Selling Your Online Business - Something To Think About.....
?>
Download eBooks and Software
 The Lotto Black Book
This Radical Approach To An Online Sales Letter Converts In The 3-5%... We've Never Seen Something Like This Since The Early Days Of 2004-2005 And I'm Sure You Haven't Either... We Convert More Than Our Competition And We Pay Out More... Try It!
How To Create An Iphone Or Ipad Apps And Games Succeed In App Store!
Discover How To Create An Iphone Or Ipad App&game And Hit Pay Dirt With It In The App Store! 60% Commission + Bonus. Awesome Member Area With Full Video Course. All You Need To Know On How To Start App Business With No Programming Skills At All!
Legit Online Jobs
Completely Redesigned For 2012! New Pricing = Higher Conversions And Lower Refunds. 24/7 Support Converts Even More Visitors Into Customers. Visit Http://www.legitonlinejobs.com/affiliates To See How Each Visitor Can Be Worth Well Over $200.
Articles > Online BusinessSelling Your Online Business - Something To Think About.....
by: Richard Grady
I was fortunate enough to spend a weekend in Monte Carlo recently and being surrounded by the luxury yachts and other symbols of extreme wealth got me thinking about retirement :-)
Ok, I know, I am far too young to retire but one day I may well have had enough of working online (or indeed working!) and may want to sell my website businesses and of course, this is the case for any other business owner.
Which brings me to the subject of this article - the ideal time to think about selling your business (and this applies to an online business as well as offline) is long before you actually want to sell it. Preparing a business for sale is not as straight-forward as you may first think, especially if you want to get the best price possible. A business that has been set up in a formal and structured way, with specific operating procedures etc in place is always going to be more attractive to a potential buyer than one which is run on a more 'informal' basis.
Usually the easiest time to put these structures and procedures in place is when the business is first set up - of course, you can always add to them as the business develops and grows but a bit of time spent on this area in the beginning will pay huge dividends later on.
One of the biggest problems that I see with online businesses (from the point of view of reselling them in the future) is that they are often so 'personal'. By this I mean that the website owner has built a business based around his/her own experiences and knowledge and this means that throughout the site there are numerous personal references. I am guilty myself and several of my own sites are built entirely on my experiences and this is reflected heavily in the website content.
Now, this is certainly not a bad thing because the content that I have been able to develop with my experience and knowledge is valuable and earns me a good living BUT what if I wanted to sell my websites? It is unlikely that a buyer would want to purchase a site that had a reference to 'Richard Grady' and 'his experiences' on the majority of pages, which would mean that every reference to me on the site in question would have to be amended in some way. Because of the way that much of my content is written, this would, at best, involve a major revamp of the site and at worst might actually affect the sales of the business (who knows if the 'new' copy would sell as well as the original?)
It is a tough call. In an ideal world, I would have set my website businesses up to be a bit more 'corporate' - this would mean that the websites gave the impression of having a company rather than an individual behind them. However, if I had done this in the beginning, would my sites be as successful as they are today? My feeling is perhaps not - I know that many of my customers have bought from me because they can relate to the situations that I found myself in as they are going through a similar situation themselves. Had my sites represented a faceless corporation, then perhaps my customers would never have become customers in the first place?
I am not sure I have the answer to which is a better approach - personal or corporate - there are advantages and disadvantages to both. However I can make a few suggestions as to simple things that you can do early on in your businesses life which will definitely help you when/if you eventually want to sell it:
- Keep accurate financial records - one of the first things a prospective buyer is going to want to know is how much money a business is making. It is no good just telling the buyer a figure and expecting him/her to believe you - your claim will need to be supported with documentary evidence. Also, don't fall into the trap of thinking that you will start keeping records once the business is making a decent income - that could be a year away and if you wait until then, you will have effectively 'lost' twelve months worth of your businesses history. A buyer will be far happier if they can see how a business has grown from day one rather than having accounts that start part-way into the game and show an immediate turnover of $100,000. (The tax-man will also be far happier with complete records!)
- Open a business bank account - so many people start off by running their business finances through their own personal account. This means that it can be very difficult to see which transactions relate to the business and which relate to the weekly household shopping bill. A business bank account is key to the business history and for the same reason as you should keep financial records from as early as possible, you should have a separate business bank account.
- Ensure that tax returns and other formal requirements are submitted on time - if you are keeping accurate records then there should be no reason why your business tax returns cannot be submitted (and paid!) on time. As well as saving you from being fined, it will also look good to a potential buyer - who wants to buy a business that has filed late returns every year and is regularly fined for late payments?
- Speak to a business broker at least one year before you want to sell - a business broker will handle the sale of your business for you but it is important to get them involved in the sale process as early as possible. Doing this at least a year before you plan to sell is a good idea because it will give you time to put in place any suggestions that they may have as to how your business can be made more attractive to potential buyers.
Of course, the one thing you shouldn't do is get hung up on making your business attractive to future buyers - the first priority is to get it earning you some money :-)
Copyright 2004 Richard Grady
?>
News on Online Business
McGraw University Introduces New Online Business Degree Programs to Match Employers’ Needs
McGraw University adds in new courses to the current business curriculum in order to increase the relevance to the current job market trendsArlington, TX (PRWEB) May 25, 2012 McGraw University, an accredited leading online university that has been known around the world for its improved learning services for working adults has announced that it has introduced fresh courses in its Business and ... Online CRM Provider Really Simple Systems Increases Web CRM Adoption With Intelligent Data Import
LONDON, May 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ ---Innovative data import solution increases usability and simplicity of online CRM, web CRM and small business CRM system-Really Simple Systems http://www.reallysimplesystems.com/ ... Raising Funds for Your Online Business: Show Me the Money!
Tax guru Barbara Weltman explains the options available for obtaining capital for your growing ecommerce business. In Part 1, she discussed the pros and cons of borrowing money (debt) vs. taking in investors (equity) - see Raising Funds for Your Online Business: Debt vs. Equity . Today, she discusses where to look for debt and equity financing and some pitfalls to avoid. A SEO package to help build your online business
What do we offer in websites that improve SEO? Our website packages allow you to feature your business with a customizable webpage built with the latest search engine optimization (SEO) tools. Through these SEO tools, as well as coupons and special deals and premium placement in your local online directory, you can maximize online traffic to your business. Landrieu Seeks Partnership with Google On Get Your Business Online Event for Lafayette
WASHINGTON - Today, Senator Mary Landrieu (D-La), Chair of the U.S. Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, requested that Google Inc. bring their highly successful "Get Your Business Online" (GYBO) entrepreneur event to Lafayette, Louisiana. GYBO gives small businesses free online tools to create their own website and provides training about the process. In fact, Google has held GBYO ...
|
