Archive for July 10th, 2008
Posted by: in Your Business
Well, I didn’t want to rain on the parade yesterday, but it looks like no good news in sight for the US economy. Bloomberg reported on Thursday that, for June:
- Jobs were cut
- Payrolls fell
- Unemployment remained at 5.5 percent (too high)
- Home prices continue to fall
- Gas prices continue to rise (causing people to adjust their 4th of July travel plans)
- And Starbucks will close 600 U.S. locations. I think about Starbucks kind of a bellwether- if they’re cutting back, that means people are drinking less costly coffee, which means discretionary spending is being cut back. People are doing a lot of belt-tightening.
Is this a recession? What does this mean for your business? What are you doing differently?
Image details: Economic Warning Signs Increase served by picapp.com
Tags: baby boomers, gas prices, small businesses, Starbucks, subprime lending crisis
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Posted by: in Small Business
Filed under: Small business
 Let’s state you want to sell or purchase a business. Or, suppose you want to gift a piece of your business to your family. Maybe you want to raise capital?
Well, you’ll need to determine the value of your business.
So, to get some perspective on the topic, I spoke to Scott Gabehart. He has valued over 700 businesses since 1991 and has written several books on the topic, such as The Business Valuation Book (with CD-ROM) .
According to him, there are several approaches to getting a valuation:
Do-It-Yourself: Yes, the valuation process can be extremely complex. But Gabehart has an easy system that will provide a rough estimate.
First, you will need to calculate your company’s adjusted cash flow (ACF). This is:
Net income
+ Your salary
+ Your perks (personal travel, discretionary expenses)
+ Depreciation
+ Interest expense
After all, it’s common for owners to use their business to pay for personal expenses. Thus, it’s important to factor our certain items (for example, depreciation is a non-cash expense).
Now, once you have the ACF, you need to multiply it by a multiple. Generally, the higher the ACF, the higher the multiple.
Here are some guidelines from Gabehart:
- ACF up to $250K, multiples of 1 to 3
- ACF between $250K and $500K, multiples of 3 to 5
- ACF between $500K and $1m, multiples of 5 to 7
- ACF over $1m, multiples over 7
On the internet Services: There are some web sites that generate basic valuations, which are usually based on real transactions. Examples include: BizBuySell.com and BizComps.com.
However, you need to be wary. According to David C. Baker (who operates ReCourses), valuation web services might “essentially be billboards to get you to hire a consulting firm, with very tiny hard content from a thought leadership perspective.”
Hire a Valuation Firm: Like any consulting industry, there are varying degrees of quality (yes, some valuation firms are fairly mediocre).
So, when selecting a valuation expert, look for the following:
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Antitrust Activity Has Tiny Impact on Small Firms - MarketWatch
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Filed under: Estates
It has some serious issues with carpet color but I like this San Antonio, Texas home because it looks like a real family home. The five-bedroom home was built 17 years ago by Texas architect Mac Chesney. It’s got expansive covered outdoor living space that includes a full outdoor kitchen, wet bar, grill and fireplace. The family room and kitchen feature a vaulted peaked ceiling and plenty of space. The formal living room and dining room are a wee bit dated but I like the oak-paneled library, once you get rid of the carpeting.
I think this home could use a little modernizing. The fenced swimming pool doesn’t have a pool home but the grounds are pre-wired so that a guest home or cabana can be added. Above the three-car garage there is a full kitchen and bath and it could be completed into a luxury guest suite. This home is listed at $4.5 million.
For more prime properties and lush locations, see Luxury Homes and Mansions.
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Continue reading Ivy Lane, Estate of the Day
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Posted by: in Your Business
Image details: Thinkstock Single Image Set served by picapp.com
Our U.S. flag. It’s been around a long time, and it has seen a lot of war and destruction, a lot of happiness and grief. It’s not Flag Day, but the flag is what I think of on the 4th of July.
Here is a great story about the meaning of our flag, from usflag.org.
Image details: US Marine Corps War Memorial served by picapp.com
Tags: 4th of July, baby boomers, independence day, u.s. flag
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Posted by: in Your Business
Image details: Yin-yang symbol served by picapp.com
Baby Boomers: July is a great time to take stock of your personal and business life. Even though it is not the traditional time to do this, it’s perfect as a mid-year stock-taking and possible course correction.
Being a “words” person, I got hung up on looking for the derivation of the term “taking stock.” I found some stuff about livestock, counting sheep, I guess. The term implies counting your assets and liabilities.
