by theEmother | Mar 6, 2014 | build a Mother of a Business, business ideas & thinking, buy | sell websites, Finish Unfinished Business, Online Strategy incl. www, so you think you're in business, the business model
Of late, I’ve had quite a few website owners come to me saying they want to sell… excellent. But (following on from yesterdays post), when asked to “prove” what they’re telling me, they go very very quiet. So what’s going on?
Whether it be a business or a website, you still need to answer these questions:
- have you been able to make a go of your Business/website?
- Is your business/website making a profit?
- How does your Business/website make money?
Just because it’s a website does not make the answers to these questions any less important.
Having a website for sale implies similar criteria is being taken care of, as is for a business ie::
o a database of clients/customers
o systems in place (which may be technology driven)
o Google presence
o looked after its position
o growth potential
o automated, so it’s not reliant solely on the owner
o numbers that make sense and can be verified
o measurable ways of indicating how all of the above makes profit!
o assuming all goes ahead, options on how to make the sale happen
Bottomline = how can you prove what you are claiming?
Selling a website is no different from selling a business really.
It’s not called an Online Business for nothing!
The business model may be what’s different but the fundamentals still apply…
by theEmother | Feb 28, 2014 | build a Mother of a Business, business ideas & thinking, buy | sell websites, BUY a Business, Buy a Mother of a Business, Consultant EXIT Options, EXIT execution, exit strategy, Finish Unfinished Business, growth by acquisition, how to sell a business, Online Strategy incl. www, Sell Your Business, SELL your Mother of a Business, Sellability Score, so you think you're in business, start with the end in mind, TEMpting, the business model
How Saleable is Your Business in 2014?
How Saleable do you want Your Business 2014?
What are you waiting for? GET YOUR SCORE…
As the one particular sale has got to a major decision time, we’re now playing the waiting game! That said, there’s been plenty to keep me busy with a growing number of Business Owners exploring the sale option.
Again this week, I’ve had discussions about what constitutes an Online Business. Just because a Business Owner calls it so (and there’s many that do!) doesn’t mean others agree.
What’s your definition of an Online Business?
And while you’re at it, what about an Online Strategy?
You’ve only got to read my blog posts over the last weeks to understand what I mean when talking about both…
GOT A WEBSITE FOR SALE?
If you want to do sell a website or you’re looking to buy a website (excellent bolt-on possibilities), please email me at dhall@businessbrokers.com.au
If any of the following tickle your fancy, please email me at dhall@businessbrokers.com.au, letting me know which one it is…
FOR SALE…
BS30 Online Venue Business
Completed Sellability Score
One meeting booked for March and details requested from another. The main focus is on the custom-built technology platform this business runs on.
BS49 Home Help…
One party is very interested. The potential has been well and truly revealed so it’s down to price and the level of comfort required to “pull the trigger”, as they say in the classics! Final questions being flagged now, prior to an offer being made (hopefully!).
BS53 Balloons! and all that goes with them…
Such corporate appeal, so untapped. It’s waiting for the savvy operator that can see past the retail component and tap into it’s possibility as a warehouse servicing the larger players. Completed the database trawl, with a number of calls being made. 4 put their hand up to receive the CA with one requesting the IM. Good work.
BS57 Online Business
Signed good to go. It’s making money! Have received signed authority’s and in the process of developing the IM now. Stay tuned.
Others I’m talking too.. are you interested in?
- a particular event
- project management of large Melbourne events
- specialty educational toys
- “experiential” advertising and events provider
- niche in building trade (via Sellability Score)
- sales and services
- merchandise
- magazine
If yes, let me know as these revealed themselves this week…
Exploring the Sale Option?
GET YOUR SCORE…
Onwards and Upwards!
by theEmother | Feb 27, 2014 | build a Mother of a Business, business ideas & thinking, buy | sell websites, Finish Unfinished Business, Online Strategy incl. www, so you think you're in business, start with the end in mind, the business model
OK, so you’ve got a:
- website
- online business
- internet business
and you want to know how to go about selling it?
Like any business sale, one starting point is to list all the “assets” it owns as well as the processes it goes through to deliver the product or service.
Essentially you want to “map” the business, whether that be via a mindmap or a photo of a whiteboard or a note in a journal. Why? because it’s not only imperative that you understand what makes up the thing you’re selling but that it is also easy to explain.
Importantly, you want the potential buyer y to see themselves doing what you do, only better!
Then it’s about pulling together all the proof required to substantiate the excitement.
That’s why a Business Profile is vital in establishing what you’re selling.
