Category Archives: Business Valuation & Appraisal

A discussion of the issues involved in valuation / appraisal of a business by William Bruce, president of the American Business Brokers Association.

What Are the Differences Between EBITDA and Seller’s Discretionary Earnings (SDE)?

Posted on August 24, 2020 by William Bruce

Updated July 18, 2025 The differences between EBITDA and Seller’s Discretionary Earnings (SDE) cause confusion. Sometimes the two terms are incorrectly viewed as interchangeable, but there are important differences. First, some definitions. Both are business performance benchmarks that are widely … Continue reading →

Posted in Business Valuation & Appraisal, Valuing, Buying or Selling a Business | Tagged difference in EBITDA and SDE, EBITDA defined, SDE defined, seller's discretionary earnings defined, William Bruce Business Broker | 9 Comments

Considering Buying a Business? Here Are the 6 Most Frequently Asked Questions.

Posted on August 3, 2020 by William Bruce

The most frequently asked question by individuals who are considering buying a business and answers by William Bruce, President, American Business Brokers Association. Continue reading →

Posted in Business Valuation & Appraisal, Valuing, Buying or Selling a Business | Tagged Business valuation versus asking price, buying a business, Buying a business issues, Down payment to buy business, Financing a business acquisition, loan to buy a business, Q&A for buying a business, What are discretionary earnings or cash flow, What is due diligence when buying business, William Bruce Business Discussion | 4 Comments

The Best and Worst Franchises to Own Ranked by SBA Loan Default Rates

Posted on June 29, 2020 by William Bruce

This is an article by William Bruce containing a list of the best and worst franchises as ranked by SBA loan default rates. Continue reading →

Posted in Business Valuation & Appraisal, Franchises, Valuing, Buying or Selling a Business | Tagged Best and worst franchises, best franchise investment, Buffalo Wild Wings, CHRISTIAN BROTHERS AUTOMOTIVE, COMFORT INN, COMFORT KEEPERS, franchise loan defaults, HOME INSTEAD SENIOR CARE, IMAGE SUN, NOBLE ROMAN PIZZA, ONCE UPON A CHILD, Play N Trade, SBA loan defaults, William Bruce Business Broker, WIRELESS TOYZ, worst franchise investment, Zeppe's | 32 Comments

Buying or Selling a Business? Use These 7 Negotiating Tips.

Posted on May 26, 2020 by William Bruce

Once an initial and contingent written offer to buy or sell a business has been made, the transaction usually enters the negotiation phase. The negotiation phase is really not complicated. Most likely you’ve already bought a car and/or a home. The negotiations over the price of a business are similar. Here are seven suggestions to help.
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Posted in Business Valuation & Appraisal, Valuing, Buying or Selling a Business | Tagged business broker, business purchase negotiations, buy a business, buying a business, negotiating to buy business, negotiations to buy business, sale a business, Sell a Business, William Bruce Sunbelt Business Brokers | 8 Comments

Here’s How to Write an Offer to Purchase a Business.

Posted on May 18, 2020 by William Bruce

Let’s say you have looked at several businesses for sale and narrowed it down to the one that you want to pursue. You think you might want to make an offer on this business, but you’re not quite sure. You have a little anxiety about the unknowns. You wish you had more in-depth details on the business. This blog post shows you how to handle the situation like a pro. Continue reading →

Posted in Business Valuation & Appraisal, Valuing, Buying or Selling a Business | Tagged buy sell agreement to buy business, buying a business, contingent offer to buy a business, how to make offer to buy business, Letter of intent to buy a business, offer to pruchase a business, purchase a business | 179 Comments

Here’s How to Quickly Estimate the Market Value of a Small Business

Posted on May 11, 2020 by William Bruce

Estimating the value of a business based on appraisal rules of thumb and guidelines using a multiple of cash flow or a percentage of revenue. Continue reading →

Posted in Business Valuation & Appraisal, Valuing, Buying or Selling a Business | Tagged Business, business appraisal valuation rule of thumb guidelines, business valuation appraisal guideline, business valuation appraisal rule of thumb, business valuation formula, business value as a multiple of cash flow, business worth as a percentage of revenue, business worth guideline formula, cash flow, Discounted cash flow, discretionary cash flow, how to price a business for resale, How to price a business or company, Rule of thumb, rule of thumb business valuation, Small business valuation, William Bruce Business Broker | 214 Comments

Business Broker Training From the American Business Brokers Association

Posted on May 5, 2020 by William Bruce

Do you want to become a professional business broker? If so, there is no better option than the business broker training program offered by the American Business Brokers Association. For individuals considering becoming business brokers, the business broker training seminar … Continue reading →

Posted in Business Valuation & Appraisal, Valuing, Buying or Selling a Business | Tagged Business broker career, business broker training, how to become a business broker | Leave a comment

Here’s How to Value a Restaurant or Bar Business

Posted on April 14, 2020 by William Bruce

Certain situations require a formal, fully documented business appraisal. However, what we’re talking about here is not a formal appraisal but rather the informal methods of quickly approximating the value of the restaurant or bar. All of the guidelines we’ll quote are averages derived from hundreds of completed transactions reported to regional and national databases. There are two methods of quickly approximating the value of a business …
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Posted in Business Valuation & Appraisal, Franchises, Valuing, Buying or Selling a Business | Tagged Bar & lounge valuation appraisal, Beef O'Brady's, Chick-Fil-A, dairy queen, Domino's Pizza, fast food franchise valuation appraisal, How much is a bar worth, How to appraise a bar, How to appraise or value a restaurant, How to value a bar, Kentucky Fried Chicken, KFC, Panera Bread, Restaurant business appraisal, Restaurant business valuation, Subway Sandwich, What is a bar worth, William Bruce Business Broker | 45 Comments

The 3 Most Critical Issues in Buying or Selling a Business

Posted on April 7, 2020 by William Bruce

More and more individuals are now viewing small business ownership as a viable alternative to the vagaries of corporate America. As the founder of Sunbelt Business Brokers said recently, “There is no more job security. The only job security you’ve got nowadays is the person looking at you in the mirror.” These are the top 3 issues involved in buying or selling a business. Continue reading →