by theEmother | Feb 12, 2014 | build a Mother of a Business, business ideas & thinking, 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 decided to embark on an Online Strategy.
After going through the “Why” exercise, you’ve decided that it makes sense to do so.
Now what?
WHO IS GOING TO DO IT?
Thinking of your typical offline business, if I was to ask you to draw up the organisational chart, who’s name will feature?
If it looks something like this, how do you propose to add the online activities in now as well?:
Management = YOU
Marketing = YOU
Sales = YOU
Operations = YOU
Financials = YOU
(Mentor = the entrepreneurial mother® of course! 🙂
Layering another load of activity on your shoulders, without taking care of the offline day-to-day, doesn’t make sense does it? You may be no better off and in fact go a little backwards because you’ve put yourself under even more pressure…
As you are well aware by now, if your Business solely focuses around YOU and selling it is was what you eventually want to do, then taking on even more does not equate to sound business practice now does it?
Starting with the end in mind TODAY, regardless of how old your business is means you start to, slowly but surely, systemise your Business so you can replace your name in each of the WHO boxes. Executing your Online strategy is no different.
Think about what you want to do and who else can do the rest?
And of course, how an arrangement can be struck whereby it is fair and equitable for both parties…
by theEmother | Feb 6, 2014 | build a Mother of a Business, business ideas & thinking, buy | sell websites, Buy a Mother of a Business, entrepreneurial mothers, Finish Unfinished Business, growth by acquisition, Online Strategy incl. www, SELL your Mother of a Business, so you think you're in business, start with the end in mind, the business model
Pretty much! In one way or another, you will have been exposed to the ongoing increased interest in the property market. You know, where they buy a house that needs renovations, they do the work, and they may or may not sell it once done.
This basically mirrors what can be done with web sites. But, it has way more upside.
You can buy a web site a whole lot cheaper than a house.
You can perform “renovation” exercises without getting your hands dirty.
You can sell it again, once fixed.
You can keep it and keep the benefit.
And if for any reason it’s not as successful as hoped, you’ve not laid out a ton of money. Perfect for those who are somewhat risk averse!
It’s possible to make an investment of a few hundred dollars to start with some time, increase that investment at a rate
of return that’s unheard of.
Like any deal, is about the steps involved in:
- assessing a web site as an investment
- valuing a site
- the negotiation process
Over the ensuing weeks, I’ll spend time investigating each of these points in more detail.
Whether you treat this as a business in its own right or whether you’re looking for a bolt-on, as part the Online Strategy for your existing business, the same principles still apply…
by theEmother | Feb 5, 2014 | build a Mother of a Business, Consultant EXIT Options, EXIT execution, exit strategy, Finish Unfinished Business, Online Strategy incl. www, Sell Your Business, SELL your Mother of a Business, so you think you're in business, start with the end in mind, the business model
Starting a business is a BIG deal. Building it to become more than your hobby is even bigger again. In fact, building your business into an asset may result in it being possibly the largest asset you’ll ever own, or second maybe to your home.
If trying to sell it is what you eventually want to do, getting strategic about WHAT it is you’ve got and how it is someone else could do it is key. The Online Strategy question features more and more as part of this discussion.
What is the “story” of your Business?
Each business has its evolutionary history, as well as its current story, which is all-important. More buyers now are also asking about the online history and requesting the statistics to back it up. If you’ve gone down the path of being online, be sure to track all the important information about this channel, as it will be requested. If you have not got online (yet), there needs to be an apparent “why” to satisfy the question.
What does your Business sell?
List everything; not just the features, but the benefits to your consumers as well.
- Why do they buy from you?
- Did your Business always conduct business the way it currently does?
- If not, what has changed? Why the current choice?
- What other options are open in your market that you haven’t done yet?
These questions definitely require an online and offline response.
How can you prove how well your Business Model has been working?
Profit – that’s what a buyer wants to know about.
This scorecard is very important to a prospective buyer because that’s what they will base a lot of their “valuation” decisions on. The records, both offline and online, provide evidence that your Business is the worthy asset you claim it is.
Starting with the end in mind TODAY, regardless of how old your business is, means you can start to, slowly but surely, assemble, lock in and gather the answers to each one of these questions, to be able to convey to a potential buyer WHAT it is they are buying…
by theEmother | Jan 31, 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…
Spent much of this week working on one particular sale and exploring the sale option with a number of Business Owners keen to chat. Who knows where it may lead…
Also had a great Session One with a Woman Business Owner looking to start a family. We’ve commenced plotting and scheming that transition too. This is of course one close to my heart!
