what has Online Strategy got to do with Exit?

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During the life-cycle of building a Mother of a Business, it makes perfect sense to ask a number of provoking, asset-protection, risk-minimisation questions to get YOU, the Business Owner, thinking along the lines of “Start with the End in Mind” TODAY, regardless of how old the Business is.

Thinking Online Strategy is no different!

Taking this initiative is paramount for ALL Business Owners who seriously want to successfully transition the Business while YOU are in the best position to do so. With potential Business Owners asking more and more about Online Strategy and Execution as part of their due diligence, you cannot afford to be addressing it.

There are benefits to the business now as well, in the proactive nature of this action taken. This is in terms of knowing that a plan is in place, that it is being actively worked towards and that it will add to the value of the business at time of sale..

Where you don’t not want to entertain this discussion at all when in a position to influence the Exit outcome, you may instead think it will all sort itself out in the end. To some extent, this is correct. Ultimately, it will get sorted, but in the way YOU the Business Owner had envisaged? Possibly not.

If an Online Strategy does not feature has part of the business model, the asking price will be discounted.

Why? Isn’t that an opportunity for the new owner? Yes it is. But a Buyer is not going to pay you for the privilege of trying something that you have not.

Your Business may be the 2nd largest, if not the largest asset owned, therefore it needs to be handled with respect accordingly.

If you’re serious about having this conversation, please contact me.

buy | sell websites; must be able to prove what you claim…

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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…

 

buy | sell websites; what have you got to sell?

OnlineBusiness

 

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…

 

where does your Business Sell its wares?

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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…

buy | sell websites – what to do when you want to sell?

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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

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