[Sunshine/Cleaning]

How much is a business worth?

People keep asking, this may help.

http://www.monahans.co.uk/web/services-businesstransfer-calculator.asp

[clearlyclean]

mine came out at minus £50  useful little tool if you were trying to get investors

[AuRavelling79]

160K!!!!!!!

I'd bite their hands off!

[Paul Coleman]

£166k.
Yeah like someone is going to pay that out.

[ronnie paton]

i have to agree mine said nearly 400k bloody hell it would be gone!!

[Sunshine/Cleaning]

My mate is selling his mega millions business and says 5x yearly profit plus assets is how it will be sold. 3 years ago he could have got 8x.

Thats net profit after wages.

He'll have no need to work again.

[Sean Dyer]

none of our sole trading busineses will be worth much on there as they dont generate profit without you working and taking a wage, your wage is the profit, whereas if you had a business running itself you would get alot for it

[Londoner]

Who would be silly enough to pay big money for a window cleaning round? A few thousand maybe for goodwill perhaps. Thats if you can find somebody with a few thousand to hand over.

Most people start window cleaning because they are skint! Its not a bad business, in fact I think its a great business but not the sort of business you can sell.

Incidentally, a little story from one of my customers this week. Her late father in law had a paraffin round. Used to work 8 months of the year and made an absolute fortune apparantly

[Sunshine/Cleaning]

none of our sole trading busineses will be worth much on there as they dont generate profit without you working and taking a wage, your wage is the profit, whereas if you had a business running itself you would get alot for it

Mine makes a small profit on the books which is either re-invested or sits there as a bank balance.

My accountant started to do a profit and loss sheet for me a few years ago and this highlights the yearly profit and assets after drawings.

This year may be different as i lost £2k with the van.

Your right in essence though, most sole traders draw ALL of their profit.

So in my case it would be 5x this small profit plus assets, which would include 'goodwill'.

For employers this would maximise any value as each employee would make some profit.
My mate selling has more than 100 staff, (not window cleaning however) and his profit is sky high!

[Sean Dyer]

So if you have two vans out and earn 60 k sat on your butt thats worth a few grand of good will?

[Londoner]

Sadly thats about it. Round here I have known a couple of window cleaners who have tried to sell their rounds and never got any takers. Lots of time wasters and dreamers but nobody with a bundle of notes in their hand.
In the end they just let the round go and the vultures move in to pick up all their old customers for free.

[Sean Dyer]

They dont know the right people or the rounds weren't good enough

i would buy good work any day, you will never lose, it is worth while, good will or not, good will can be valuable, after all it is GOOD will

[darren clarke]

a lot of the time when work comes up for sale you have to ask if it is so good and makes so much why is it for sale, why not rent out and just sit at home

[ronnie paton]

So if you have two vans out and earn 60 k sat on your butt thats worth a few grand of good will?

why would someone in this situation sell for peanuts when they could continue to do nothing for 60k, these are the people that dont have to sell but if they do will get top money

[Sean Dyer]

So if you have two vans out and earn 60 k sat on your butt thats worth a few grand of good will?

why would someone in this situation sell for peanuts when they could continue to do nothing for 60k, these are the people that dont have to sell but if they do will get top money

Exactly, vince is just gutted his work isnt worth anything

[ronnie paton]

a lot of the time when work comes up for sale you have to ask if it is so good and makes so much why is it for sale, why not rent out and just sit at home

what i would say to this is you could risk losing all your work or some when renting it out

[Londoner]

So if you have two vans out and earn 60 k sat on your butt thats worth a few grand of good will?

why would someone in this situation sell for peanuts when they could continue to do nothing for 60k, these are the people that dont have to sell but if they do will get top money

Exactly, vince is just gutted his work isnt worth anything

Not gutted but certainly realistic about the chances of ever selling it on. the way things are going round here my sons will take over my business. And its a good legacy to be able to pass on.

[Sean Dyer]

will they want a bit of worthless good will though??

[Londoner]

a lot of the time when work comes up for sale you have to ask if it is so good and makes so much why is it for sale, why not rent out and just sit at home

what i would say to this is you could risk losing all your work or some when renting it out

I know a WC called Chris who rented his round out and a year on the bloke who was renting told him to "clear off"( modified ). Its my round now.

[Londoner]

will they want a bit of worthless good will though??

I hope they will be able to get a better job but I hold out less hope as time goes on. Its an earner, thats all you can say. It will provide them with an income when I can't do it anymore.