Thomas W. Horn
1 great book - reliable info
I have several books on this subject, and this one is probably my favorite. I've done many, many valuations and found that the more esoteric books on the topic don't seem to produce better results than the "tried and true" methods in this manual. There are also quite a few books, aimed at the layman, that oversimplify the subject - but there's no danger of that here. You will find this book both very accessible and technically complete. Highly, highly recommended.
2 reliable guide
This is one of the best business "how-to" books I've ever purchased. I was concerned about the 1999 copyright, wondering if there is newer material available. However, our accounting firm, which is one the "big five" nationally, assured me that these are the tried-and-true formulas. In fact, they confessed that they frequently use this same book. There are some "valuation experts" who sell more complicated methods than the ones in this book, and their arguments for them sound convincing, but the formulas in this book seem to produce the very same results with a lot less work, plus these traditional methods have more historic support, so your argument for a certain value carries more weight. The instructions are very clear. I heartily recommend this book.
3 Steady, stable advice.
In the late 90's, everyone wanted to use astronomical capitalization rates to value a business, claiming they were warranted by the high total returns from small cap stocks during that period. Horn said no, don't do it. This is a temporary phenomenon, a blip in time. Look at the market historically, as a whole, from 1929 until today. If you commit to deals based on those cap rates, you'll be sorry. Well, guess what? He was right and everyone else was wrong. We all got killed by following the herd.
There are a lot of books in print about this subject, and I've examined most of them. Most seem to be poorly-written knock-offs of Horn's work, to which they have added their own unfortunate personal notions about value, so I'd counsel you to stick with Horn's book - it's probably the best, most stable advice you can get on business value.
4 Very hard to read the font. But good information.
First I have to say what I HATED about this book. The head of every paragraph and a lot of highlighted sections were in a cursive font which I really had to struggle to read. I almost did not read it at all. And it's too bad because there is a lot of good information in there. I am not sure there is anything that isn't covered in "The Upstart Guide to Buying, Valuing and Selling Your Business", and at the high price I am really struggling about whether to keep this book. If you are really planning to sell your business, it is probably worth it. It does cover many valuation techniques and situations.
5 great book
This book is right to the point. In my work as a corporate banker, I am constantly reviewing valuation reports, so I know which parts are fluff and which parts are important. This book gives you everything that's important and only what's important. Other books on this subject will have you chasing down arcane aspects of valuation, on the hope it will contribute something to the bottom line, which is almost never the case. Besides, we usually disregard arguments for additional value that are based on more complex theories because if you have to try THAT hard to show value is present, then it probably isn't! Stick with this book and you won't go wrong.
6 The best book on this subject
I've worked in mergers and acquisitions for years, and I have read dozens of books about how to measure the value of businesses, but this manual is still the best one available. Horn's methods are timeless and very clearly explained. He gives you all the fundamentals, clearly and efficiently, without oversimplifying the process. On the other hand, he doesn't waste your time by leading you through the complicated, arcane technical theory that fills many books on this topic. Horn's guide gets you to the same end result much faster and more efficiently.
7 Very helpful - the best I've found.
This book has been very helpful to us in considering acquisitions. It isn't slanted toward either buyers or sellers; it's just solid, objective advice. It's written in a way a non-specialist can understand, and it's put together in a way that enables you to get to the end result very efficiently. Highly recommended over the many other books out on this topic.
8 Good Place to Start !
This is an easy to read and easy to understand book on a most difficult subject. The approach is mainly aimed at non-specialist business owners contemplating the idea of selling their business and to a lesser extent buying a business. The approach of the book is very balanced, it truly aims to inform the reader rather than to generate a bias to follow one set course or another. The one, possibly important, failing of Horn is his implicit suggestion that a "Do It Yourself" approach is really practical or realistic in most cases. This however, is a very useful guide in understanding the subject and the lingo. It is the best I have seen for a non-specialist and it does not talk down to the reader
9 Great for a novice about to plunge into a business
This is a very good book for a novice attempting to buy or sell a business. The author has the envious ability to explain difficult accounting and financial concepts in a few words - makes you wonder why other writers can't do the same thing. I'm about half way thru' the book and can't seem to put it down. The price is a little steep and there are a few minor typographical errors that could have been easily fixed with a spell checker. All in all it's a great find !
10 Good Book; But You May Need Prerequisites
This is an excellent book for gaining ideas for the process of a business valuation.
The reader may need an accounting or finance background or experience in a related field in order to comprehend some of the concepts in the book. One of the chapters (Chapter No. 10) has concepts related to the time value of money. The reader needs to be familar with the mathematical concepts used in business finance.
Presumably, anyone purchasing this book would have experience working with financial calculations.
The book is a bit high-priced. However, it contains a lot of information relevant to business valuation methods.
11 By far, the best book I've found on the subject.
This is a great book. There are a lot of books on this subject, but the others I've seen don't fill the bill. I don't have a lot of time to waste with books that are poorly organized and written, even if the author is a real authority. "Unlocking the Value of Your Business" is not only authoritative and complete, it's easy to use and understand. I wish more books were written this well. The author certainly has a flair for conveying information effectively and efficiently.
12 great book; makes tough subject easy to understand
If you think you might ever sell your ownership in a business, this book is the best one around to learn how to increase its value, to calculate the value in any number of ways, and to negotiate the deal. Very highly recommended. With a very easy to read layout - not the onerous technical tome I expected - but it's got all the instructions you or your accountants could need. It has a great index, and a very helpful glossary that separately explains all relevant financial concepts that are referred to in the book. Plus, its a lot less expensive than other books on this subject that aren't as good.
