At Pubcon 2014 in Las Vegas, I was able to sit down and talk to Mark Daoust, CEO and Founder of Quiet Light Brokerage, about selling an online business.
Mark’s company helps businesses sell their websites online, so he has seen what works and what doesn’t. In the video below, I ask Mark to go over some of the common problems he sees people running into when trying to sell their website online.
Here are some key takeaways from the video:
- The most common problem Mark sees is that people aren’t really prepared. When it comes to selling an online business you have to be positioned to sell it right if you really want to sell it quickly (or not compromise on your price).
- A lot of businesses come to Mark wanting to sell their website right now. They don’t want to wait or take the time required to prepare their website for a buyer. As a result, their website ends up selling for less than the asking price.
- What kind of timeframe should you be looking at for selling your website online? Mark says a well positioned business will sell in 90 days or less. However, across the whole marketplace, only about 30% of websites actually sell in 90 days.
- On the other hand, a poorly positioned website could take 6, 12, or even as long as 18 months to sell. That’s because of all the time required to properly prepare the website for a sale.
- What should people know before they put their website up for sale? You have to understand what a buyer is looking for when deciding whether or not to purchase a website. They want to know what their ROI is going to be, so you have to have all your financial numbers ready first and foremost.
- Secondly, think about what problems the next owner might encounter when running your website and smooth out those obstacles for an easy transition.
- What it boils down to is that a buyer wants to know they can easily take over the website and start making money from day 1, and they want to know how much money they will make.
Please visit SEJ’s YouTube page for more video interviews.
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