Interesting!
How did you fall into that line of business?
If that question was directed to me, I've been doing small business consulting for just over 8 years. I am the Director for an organization that promotes economic development through entrepreneurship. It's a partnership between the US Small Business Administration, the Dept of Commerce of the state in which I live, a local university (Research 1, member of AAU) and some other eco devo proponents.
Much of what I do is NOT related to valuation, but still pretty interesting. My job is to help people start and grow businesses. Usually starts with Three M's analysis--Management, Market, Money.
With start-ups, I usually help them compile information and put together a business plan so that they can put their best foot forward to banks/investors. For existing businesses, I might help them understand markets by looking at things like IBISWorld industry reports, ARCGIS data and tapestry segments, and financial benchmarks (RMA). I work with people on things like cash flow projections, budgets, marketing plans and such.
Many of our clients are Main Street type businesses--coffee shops, retail, hair salons, plumbers, etc. But we do get our share of entrepreneurs who can (and do!) scale. It is often fascinating, usually educational, and generally pretty fun.
The valuation piece is a small but growing part of what I do. As of about a year ago, the SBA started REQUIRING a certified valuation for any loan that they guarantee if it involves a transfer of assets worth $250K or more. Of course, seeing this coming, a couple of years ago, I started studying for the CVA. Valuations can be ridiculously expensive, and this is a real impediment to a business seeking a $250K to $1MM loan. They can easily pay 1% of the loan value as an up-front cost of getting the loan. My organization isn't supposed to actively compete with the private sector, but the valuation mills aren't particularly interested in the smaller jobs.
So I do most valuation work with businesses around $5 million in revenues and less. If it's in-state, I have to do it through my organization, but I can do solo practitioner work anywhere else.