Not only does it contain the map and the main details, it also nicely summarises for all to see. AS well as assisting the Business Owner to get really clear on what’s for sale…
by theEmother | Feb 26, 2014 | build a Mother of a Business, business ideas & thinking, buy | sell websites, exit strategy, Finish Unfinished Business, Online Strategy incl. www, so you think you're in business, start with the end in mind, the business model
Offline? Online? Or is it a combination?
Do you have a strategy for both? Do you have numbers and statistics for both?
How do they complement each other?
Some businesses lend themselves to being ideal for online commerce. Others are more your traditional bricks and mortar type business. Nearly all try and cover both methods of operation. Whilst there are no right and wrong answers with this, there are definitely right and wrong questions being asked…
For example, for those with a website: “How does my Business website get more traffic?” is not the right question to ask. “What type of customer am I looking for and therefore where do they hang out?” definitely is.
In other words, how well is the website working for you?
If you answer this with a blank, then whilst you may have an online presence for those who already know you, the rollout of your online strategy has a bit of work to do.
If the purchasers of your products and services are to be found in a particular spot, then your Business needs to be there, no doubt. But just because one type of strategy works for one business does not mean it will work for all.
When looking to Exit, what you want is to demonstrate what path you have taken, why you have taken the path you have and the results of doing so, regardless of the path..
If yours in an online business for example, then you want to provide the following information:
o Pages views per month
o Uniques per month
o Gross revenue per month
o Net profit per month
o Google page ranking
o Alexa ranking
If you operate off-line, where is your Business located? Why there? Is it about foot traffic? How successfully does it work? etc
For both strategies…how do your customers find your Business? Do you know how many referrals your Business gets? Is there a formal referral/loyalty program?
If you can’t provide answers to questions like these right now, don’t be alarmed. Start with the end in mind TODAY, regardless of how old your business is, and slowly but surely think through WHERE your Business trades and why, what results you have to back up your reasoning, and with your opportunistic hat on, where else there could be possibilities…
by theEmother | Feb 20, 2014 | build a Mother of a Business, business ideas & thinking, buy | sell websites, Buy a Mother of a Business, entrepreneurial mothers, EXIT execution, exit strategy, how to sell a business, Sell Your Business, SELL your Mother of a Business, the business model
Email me!
This week I was introduced to two entrepreneurial mothers who have built neat little websites, with a form of eCommerce platform. In both cases, life circumstances have altered therefore informing them to do something other than their respective businesses.
Both made similar comments – “I was just going to shut it down if I couldn’t work out what to do with it. I had not even thought of selling until ____ (can’t reveal my sources!) mentioned it and now I’m really pleased to explore this as an option”
Excellent! so am I.
Too much time, effort and money have been invested in setting these businesses up. Yes, they are micro but they are still a representation of one business owners work and need to therefore be treated with the respect deserved.
In both cases, we have had preliminary discussions about what I’m looking for, to be able to analyse the best way forward. That includes relevance in niche, traffic stats, revenue generating options and success etc. (Not dissimilar to any business really, only with online, there is specific information required as well).
Once I do my analysis work, I will come back to each of them with a proposal and we’ll go from there.
Stay tuned!
And if you have an online business you’re no longer loving, please get in touch by emailing me at info@theentrepreneurialmother.com
by theEmother | Feb 13, 2014 | build a Mother of a Business, business ideas & thinking, buy | sell websites, BUY a Business, Buy a Mother of a Business, entrepreneur trends (past & present!), Finish Unfinished Business, Online Strategy incl. www, so you think you're in business, start with the end in mind, the business model
Back not so long ago, there were the boom-and-bust years of the WWW when companies paid big bucks for what appeared to be unprofitable online businesses/websites. A sort of gold fever gripped investors: some became almost instant millionaires and others, well many others went the other way, in a big way!
Since the bubble burst, however, the online market has established at a more measured and sustainable pace. Trends show that there are sites that continue to increase in value across the board and the trend remains upward.
This environment presents ample opportunity for successful speculation. Just like the physical property market, the online property market is rightly being regarded by many as a great place to make not just a quick profit, but—potentially—a living.
As with a property, you can buy a web site and have it increase in value over time without having to do anything but maintain it (although the value of physical property depends on the scarcity of real estate, which is unlikely ever to be a problem online!). [“Flipping Websites for Profit“]
As with any business purchase, there are steps to this process:
1. Locating an online business you want to buy
2. Negotiating and completing the sale
3. Adding value to the business
4. Making the decision what to do next – do I keep it? or do i sell it?
5. If part of an existing business’ online strategy, is it doing its job? has it lived up to expectations? is it time to buy another one perhaps?
Lets look at Step 1.
How do you find an online business to buy?
Do you know of one being sold, that you’re interested in?
How do you know what you’re looking at, really? How do you analyse it?
I’ll into more detail about these points next week…
