Shownotes
BUSINESS BUILDING INSIGHTS
- Enjoy the journey.
- Focus on what you are doing, believe in your vision, and stay focused on that path.
- Find and connect with the people who will become your customers and your community.
- Collect email addresses. Focus on growing your list and building that relationship with your community through newsletters.
Thinking Ahead For How To Sell Your Business
- Don't put your name on anything that you might want to sell down the road.
- What really cool product (whether it's digital, or physical) can you create that doesn't rely on you being the one to be able to provide it?
- Even when you first start building your business or are just coming up with a business idea, have an exit plan or even just an idea of an exit strategy, right from the start.
- Be consistent about tracking your profit and loss. It's easy for the buyer to see where they might be able to fit in the business and what expenses they can expect.
- Set up Google Analytics on your website right from day one. Every potential buyer will want to check the analytics to confirm you really are getting the traffic.
- Common mistake: Don't slack off on your business when you put it up for sale. It's important to continue to actively run the business - make sales, drive traffic, etc.
- Tune in for TONS more fascinating details and tips on selling a business!
Resources Mentioned
- Free Masterclass - How to Turn Your Handmade Products Into An Income Producing Business
- Free Business Valuation
Chelsea's Contact Links
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Transcripts
Gift biz unwrapped episode 314.
Speaker:Pretty soon people started asking me,
Speaker:Hey, can you help me sell my business?
Speaker:I have a blog or I have a Amazon FBA business.
Speaker:Can you Help me find a buyer attention?
Speaker:Gifters bakers,
Speaker:crafters, and makers pursuing your dream can be fun.
Speaker:Whether you have an established business or looking to start one.
Speaker:Now you are in the right place.
Speaker:This is gift to biz unwrapped,
Speaker:helping you turn your skill into a flourishing business.
Speaker:Join us for an episode,
Speaker:packed full of invaluable guidance,
Speaker:resources, and the support you need to grow.
Speaker:Your gift biz.
Speaker:Here is your host gift biz gal,
Speaker:Sue moon Heights.
Speaker:Hi there.
Speaker:It's Sue And I am so happy that you're joining me
Speaker:here today.
Speaker:One of the biggest challenges I hear over and over again
Speaker:from women who are considering turning their hobby into a business
Speaker:is that they don't know how to get started.
Speaker:And they question whether it's possible to make money with their
Speaker:products in the first place.
Speaker:Maybe this sounds a little bit like you,
Speaker:you see people all around opening businesses,
Speaker:selling their handmade creations.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:they're on Etsy at craft shows promoting on Instagram,
Speaker:and then you wonder,
Speaker:how did they make it happen?
Speaker:And now there are other questions too,
Speaker:right? Like how does the pandemic affect the ability to start
Speaker:a business and our handmade products,
Speaker:something people even buy these days to find out the answers
Speaker:I've put together a free class for you called how to
Speaker:turn your handmade products into an income producing business.
Speaker:In this class,
Speaker:we cover things like the current state of handmade products,
Speaker:how to determine pricing so that you can actually make money.
Speaker:When you sell your products,
Speaker:how to find customers who are the perfect fit for what
Speaker:you sell and the secret to having loyal customers who are
Speaker:going to come back and buy from you again and again,
Speaker:what would knowing these things mean to you?
Speaker:Solid confirmation,
Speaker:that starting your business is not only possible,
Speaker:but a good idea how to determine pricing so that you
Speaker:can make money selling your products,
Speaker:how to find customers who are a perfect fit and the
Speaker:secret to having loyal customers who will buy from you again
Speaker:and again,
Speaker:that's all coming up in this class and you don't want
Speaker:to miss it.
Speaker:It starting soon and totally free to select a time that
Speaker:works for you.
Speaker:Go to gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com forward slash masterclass that's gift biz on rapt.com
Speaker:forward slash masterclass.
Speaker:Okay. Important topic today.
Speaker:And once you hear it,
Speaker:I don't want you to automatically think that this doesn't apply
Speaker:to you.
