What's Your Business Really Worth?
for business owners who’ve built something real –
and want to know what it’s astually worth.
Most owners can tell you what their business made last year. Few can tell you what it’s worth – or what it could be costing them not to know.
Enterprise value (EV)
A measure of a company’s total worth – what it would actually take to acquire the business outright, independent of how it happens to be financed.
Unlike revenue or profit, which describe how a business performs in a given year, enterprise value describes what the business is worth as a whole: its ability to generate future cash flow, run without excessive dependence on any one person (including the owner), and transfer smoothly to a new owner without a significant drop in performance.
Two ways to read your business
YOUR ACCOUNTANT
Reads what happened
- Last year’s P&L
- Net income and taxes
- One period, looking back
Reads what it’s worth
- SDE — true owner earnings
- The multiple — risk priced in
- What continues after you leave
The Formula
The EVO Formula
One job: move an owner from an unmanaged business to an enterprise built to grow – on purpose, on a multiple, on your timeline.
SDE
Seller’s Discretionary Earnings. What the business actually
generates.
Multiple
The number the market pays for it – the part most owners never manage.
$
Enterprise Value.
Move the multiple, and the same earnings sell for more.
Today’s the day you start finding out what it’s worth.
Three steps. Ten tools
Find true earnings
Recast P&L
Add-backs
SDE
3-Year P&L Summary
Prove the numbers
Tax Return Reconciliation
Cash Flow Statement
Debt Service Coverage
Due Diligence Checklist
STEP 3
Raise the multiple
Value Drivers
Owner Assessment
7 Questions Every Owner Should Ask
About when and how to pursue Enterprise Value Optimization.
“Most owners never ask these questions until a buyer does. Ask them first.”
Not sure where to start?
1
When
How many years do I realistically have before I want – or need – to exit?
2
When
Do I know what my business is worth today, and what it could be worth?
3
How
Which of my value drivers is dragging my multiple down the most?
4
How
Could this business run, and sell, without me in the room?
5
When
Have I built a 5-year forecast showing what my enterprise value could become?
6
When / How
Am I revisiting this number every year, or just hoping it’s higher next time?
7
How
Do I know where to actually begin understanding what my business is worth?
What closing the gap is worth
$275,000
Your true owner earnings
Multiple Gap
1.1x
Gap Number
$302,500
Know your number.
Get your GAP Number
chartwellvalue.com
Year - By - Year Breakdown
Starting revenue $1,000,000 . EBITDA margin 20% . EV multiple 3x . Annual growth 15% . Debt $50K
| Year | Revenue | EBITDA | Margin | EV (3×) | Debt | Your Worth | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $1.00M | $200K | 20% | $600K | $50K | $550K | — |
| Year 2 | $1.15M | $230K | 20% | $690K | $50K | $640K | +15% |
| Year 3 | $1.32M | $265K | 20% | $794K | $50K | $744K | +15% |
| Year 4 | $1.52M | $304K | 20% | $913K | $50K | $863K | +15% |
| Year 5 | $1.75M | $350K | 20% | $1.05M | $50K | $999K | +15% |
What is
Key Takeaways
Why Enterprise Value Matters
Slows the True Worth
Looks beyond profit to the total value of your business.
Supports Better Decisions
Helps with growth, investment, and exit planning.
Builds a Stronger Business
A higher EV means a more valuable, more resilient company.