Owning a small business isn't like owning stock in a publicly traded company. With stocks, you can always calculate the market value of the entire business just by multiplying the market price of the stock by the number of outstanding shares. However, small-business valuation can be tricky, and you'll need to take into account factors like revenue, cash flow, and future growth estimates in order to put a reasonable dollar figure on a business. Depending on the industry and the level of risk, valuations can vary greatly from business to business, but here's a closer look at what you'll need to know to get started.
Dan Caplinger | The Motley Fool