GOT A WEBSITE FOR SALE?
If yes, please email me at dhall@businessbrokers.com.au
And you…what does 2014 bring?
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
2 new inquiries have come through and waiting to hear back from them
BS43 Tourism
Deposit locked and loaded. Settlement planned for February.
When it’s a good thing, it pays to act quickly.
BS49 Home Help…
This is an interesting one. Mainly because it is playing in a growth industry but the players looking at it are playing small. The revisit of the presentation certainly worked, had a great meeting this morning with a most eligible buyer which continues!
BS53 Balloons! and all that goes with them…
Such corporate appeal, so untapped. Potential buyers have stalled a little now. It’s waiting for the savvy operator that can see past the retail component. Needs to be thought more of as a warehouse!
BS57 Online Business
Signed good to go. A true online business at that ie all is in place, it’s making money and it dropships! In the process of developing the IM now. Stay tuned.
OR
Are you interested in?
- photographic studio x 2
- skin care range and premise
- a particular event
- event management
If yes, let me know what these are what came in this week…
Exploring the Sale Option?
GET YOUR SCORE…
Onwards and Upwards!
by theEmother | Jan 30, 2014 | business ideas & thinking, buy | sell websites, Buy a Mother of a Business, EXIT execution, exit strategy, Finish Unfinished Business, growth by acquisition, Online Strategy incl. www, Sell Your Business, SELL your Mother of a Business, the business model
Compared to the stock market, or the physical property market, the “virtual real estate” market is but a pup!
Yes, we hear about the Facebook’s of the world but what about the average, mainstream websites that most Business Owners have these days. What happens to them?
However, for some savvy investors, “virtual real estate” has already been far more profitable in a much shorter time than have the traditional investment avenues.
I intend being one of those savvy investors!
As with property real estate, I’m not all that interested in doing the Flipping thing. I’m far more keen to find quality sites that I can do a lot with… and keep ’em.
Over the coming months, I will share my firsthand experience in this fast-paced, growing industry, which may in fact help you to avoid the pitfalls that will no doubt in laying in wait.
The market’s evolving all the time, of course, but the posts I share here will be about what has worked and not worked, tested on a regular basis, as I pursue a future in
this exciting arena.
Who knows, it might inspire you to try your hand at Buying or Selling Websites….
ps: if you’ve got a site you think I might be interested in, please let me know.
by theEmother | Jan 29, 2014 | build a Mother of a Business, business ideas & thinking, Finish Unfinished Business, Online Strategy incl. www, so you think you're in business, start with the end in mind, the business model
If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, you will know that I bang on about “start with the end in mind”. And how it’s really hard to do that without knowing what the “end” can look like. Throwing an Online Strategy into the mix may only add to the confusion…
Yes, there are sound universal business practices that should be used at start-up and during growth (Online Strategy included), which would have you in the best shape when the urge to purge takes hold. However, even if you only start getting your ducks in a row now, it will all work out swimmingly.
In a nutshell, to “start with the end in mind” is a mindset thing really, as much as anything else. Closely followed getting a handle on the form your business takes in terms of how a Business Buyer will see and value it… and it can all start today.
Even if you don’t have dreams of exiting your business through a sale (or something similar), what shape is your business in right now? How 21st century is it?
I’m sure you will be familiar with the old “how, what, when, where, why”. Add the “who” and you’ve definitely got the nucleus of your Online Strategy covered.
The most important place to commence with your Online Strategy is the “Why”…
- Why did you go down the path of setting up your business?
- For what purpose does it serve?
With any “why”, there has to be two parts…
a) why the world is a better place as a result of doing business with you? (the external driver of the business)
b) why you set up your business up in a way that suits you? (the internal driver)
Emphasis on the personal only ie “b)” is interesting in terms of your story but it only forms part of it. It’s imperative that there is a larger story at play at the same time, so that the attraction to the business from the external continues whether you are part of the mix or not.
Online, of course, lends itself to this perfectly!
So I ask again, why are you doing what you’re doing? And if wanting to have an asset to sell features somewhere in the answer, be sure to have the two considerations loud and clear in your “why”…