Speaker:We're talking about selling your business.
Speaker:I know,
Speaker:I know this may be the furthest thing from your mind,
Speaker:or you may be saying to yourself that your business could
Speaker:never be worth enough to sell.
Speaker:How do you know that?
Speaker:One of the things that we do very early Within maker's
Speaker:MBA is talk about naming your business.
Speaker:And with that comes the consideration of whether someday you might
Speaker:want to sell.
Speaker:I can tell you from experience that your passion or opportunities
Speaker:might change as time goes on.
Speaker:What if you were able to make thousands of dollars from
Speaker:your current business,
Speaker:if you decide to move on to something else,
Speaker:have I got you thinking now?
Speaker:So Today it is my pleasure to introduce you to Chelsea
Speaker:Clark. Chelsea is a content monetization,
Speaker:strategist, and business broker.
Speaker:She helps investors acquire profitable online businesses while providing a way
Speaker:for content creators and small business owners to have gainful exits
Speaker:from these businesses.
Speaker:Chelsea founded blogs for sale.co
Speaker:a boutique brokerage and marketplace for buying and selling niche websites,
Speaker:e-commerce sites and media properties.
Speaker:She's obsessed with the strategy behind growing an online business from
Speaker:growth hacking to funnels,
Speaker:to creative monetization.
Speaker:And I'm really excited for us to have a conversation with
Speaker:her because some of us think about selling our businesses,
Speaker:some of us don't,
Speaker:but I think we should enter in eyes wide open,
Speaker:regardless of which choice we make with that.
Speaker:Chelsea, welcome to the gift biz on wrapped podcast.
Speaker:Thank you so much for having me Sue I'm really,
Speaker:really excited and honored to get to be here and chatting
Speaker:with you.
Speaker:I have a lot of questions for you,
Speaker:as I told you in the pre-K,
Speaker:but before we get started,
Speaker:I'd like to do something with you that has become a
Speaker:tradition on the show.
Speaker:And that is getting to know you in a little bit
Speaker:of a different creative way,
Speaker:and that is through a motivational candle.
Speaker:So if you were to describe for us a candle that
Speaker:really would resonate with you,
Speaker:what would it look like by color?
Speaker:And then a quote?
Speaker:Well, I love this question.
Speaker:It's so creative.
Speaker:I've never been asked a question like that before.
Speaker:So amazing.
Speaker:I would say,
Speaker:as an entrepreneur,
Speaker:you really need to be able to burn for yourself because
Speaker:what does a candle do?
Speaker:It burns out and burnout is a huge problem with entrepreneurs,
Speaker:especially when you're in that startup phase and you're doing it
Speaker:on your own.
Speaker:You don't have a team yet.
Speaker:You really need to have a flame that burns inside of
Speaker:you. And I think thing that I see with people is
Speaker:when they're getting their business started,
Speaker:they get concerned because their loved ones don't see their vision.
Speaker:They don't get it.
Speaker:Maybe your friend isn't supporting or sharing your posts about your
Speaker:business on Facebook,
Speaker:that sort of thing.
Speaker:And I always,
Speaker:you have to just focus on what you were doing and
Speaker:believe in your vision and keep on focused on that path.
Speaker:So if we're talking about a candle that represents yourself in
Speaker:business, I would say that you really need to have a
Speaker:WIC list candle more,
Speaker:or like a Centennial light,
Speaker:something internal that stays on keeping you focused on your path.
Speaker:And for the color,
Speaker:I would say gold because it's powerful.
Speaker:And the quote is one from Sheryl Sandberg that I followed.
Speaker:And it is you will be defined not just by what
Speaker:you achieve,
Speaker:but by how you survive.
Speaker:So that is what my candle would be.
Speaker:If I was representing myself through what Is beautiful,
Speaker:so creative and interesting and speaks a real truth.
Speaker:And even if we have spouses,
Speaker:friends who are supportive of the business,
Speaker:they're only going to listen to you so much talking about
Speaker:the business,
Speaker:right? I mean,
Speaker:at some point you have to have a community of people
Speaker:who are on a mission,
Speaker:not exactly like yours,
Speaker:but similar to yours.
