Two businesses earn the exact same money, and one sells for three times the other. The difference isn't the profit — it's how the business is built. Set the earnings below, then flip what's true about the business and watch the sale multiple, and the price, move. The number it prints is illustrative; the lesson is real.
$500,000
What's it like to own? Flip what's true.
Sale multiple
2.0×
What it sells for
$1,000,000
2× · a job you bought6× · a bidding war
“I'm buying myself a job here. Expect a lowball.”
Left as-is
$1,000,000
Built like this
$1,000,000
Same profit either way. The difference is what you built.