If you are trying to decide who to target for small business lending, here is your top-twenty list based on data from Sageworks, a Raleigh, N.C.-based accounting consultancy and
private-company data provider.
By average pretax margin, 2003 – 2010
1. Offices of Certified Public Accountants 16.5%
2. Offices of Chiropractors: 15.3%
3. Freestanding Ambulatory Surgical and Emergency Centers: 15%
4. Other Accounting Services: 14.9%
5. Offices of Dentists: 14.7%
6. Tax Preparation Services: 14.7%
7. Offices of Orthodontists: 14.4%
8. Offices of Lawyers: 13.4%
9. Sales Financing: 13.3%
10. Portfolio Management: 12.2%
11. Drilling Oil And Gas Wells: 12%
12. Offices of Optometrists: 11.5%
13. Lessors of Nonresidential Buildings (except
Mini-warehouses): 11.3%
14. Offices of Real Estate Appraisers: 11%
15. Lessors of Miniwarehouses and Self-Storage Units:
11%
16. Insurance Agencies and Brokerages: 11%
17. Other Activities Related To Credit Intermediation:
10.7%
18. Investment Advice: 10.7%
19. Offices of Physical, Occupational and
Speech Therapists, and Audiologists: 10.6%
20. Offices of Physicians (except Mental Health Specialists): 10.4%
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