Speaker:So they understand it and get you Absolutely.
Speaker:And your friends and family,
Speaker:they love you,
Speaker:but they're not your target market,
Speaker:right? You don't need them to be your customers.
Speaker:You don't need them to have your back.
Speaker:It's nice to have that support,
Speaker:but really you just have to focus on reaching the people
Speaker:who will become your customers and your community that you're focused
Speaker:on And the whole burn for yourself idea.
Speaker:So true.
Speaker:Because those times when it gets harder and you have to
Speaker:really dig down deep in yourself,
Speaker:you have to have that passion.
Speaker:Yes. So it had to have started there for you to
Speaker:be able to access it when you really need it in
Speaker:your business,
Speaker:because there are always going to be times even successful people.
Speaker:There's always times when you have to reach for that.
Speaker:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker:Give me a little bit of a backstory about how you
Speaker:got to where you are today with blogs for sale.
Speaker:Absolutely. So I started in marketing myself.
Speaker:I went to school for marketing and I was working days
Speaker:building websites and creating campaigns and marketing campaigns for corporations.
Speaker:And I loved the work.
Speaker:I really connected with the projects,
Speaker:but I always felt there was just something missing with the
Speaker:actual job itself,
Speaker:having to go and work for someone else,
Speaker:as much as I love the people that I worked with,
Speaker:I knew I wanted to do something where it was on
Speaker:my own terms.
Speaker:And blogging was something that I just did as a hobby
Speaker:for many,
Speaker:many years.
Speaker:It was a creative outlet and I never really thought of
Speaker:it as a business.
Speaker:And for a long time,
Speaker:I didn't monetize it.
Speaker:And then one day I really just put two and two
Speaker:together. If I take what I love and I'm skilled at,
Speaker:with marketing and I put it into my blog content and
Speaker:I start creating content about interesting products and interesting things that
Speaker:I enjoy,
Speaker:that's where my business could become.
Speaker:So I just went all in.
Speaker:I quit my job.
Speaker:I didn't give myself a plan B and I just made
Speaker:blogging my main focus and the company that I was working
Speaker:at when I was quitting,
Speaker:it was a business brokerage.
Speaker:And I was in the marketing department there.
Speaker:And they were very focused on,
Speaker:well, completely.
Speaker:It was brick and mortar businesses.
Speaker:So selling brick and mortar businesses,
Speaker:they were the brokers in between the buyers and sellers.
Speaker:And I really resonated with that.
Speaker:I found that very interesting,
Speaker:but for me,
Speaker:I was drawn to online businesses.
Speaker:So digital product creation,
Speaker:businesses and e-commerce and blogging as a business.
Speaker:And so when I was building out my blog one day,
Speaker:I decided,
Speaker:Hey, I'm going to sell it.
Speaker:I put it up for sale.
Speaker:I was able to sell it for $50,000.
Speaker:And then I started doing,
Speaker:I started creating websites,
Speaker:these little startup businesses,
Speaker:and then selling them for profit.
Speaker:A couple of times a year.
Speaker:Pretty soon people started asking me,
Speaker:Hey, can you help me sell my business?
Speaker:I have a blog or I have an Amazon FBA business.
Speaker:Can you help me find a buyer?
Speaker:And soon enough,
Speaker:I realized that I had to have a place where everybody
Speaker:could come and do this.
Speaker:So I created blogs for sale.co,
Speaker:which is a marketplace and brokerage,
Speaker:where I connect investors with content creators and small business owners.
Speaker:So they can buy and sell businesses.
Speaker:And it has grown from there.
Speaker:So that is my passion and my thing now.
Speaker:And it's really just taken off in the last year.
Speaker:And it's really exciting to get,
Speaker:to see so many people who may have been feeling burnout.
Speaker:Like we were talking about a moment ago,
Speaker:are they,
Speaker:if their passions have changed,
Speaker:they're just not interested in their business.
