It's been "shock and awe" for the financial system over the past few months. Even seemingly invincible companies like GE (NYSE: GE) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) have not been immune. As a result, there has been a tremendous deflation of equity values across the globe.

Unfortunately, the game has also changed for your business. It's much more difficult to get debt or equity financing, and it may even be impossible, at least for now. Customers are having difficulties paying invoices. And, as for finding new customers, this is particularly tough.

So, in light of everything, what is the value of your business? Well, keep in mind that, for the most part, the value of a business is dependent on its cash flow. So long as this remains strong and long-lasting, you are likely to weather the storm. If anything, you could be in a nice position to capitalize on the situation, such as by buying companies, hiring employees and in making new investments.

But this is the rare exception. In fact, even some of the growth darlings are having issues. For example, the data service, VCExperts.com, has recently launched a new offering – called the Valuation Ticker – that provides valuations of venture-backed companies. Essentially, the system compares private companies to public indexes, such as the NASDAQ and S&P 500. Here's a look at a sample, with valuations over the last ten months:

• Facebook: $12.4B (12/31/2007), $6.9B (10/31/08) -- 44%
• Slide: $545.2M (12/31/07), $376.6M (10/31/08) -- 31%
• Yardbarker: $18.1M (03/03/2008), $14.2M (10/31/08) -- 22%
• Going: $21.9M (5/07/08), $15.2M (10/31/08) -- 31%

Starting a business can take months -- and can be expensive. Also, it's tough to anticipate some of the problems you'll run into. That's why buying a business can be a good alternative.

So where do you get financing? One approach is to get a Small Business Administration loan.

Basically, this is like any other business loan. However, the main difference is that the loan is guaranteed up to 85% from the SBA, which is a federal program. Because of this, there are usually advantages versus conventional loans, such as:

• Longer terms (10 years for the business, and 25 years if there is real estate involved).
• Lower interest rates (prime rate plus 2.25% to 2.75%)
• Lower down payments (20% to 30% or so). In fact, the down payment also includes seller financing.

OK, what does it take to get such a loan? Let's take a look.

Let's say you want to sell or buy a business. Or, suppose you want to gift a piece of your business to your family. Maybe you want to raise capital?

Well, you'll need to determine the value of your business.

So, to get some perspective on the topic, I spoke to Scott Gabehart. He has valued over 700 businesses since 1991 and has written several books on the topic, such as The Business Valuation Book (with CD-ROM).

According to him, there are several approaches to getting a valuation:

Do-It-Yourself: Yes, the valuation process can be extremely complex. But Gabehart has an easy system that will provide a rough estimate.

First, you will need to calculate your company's adjusted cash flow (ACF). This is:

Net income
+ Your salary
+ Your perks (personal travel, discretionary expenses)
+ Depreciation
+ Interest expense

After all, it's common for owners to use their business to pay for personal expenses. Thus, it's important to factor our certain items (for example, depreciation is a non-cash expense).