:

• All cash at close?
• Half now, half in an earn-out?
• Stock in a company you can’t vet?
• A promissory note with a balloon and no collateral?

Those details matter. A lower cash offer with clean terms might be better than a big number with strings and fantasy math.

Pro tip: Ask not just what the business is worth — ask what the exit is worth.

4. What the Buyer Plans to Do Matters

A strategic buyer might pay more than a financial buyer.

A private equity firm might structure it one way. A search fund another.

Your neighbor’s kid might offer you full price with none of the skills to actually close.

Valuation is shaped by the buyer’s lens — not just your numbers.

That’s why it helps to position your business for the right buyers before you ever list it.

5. Google Can’t See Your Story

It can’t see that you’ve got two managers who could run the place without blinking.

Or that you negotiated a five-year vendor contract at below-market pricing.

Or that your industry just got a demand tailwind no spreadsheet could predict.

Valuation isn’t about finding a number. It’s about telling the right story behind the number.

And that’s something calculators don’t do.