SmallBusinessNewz

Let's set aside all the warm, fuzzy stuff for a moment; one of the main points of owning a business is making money, right?  So business owners shouldn't let some misguided sense of pride be the only thing that keeps them from selling a company, as it turns out that the prices of businesses seem to be rising.

A certain line of logic might lead us to believe the opposite.  After all, the economy's bad, so people who are desperate to raise cash might drive a less hard bargain.

But BizBuySell's general manager, Mike Handelsman, reported in a statement, "The key metrics used to determine small business valuations are on the rise.  That means that a seller can get more money today for each dollar of revenue or cash flow than they did one year ago.  That's good news if you are one of the many baby boomers who own a business and are looking to cash out to fund your retirement."

Part of the trend may be due to supply and demand; BizBuySell found that there are fewer businesses on the market.  Other possible causes include unemployed people who are looking to run their own shows, and people of all sorts who want control of something that's survived the economic mess so far.

Regardless, a hat tip goes to Andrew Leigh, and as a quick check on the Dow shows that it's down 187 points, this is a decided small business bright spot in the midst of a lot of bad news.