What are the REAL reasons people sell their online businesses?
Sure, most of them say it’s because they’re going to “work on other projects” or something like that – but what’s the real reason behind that answer?
In today’s episode, we’re going to look at the reasons behind selling your business and review the good and not-so-good reasons it might be time to sell.
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Listen To The Full Interview:
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What You’ll Learn From This Episode:
1. Are you emotionally ready to sell?
- Are you ok giving up your baby?
- Do you have something else exciting to do?
- Am I bored with the business?
2. Is the business ready to sell?
- Are you tracking traffic and financials?
- Are they trending well? Showing profit?
- Do you have processes documented and organized?
- Can someone unfamiliar with your business
3. Are market conditions right for selling my business? (Can you time the market?)
- Sellers market (in 2017 at least)
- Economy is strong – lots of money to invest
- Baby boomers cashed up and looking for retirement projects
- All brokers/marketplaces showing strong year-over-year growth
- Sophistication in online businesses has increased, strengthening the barrier to entry.
4. Are there more personal reasons you should sell?
- The company/business has outgrown your skills (or interests).
- The market is moving against you.
- You’re having life events/issues.
- A lucrative opportunity presents itself.
jeff saffron says
From a buyer’s perspective, however, I would have to agree with professor Ruback and Yudlock – it is generally a bad idea to buy from a seller who wants to “move on to another business” or claim “they’ve taken it as far as they could, and need a new owner to take it to next level” (https://hbr.org/ideacast/2017/02/why-you-should-buy-a-business-and-how-to-do-it). Generally a red flag.
Best reasons, from a buyer’s perspective, seems to be looking for sellers that are selling for retirement, health issues, divorce, etc. reasons. Basically there must be an external reason that compels the business owner to sell (http://theopenbook.com.au/faq-business-owner/why-sell-my-business).