Speaker:They don't want to just let it go and let it
Speaker:die out.
Speaker:They're able to sell it,
Speaker:earn a profit and the business can go on with someone
Speaker:new at the wheel.
Speaker:So that is how I got started.
Speaker:And that's where I'm at now.
Speaker:That's amazing.
Speaker:I have a program called maker's MBA and it goes through
Speaker:the full life of a business.
Speaker:Do I teach people how to do that?
Speaker:Including the very end.
Speaker:Like there comes a time when either you have to reposition
Speaker:because your product is no longer relevant as culture changes or
Speaker:to your point,
Speaker:you're just tired.
Speaker:Like you don't have that initial excitement that you used to.
Speaker:And most of the time it's because the excitement has gone
Speaker:elsewhere. They're not done with business.
Speaker:There is something else that's caught their eye.
Speaker:That's right.
Speaker:Yes. So this is going to be a really interesting conversation
Speaker:because I feel like,
Speaker:and you're going to tell me because you're the expert and
Speaker:I'm making a little side angle here.
Speaker:I love that.
Speaker:You've seen it from the brick and mortar standpoint and online
Speaker:products and digital online.
Speaker:So you have the whole umbrella of all of it.
Speaker:When do you think people should consider or have in their
Speaker:head, what the end goal is the business.
Speaker:And I guess I'm asking,
Speaker:because I kind of feel,
Speaker:I'm going to tell you what I'm thinking and then we'll
Speaker:have conversation around it.
Speaker:Okay. Cause I want you to understand where this comment is
Speaker:coming from.
Speaker:Sure. I feel like there are certain parts in the development
Speaker:of your business when you need to be considering the end
Speaker:goal, like when you're naming the business or a couple of
Speaker:other places.
Speaker:So even though that's not even in your vision,
Speaker:because you haven't even opened the business yet,
Speaker:but there are some things to put in place.
Speaker:If you do want to sell to make it easier down
Speaker:the road.
Speaker:And now I give you the platform to tell me yes,
Speaker:no. Your thoughts on that.
Speaker:I absolutely agree with you.
Speaker:And I think that for anyone who is building a business
Speaker:or coming up with a business idea,
Speaker:have your exit plan,
Speaker:or even just your idea of an exit strategy,
Speaker:right from the get-go.
Speaker:So, you know,
Speaker:you're starting it and you have a plan of where you
Speaker:want to take it,
Speaker:but you go into it with the understanding that things can
Speaker:change, your interests can change or your business could lead you
Speaker:down a different path.
Speaker:So what are you going to do with this business that
Speaker:you're starting right now and having a plan for what you
Speaker:intend to do later?
Speaker:It's just a good planning,
Speaker:I think.
Speaker:And you don't have to have your buyer in mind the
Speaker:day you launch.
Speaker:Of course not.
Speaker:But just having an idea of,
Speaker:will I run this business until the day I die or
Speaker:will I sell this business in 10 years,
Speaker:make my profit,
Speaker:and then put that towards the next step.
Speaker:For me having an idea,
Speaker:some foresight or just an idea of where you might take
Speaker:it is I think really important.
Speaker:Yeah. Or you might even say,
Speaker:I don't know if I'd be interested in selling my business,
Speaker:but maybe I would.
Speaker:That's right.
Speaker:Yeah. And especially when we're talking about people who are creating
Speaker:personal brands,
Speaker:if you're a coach maybe,
Speaker:and it's under your name,
Speaker:that's going to be a lot harder to sell down the
Speaker:road, right.
Speaker:You're probably going to want to hold onto the domain name.
Speaker:If it is your name,
Speaker:the business,
Speaker:if it's your name.
Speaker:But if you're starting a company that you could see someone
Speaker:else being able to run down the road,
Speaker:it's not a bad idea.
Speaker:Just to think up some creative ideas of what you might
Speaker:want to do when that day comes,
Speaker:just see ahead.
Speaker:Right? You brought up a good point.
Speaker:Like if you're a personal brand or your products,
Speaker:like name of your company and the style,
Speaker:let's say you make jewelry for example.
