Q3 2009 Business Valuation Data

Sell My Mentor, OH Business

We just received the latest Mentor, Ohio business-for-sale statistics.

Median Ask Prices for Mentor, OH Businesses

If you are interested in trends in business-for-sale asking prices, here are the median asking prices for businesses in the Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH metro area for the last 11 quarters.

Quarter
Median Ask
Q1 2007
$246,586
Q2 2007
$217,500
Q3 2007
$180,000
Q4 2007
$185,000
Q1 2008
$199,000
Q2 2008
$199,000
Q3 2008
$180,000
Q4 2008
$180,000
Q1 2009
$177,500
Q2 2009
$168,772
Q3 2009
$190,000

As you can see from the chart above, Mentor business-for-sale listings in Q3 2009 had a median asking price of $190,000.

That compares to a median ask price of $180,000 in Q3 2008. With median asking prices for Mentor, OH businesses for sale trending up, we can conclude that only businesses that know they can command a premium price are willing to sell in this tough market.

Revenue Multiples for Mentor, OH Businesses

Here is how median revenue multiples are moving in the Mentor area, based on BizBuySell.com's quarterly reports.

Quarter
Revenue Multiple
Q1 2007
0.58
Q2 2007
0.64
Q3 2007
0.70
Q4 2007
0.69
Q1 2008
0.69
Q2 2008
0.74
Q3 2008
0.77
Q4 2008
0.72
Q1 2009
0.75
Q2 2009
0.73
Q3 2009
0.67

In the Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH metro area, companies will usually sell for 0.67 times the selling company's revenues. As shown in the chart above, that was the mean revenue multiple for Q3 2009 in this area of the country.

In other words, a business that has revenues of $150,000 might list for $101,026. Remember, however, that this is strictly an average for revenue multiples in the area. Some entities will have higher revenue multiples and others will have lower revenue multiples.

According to BizBuySell.com, the median revenues for its Mentor business-for-sale listings was $323,037 in Q3 2009.

To put this in perspective, the Q3 2008 revenue multiple was 0.77 and the median revenue for listed Mentor businesses was $311,582.

Cash Flow Multiples for Mentor, OH Businesses

The table below shows how cash flow multiples are trending in the Mentor area, based on BizBuySell.com's quarterly reports.

Quarter
Median Cash
Flow Multiple
Q1 2007
3.12
Q2 2007
3.15
Q3 2007
3.61
Q4 2007
3.57
Q1 2008
3.32
Q2 2008
3.44
Q3 2008
3.46
Q4 2008
3.45
Q1 2009
3.45
Q2 2009
3.06
Q3 2009
3.15

As you probably know, cash flow multiples are another popular technique to value a business.

For Q3 2009, the average cash flow multiple for listed businesses in the Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH metro area was 3.15.

So, a firm with cash flows of $110,000 might list for $346,199. That's only if the firm complies with the local average. Most businesses will not conform to industry- or area averages.

If you are interested in what cash flows are for a business in Mentor, BizBuySell.com reports that the median cash flow for Mentor area businesses was $64,128 in Q3 2009. In Q3 2008, Mentor cash flow multiples averaged 3.46 and the median cash flow was $72,000.

Number of Mentor Businesses for Sale in the Dataset

The study data comprised 78 listings in the Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH metro area. As such, some of the businesses used to derive the median valuation might be outside of Mentor, but they are in the area and so are likely representative of Mentor business valuations.

One year ago, in Q3 2008, the BizBuySell.com dataset for Mentor spanned 109 listings. In a market where you would think fewer business owners would be selling, it's a bit surprising to see more Mentor business-for-sale listings.

Should I Sell My Mentor, OH Business Now?

If you are trying to decide if this is a good time to sell a business, hire a third-party business appraisal firm to determine a business valuation for the company. This exercise should give you much better insights on whether it's a good time to sell or not. A consultation with a qualified business broker will also be very helpful to you. This useful business selling advice comes from Domenic Rinaldi, managing partner of Sun Acquisitions, a leading business brokerage firm.

Business Valuations for Mentor, OH Businesses

If you are contemplating buying a business or selling a business and would like to look at completed transaction sale price comparables in the area, we recommend the BizBuySell.com Business Valuation Tool. Based on your specific criteria, you can modify the company dataset that creates business valuation estimates. Access to the tool is very reasonable -- costing less than $100.

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.

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