MartyMcfly

Anyone got it?

Anyone know a Baton Rouge radio station playing the game?

Yellowfin

As you are likely already aware, putting a price on a company is one of the more difficult things to do in business. You can ask 1000 different people about valuation and you will get 1000 different answers for how much your company is worth. Before I dig in, I should qualify myself by letting you know that I have a start-up here in Baton Rouge and we recently closed on our Series "A" funding at a reasonable valuation. The valuation number that we landed on would be viewed by most as arbitrary, although it was the result of a series of conversations and negotiations with our investors.

That said, there are a number of questions I would ask before giving you a direct answer. Most importantly, why are you looking for a valuation? Are you looking to be acquired, are you looking for funding, or are you just interested in how much your company is worth? Whatever the reason, there are a number of variables that will affect your valuation:

-How long have you been in business?
-How many employees do you have?
-What amount of capital did you use to start your business and where did you get it?
-Are you the sole owner?
-What type of business is it? (Products, Services, Technology, etc...)
-How big is the market you serve? Is there potential for growth into larger markets?
-What does the competitive landscape look like?
-What is your month-over-month growth rate in revenue since you started? Is it increasing/decreasing/steady?
-What is your projected month-over-month growth rate in profit for the next 12, 24, 36 months?
-Do you have the potential to achieve economies of scale with your business model? (in other words, are your margins stuck at 25% or can you improve it by lowering operational costs)
-On average, how much of your gross profit are you re-investing into your business to fuel growth?

These questions provide a decent foundation to gain a better understanding of your company's potential, however they are only a start. If you have $45K in assets, I would assume those are capital expenditures which depreciate over time, and are somewhat irrelevant in your valuation (the alternative would be knowledge based assets or human capital which would require another level of complexity to your valuation).

Valuations are largely based on realistic potential rather than current earnings and net worth. There are intangibles that go along with your business that include the customers you currently serve, the brand equity that you have built with your company, etc... These things are factored into your valuation and, thus, should not be ignored.

I have heard people try to define a standard multiplier for valuations.
For example:
4 x End of Year run rate (which is your most recent month of revenue x 12 x 4)
2 x gross revenue + the enterprise valuation at the time of your initial funding round
10 x gross profit + enterprise value

There are many more formulas like this, but to know which one to apply depends on a number of missing pieces. The short answer is that there is no rule of thumb, the entire process of valuation is extremely subjective and should be treated as such. I would suggest talking to someone who has experience with business (specifically with buying, selling, or investing in companies), they will be able to help you narrow your scope of valuation to a reasonable range. If you are really in need of help or you lack the resources, I might be able to help.

Very high level, it seems as though you have a pretty good operation going, and I hope you continue to grow your business. Don't get too frustrated with valuations, they are not as important as growing your revenues and sustaining profits. Aside from that, don't take nominal valuations from rantards (myself included).

(For what it's worth, I would put your company at about $250K, but that is an almost completely blind valuation)

5 kids in this class over 300lbs, Freak is 295lbs. Rock solid in the trenches IMO. 25% of this class is near 300lbs or more!

quote:

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5 straight titles

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...true story

Rather than just "Eye of the Tiger," how about "Trough the Eye of the Tiger?"

Purple Tiger 20

Marketing tip that you are likely already aware of:

Set up a simple ecommerce-backed website and gather as many pre-orders as possible. You can likely use TD.com as a lead generator (for example all of the people in this thread who say they will buy one/many need to put their money where there mouth is!). However, I do not know if this is legal or in line with what TD.com's best intentions are as a business. I will refer to Chicken on this one.

Doing this adds validity for anyone questioning "Who will actually buy this DVD." A pre-order is simply an intention to buy once it is released, you don't have to charge the potential customers' cards. I did this for my business and it made a world of a difference.

Just a thought.

And yes, I would buy the box set, just make sure the soundtrack is palatable.

Ed Reed

I think that footage from the Tennessee camp brought it home for a lot of fans. TM went step for step with some of the best WRs in that class (I think I remember him going up against 6'5" Kyle Prater and getting a pass deflection in the endzone). Reminds me of watching Chad Jones in the 2007 season, just a mean dude.

First game ever - 2000 loss to UAB (very forgettable, but the fireworks were nice).

Second game - 2000 OT win over Tennessee (rushed the field).

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IDK if that's the best example, since he did IA

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He was ITF but got a job in IA, which proves my point that an economics degree will get you a job. However he did say that he was behind the curve for the first 3 months, just catching up on the accounting.

Both points are likely valid, but I would say that and Econ/ITF degree is not absolutely worthless. Like I mentioned before, an econ grad is probably no worse off that someone who graduates in general business administration.

Lynx, ironically my International Finance class has been the most interesting with respect to current affairs. Everyday the WSJ has articles about one issue or another (e.g. Greece, Chinese Yuan). So in that class, in addition to learning classical and neoclassical international economics, there is a lot of discussion about the current state of the economy and the markets. I would say it is practical.

I do wish that we were required to take at least one investments class. Instead I have to waste my elective on an upper level Finance (as opposed to basket weaving).

As for the teacher that you approached after class, there is no excuse for that. Sometimes you just get an ignorant teacher. It happens.

ETA: You would think that Ourso would offer a international shipping/brokerage class for its ITF majors. That is something I struggled to learn in the real world, would have helped to have a knowledgeable professor to pick his brain (I don't think they make "international shipping for dummies" books).

I would liken it to a marketing or business management degree over a history degree. That is pretty degrading.

Response to Kfizz's thread a few weeks back. I found this link that has a pretty good list of books, for those who are interested. LINK

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Not so much about investing, more about success. Just about every successful entrepreneur that I have met has suggested this book. I am about 150 pages in, it's a quick read. Definitely the type of book that will get you in the mind set for investing.

Reminds me of Terrell Pryor's high school footage. He has a quick release, throws exceptionally well on the run (makes it look effortless), puts the ball in some tight spots (also makes me wonder how many INTs this guy throws), and has great legs. His height gives him a legitimate shot in a pro-style system with some good coaching. Anyone in the nation would be lucky to get this guy. Top 5 overall recruit in my opinion.