Most owners can tell you almost to the dollar what their inventory cost, what their trucks are worth, and what they paid for the building. Ask them what the business itself is worth, and the answer usually turns into a guess — a number borrowed from a competitor’s rumored sale, a multiple someone mentioned at a conference, or simply what they feel they deserve after years of work. That guess is exactly why so many sales fall apart, and it is exactly what an Opinion of Value is designed to replace.
An Opinion of Value is a professional, evidence-based estimate of what your business would realistically sell for in today’s market. At Meritus Group, I prepare these the way a serious buyer will eventually evaluate your company — by looking at the numbers that actually drive a transaction, not the ones that feel good on paper.
What an Opinion of Value Actually Measures
A credible Opinion of Value starts with your earnings, recast to reflect what a new owner would truly take home. That means calculating Seller’s Discretionary Earnings (SDE) for smaller, owner-operated companies, or EBITDA for larger ones, and then carefully applying add-backs — the personal, one-time, or discretionary expenses that artificially lower your reported profit. A vehicle you run through the business, an above-market salary, a one-time legal cost: each of these can legitimately increase the earnings a buyer should consider.
From there, I apply market multiples drawn from comparable sales in your industry and size range, then adjust for the factors that make your specific company more or less attractive: customer concentration, owner dependence, recurring revenue, the condition of your equipment, and the strength of your team. The result is a defensible range, not a fantasy number.
Why You Want This Before You List, Not After
Owners who go to market without an Opinion of Value tend to make one of two expensive mistakes. They price too high, watch the listing go stale, and then accept a lowball offer out of frustration. Or they price too low and leave real money on the table — money they will never recover once the deal closes.
A proper valuation gives you something far more useful than a single number. It gives you a roadmap. If your business is worth less than you hoped, you learn why, and you usually have time to fix it before you sell. If it is worth more than you expected, you can move forward with confidence and back up your asking price with data when a buyer pushes back.
It Protects Your Confidentiality and Your Leverage
Getting an Opinion of Value early also lets you have a private, no-pressure conversation about your options long before anyone in your market knows you are thinking about selling. You stay in control of the timeline, the messaging, and the decision. Knowledge is leverage, and in a business sale, leverage is everything.
Ready to find out what your business is truly worth? Request a confidential Opinion of Value from Meritus Group Business Brokerage today. Call (877) 367-0977 or reach out through MERITUS.GROUP, and let’s put a real number behind your years of work.