Speaker:And you're the artist behind all of your unique designs and
Speaker:your name is the name of the company and you were
Speaker:to leave.
Speaker:So that means you're designing days are over for that brand.
Speaker:Is the company less valuable because the name was associated with
Speaker:a person who's no longer there,
Speaker:not necessarily Thoroughly.
Speaker:A lot of the time when that happens,
Speaker:there's some element where the original owner is there in a
Speaker:way. So maybe you're not physically still writing the emails.
Speaker:You're not actually showing up at meetings or anything like that.
Speaker:But when you sell,
Speaker:you sell a certain right to allow your name,
Speaker:to continue to be on the brand.
Speaker:So an email that sent out it may mention your name.
Speaker:Some businesses actually have a deal with the sellers that will
Speaker:allow them to use the sellers name,
Speaker:writing that email.
Speaker:So it's as if they're still there at the wheel,
Speaker:even though they're long gone.
Speaker:And we see that a lot with blogs that became quite
Speaker:popular under a certain bloggers name.
Speaker:And then depending on the deal,
Speaker:we've seen them go where that blogger looks like they're still
Speaker:on the site.
Speaker:Her picture is still there.
Speaker:Blog posts are still coming out with her name.
Speaker:It still sounds like her voice,
Speaker:but she's off on a beach somewhere.
Speaker:She hasn't touched the business in years.
Speaker:She got her payday and off.
Speaker:She went now that is not always the way it is.
Speaker:So when I sell a business,
Speaker:I don't put my personal name on it.
Speaker:And if my name was on it at the time that
Speaker:I sell it,
Speaker:I take my picture off.
Speaker:I take my photo off.
Speaker:I put up a stock image of a person.
Speaker:So that way my persona doesn't go with the business.
Speaker:And you as the seller of your business,
Speaker:if it's a jewelry business,
Speaker:you have that decision for how the business would go.
Speaker:Is your persona going with it?
Speaker:That's a legal thing that you get into with your broker.
Speaker:And that gets put into the sale agreement so that all
Speaker:of those bases are covered.
Speaker:I think what you're saying is it doesn't matter.
Speaker:It's, it's a personal preference really,
Speaker:but the value of your business,
Speaker:doesn't go down.
Speaker:If your name is connected and your willing to let them
Speaker:continue with the name or if they rename it,
Speaker:I dunno.
Speaker:What do you say?
Speaker:Well, the value of the business doesn't go down.
Speaker:That's what I would say.
Speaker:A lot of time.
Speaker:We actually see buyers asking if they can keep the seller's
Speaker:name on,
Speaker:because that keeps the value with it in a way so
Speaker:that then they can continue running the business under that name,
Speaker:all of the people,
Speaker:the subscribers,
Speaker:the following,
Speaker:they either don't notice a disruption.
Speaker:And the name continues.
Speaker:I was just going to say,
Speaker:I also think it depends on how active someone is,
Speaker:if you're the name of your business,
Speaker:but you're never showing up,
Speaker:live on social.
Speaker:All your employees are maybe showing up,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:if your face isn't all over as your person talking.
Speaker:So the live person that can still continue,
Speaker:because there are other elements of the business that aren't directly
Speaker:related with you absolutely.
Speaker:That are still related with the business.
Speaker:Yes. But I still think that if you're considering selling the
Speaker:business down the road,
Speaker:then you really want to think about whether you want to
Speaker:put your name as the company name.
Speaker:I think yeah,
Speaker:a hundred percent.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:think it through,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:you were saying it could go one way.
Speaker:It could go the other that's fine,
Speaker:but really make it a conscious decision.
Speaker:Absolutely. Make it a conscious decision.
Speaker:And don't put your name on anything that you think you
Speaker:would intend to sell down the road.
Speaker:That's just how personally I would do it.
Speaker:I wouldn't sell my name with something because no matter what
Speaker:business I'm running,
Speaker:my name will be my business.
Speaker:So I can create all of these starter companies.
