Two businesses earn the same profit. One sells for three times it, the other for seven. The difference isn't performance — it's who is allowed to bid.
Four rungs. Each one lifts the multiple and opens the business to a new type of buyer. Set your EBITDA, then click through them.
Bands are indicative and vary widely by sector, size, growth and deal structure. This is a way to think about the drivers — not a valuation. Yours is a different conversation.
Lift profit 20% and you're 20% better off. Lift profit 20% and climb one rung, and you're 50% better off. Most owners only ever work the first number.
$1.0m EBITDA at 4× = $4m. Lift profit 20% and climb one rung: $1.2m at 5× = $6m.
A multiple isn't a score a business earns. It's the price set by whoever is willing and able to bid. An owner-dependent business can only be sold to someone buying themselves a job — a small pool with shallow pockets. Every rung you climb admits a wealthier class of buyer, and price is what happens when two of them want the same thing.
The baseline read tells you — free, from your own accounts, no obligation.