🧠 Sin Spotlight: The 1-Customer Problem

🧯 Deadly Sin: Ignoring Customer Concentration Risk If one client makes up 30%+ of revenue, your cash flow has a single point of failure. Yet appraisals often: āŒ Ignore this riskāŒ Apply normal multiplesāŒ Assume ā€œit’ll be fineā€ šŸ“Œ Appraisers and SBA lenders must adjust value—or structure around it—when concentration threatens stability.

The Impact of Key Person Loss on Business Valuation in the SBA Loan Context

The sudden death or departure of a key individual—often the founder or owner—can devastate a small business’s viability and value. When operations, customer relationships, or specialized knowledge hinge on a single person, the loss can shift a business from a going concern to distress. This white paper examines the financial, operational, and valuation consequences of … Continue reading The Impact of Key Person Loss on Business Valuation in the SBA Loan Context

Why the Harmonic Mean is Best for Analyzing Financial Ratios

When analyzing business valuation multiples—such as price-to-revenue (P/R) or price-to-EBITDA—choosing the right type of average is essential to avoid misleading conclusions. While many professionals default to the arithmetic mean (a simple average), a more accurate and meaningful metric for ratios is the harmonic mean. This article explains why, using real-world examples and straightforward explanations for … Continue reading Why the Harmonic Mean is Best for Analyzing Financial Ratios

šŸŽ Resource Drop: Franchise Valuation Checklist

šŸ“˜ We created a Franchise Valuation Checklist for SBA lenders and analysts. Includes: āœ… Common franchise-specific red flagsāœ… Required adjustmentsāœ… Royalty treatmentāœ… Risk factors šŸ“© Click here to grab your copy.

šŸ“Š Case Study: The Royalty Black Hole

šŸ• A franchise showed $180K in free cash flow. But the financials didn’t include: 8% royalty 3% marketing fee Real FCF? ~$100KBuyer was overpaying—lender got nervous—deal barely closed. Don’t let brand strength blind you to contract risk.

🧠 Sin Spotlight: The Franchise Valuation Trap

šŸ” Not all franchise deals are created equal. We’ve seen appraisals that: Apply generic multiples without royalties Ignore franchisor contract risks Overstate goodwill based on brand alone šŸ“Œ SBA-compliant appraisals must adjust for: āœ… Royaltiesāœ… Franchise feesāœ… Transfer restrictionsāœ… Control limitations The brand has value—but the buyer’s control of that value can be limited. And … Continue reading 🧠 Sin Spotlight: The Franchise Valuation Trap

šŸŽ Resource Drop: Job vs Business Checklist

šŸ“‹ We built a Job vs. Business Checklist to help SBA lenders separate sustainable enterprises from solo hustles. āœ… Key operating questionsāœ… Transferability testāœ… Red flags for owner relianceāœ… SBA loan implications šŸ“© Click here to grab your copy.

šŸ“Š Case Study: One-Person HVAC Biz

šŸ› ļø $175K in ā€œcash flow.ā€ Looked great—until we realized: No techs No admin Owner did sales, bids, service, collections Market comp to replace the owner: $85K+True FCF: ~$90KValuation fell apart. šŸ“Œ If you remove the owner and the business collapses—it’s not a transferable enterprise.

🧠 Sin Spotlight: Valuing a Job, Not a Business

🧯 Deadly Sin: Valuing a Job, Not a Business If the business: šŸ‘¤ Requires the owner to do everything or the vast majority of workšŸ“ˆ Has no systems, employees, or scaleāŒ Has no transferable goodwill... …it’s not a business. It’s a job with risk. šŸ“Œ We see this most in professional services, owner-operated trades, and … Continue reading 🧠 Sin Spotlight: Valuing a Job, Not a Business

šŸŽ Resource Drop: Book Value vs FMV Cheat Sheet

šŸ“˜ We’ve created a Book Value vs. FMV Cheat Sheet for SBA lenders and analysts. Includes: āœ… Accounting vs. economic definitionsāœ… When book value is relevantāœ… Red flags in asset-heavy deals šŸ“© Click here to grab your copy.