July a is a quiet time (unless you’re selling patio furniture or fishing supplies). Many people are on vacation, and business is a tiny slower. The pace will pick up in August/September, after the children go back to school, so take a few minutes now to reflect.
Over the next few days, I’ll give you some quotes to help you think/reflect/take stock. I’ll have some thoughts to go along with them, of course.
Today, from Talmudic sage Hillel:
If I am not for myself, who will be for me? Yes, if I am for myself alone, what good am I? And if not now — when?
To me, this saying implies balance, which is very important to me. Balancing our own wishes and desires (being selfish) with considering the wishes and desires of others (being unselfish and giving) is vital to a meaningful life. We can’t live just for ourselves. And we can’t live just for others. Finding the balance is often difficult. We all need both Yin and Yang.
How do you find that balance in your life? What could you do over the next few months to get some inner/outer balance in your life?
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Cherie Blair sorry over pocketing money - News.com.au
CHERIE Blair, the wife of former British prime minister Tony Blair, has admitted she was wrong to accept money for her controversial talking tour of Australia. Mrs Blair came under fire two years ago amid reports she had pocketed more than $A240,000
Koch giving $100 million to Lincoln Center theater - Newsday
NEW YORK - Billionaire oil baron David Koch has pledged $100 million to renovate the New York Say Theater at Lincoln Center . The theater, home to City Opera and the New York City Ballet, will be renamed the David H. Koch Theater. Koch (COKE) has
Elton Brand accepts 5-year $82 million deal from Sixers - Philadelphia Daily News
For Eddie Stefanski, this had been like 8 torturous days in the desert, telling himself there had to be an oasis out there somewhere. There had to be a haven where the 76ers’ president/general manager could get what he so desperately needed. Even
Iran too risky for investment, Total says - CNN Money
PARIS (AP) — French energy giant Total SA said Thursday it is too risky to invest in Iran for now, raising questions about the future of western involvement in developing Iranian gas reserves. “The conditions are not present for investing in Iran
State rebates hold key to solar plans - Boston Globe
The Nashoba Regional School District has spent years pursuing creative ways to cut its energy costs, stated William Spratt, its director of facilities, including a current effort to install solar panels atop two school buildings. The problem is, the
SectorWatch.biz Issues MarketStats on Healthy Living Companies UKMA - MSN MoneyCentral
lululemon athletica inc ( LULU ) Stock Quote , Chart , News , Add to Watchlist IRVINE, Calif., July 10 /PRNewswire/ — SectorWatch.biz announces the availability of MarketStats for Healthier Living equities in the news and driving markets today
US stocks head for moderately higher open - MSN MoneyCentral
NEW YORK (AP) - U.S. stocks headed for a moderately higher open Thursday as investors awaited a weekly government report on unemployment claims and reports from retailers on their June sales. The reports could offer insight into how the economy is
An uphill nutrition fight - Baltimore Sun
The TastyKake truck comes three times a week to the corner store on North Mount Street, rumbling past drug dealers and piles of trash to fill the racks with cupcakes and cream-filled chocolate bars. The Utz man comes twice to deliver little bags of
Whole Foods Market(R) Launches ‘The Real Deal’ Program With Budget - MSN MoneyCentral
AUSTIN, Texas, July 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Whole Foods Market WFMI , the leading natural and organic foods supermarket, announced this day the launch of a new, national program to provide specially-priced product discounts, money-saving coupons
US warns Iran on missile threat - BBC News
The US has stated it won’t hesitate to defend its interests and those of its allies as Iran continues missile tests. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stated the US had increased its security in the region and Iran should not be “confused” about US
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Filed under: Estates
As we mentioned during our most expensive zip code series, Alpine, New Jersey is one of the priciest places around with a median price of $2,420,000 and several properties in the $40+ million range.
Today’s home isn’t that quite that high up but it is a hugely extravagant new build, a seven-bedroom home on two acres. The home is styled like a nouveau castle complete with a graduated slate roof. Details include an elevator, integrated audio, lighting and security systems, and ten foot ceilings on all three floors. The grounds also include a pool and spa. You can’t get much newer than this one and the construction shots do indicated a rather grand home. Still, in a market like this is there still room for a new $15.975 million home?
For more prime properties and lush locations, see Luxury Homes and Mansions.
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Continue reading New in Alpine, Estate of the Day
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