Speaker:I always give them their own name,
Speaker:a brand name.
Speaker:I wouldn't put my name on something that I know I'm
Speaker:going to sell.
Speaker:Right. So you have a number,
Speaker:All a company.
Speaker:That's your name?
Speaker:And then the businesses are established under that name.
Speaker:Oh yes,
Speaker:absolutely. And that's a great suggestion.
Speaker:Thank you for mentioning that.
Speaker:Okay. Because then you still have your name on the business,
Speaker:but when you sell whatever the name of the business is,
Speaker:you've retained your name,
Speaker:but your name has been associated with that business up until
Speaker:the point that you leave.
Speaker:Yes. I guess it would be sort of like a subsidiary
Speaker:business that you would have that can be sold off that
Speaker:doesn't sell the rest of the company.
Speaker:Yeah. Okay.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:So I think we've belabored that point enough,
Speaker:but it's important in the industry of many of our listeners,
Speaker:because they are the artists behind the product.
Speaker:Some of them are still sole proprietors.
Speaker:They haven't gone into LLCs or whatever.
Speaker:It would be natural for them to think,
Speaker:Oh, I'm just going to use my name.
Speaker:That was really a relevant thing to talk about.
Speaker:What are some other things that you think are important in
Speaker:the setup phase to be thinking about that are going to
Speaker:be important when you would sell your business down the road?
Speaker:That's a great question.
Speaker:So when you are thinking about potentially selling your business down
Speaker:the road,
Speaker:you're going to want to start tracking your profit and loss
Speaker:like you would,
Speaker:but you really want to make sure that you have every
Speaker:month tracked in a spreadsheet where money is coming from how
Speaker:many sales you had and exactly where the expenses are going.
Speaker:Because when you put your business up for sale,
Speaker:the buyers are going to need to see that before they
Speaker:ever consider making you an offer,
Speaker:they need the whole picture.
Speaker:So they're going to want to see the numbers.
Speaker:They're going to want to see screenshots from your Amazon,
Speaker:for example,
Speaker:the payments that you've received there and how you've been paid
Speaker:out, all of that stuff.
Speaker:You just want to keep a record of it and have
Speaker:it ready to go so that when you put it up
Speaker:for sale,
Speaker:it's easy for the buyer to see where they might be
Speaker:able to fit in the business,
Speaker:what expenses they can expect,
Speaker:and then what they can anticipate they would have to do
Speaker:to grow the business from where it's at currently.
Speaker:And you're also going to want to make sure that you
Speaker:have Google analytics connected to your website.
Speaker:So your own website for this one,
Speaker:you're going to want to make sure that you're tracking from
Speaker:day one,
Speaker:because every buyer's going to want to check the analytics to
Speaker:see that you really are getting the traffic that you say
Speaker:you are.
Speaker:And if you're selling physical products,
Speaker:I know physical products can often have quite a bit of
Speaker:expenses. So really having an itemized list of everything that you
Speaker:have to buy to run your business every bit.
Speaker:If you're making jewelry,
Speaker:every little element that it takes to actually put that jewelry
Speaker:together. So last year I sold a jewelry business.
Speaker:It was an Amazon FBA business and the seller was so
Speaker:on top of every bit of her records,
Speaker:that when it came time for me to take a look
Speaker:at everything and put together her profit and loss sheet and
Speaker:put together a package that a buyer would see,
Speaker:it was very streamlined and easy for me to see it.
Speaker:Someone who hasn't been there in the business,
Speaker:someone who is just looking at it for the first time,
Speaker:it all really made sense,
Speaker:and it was easy to put it together for someone else.
Speaker:So those are the basics.
Speaker:I would say that you'd want to make sure you have
Speaker:set up if you're thinking you're going to be selling.
Speaker:Okay. Perfect.
Speaker:So profit and loss virtually just doing standard regular bookkeeping.
Speaker:Yes. I mean just what you should be doing overall anyway,
Speaker:right? Exactly.
Speaker:Yes. I tell the horror story about somebody that I knew
Speaker:right. In my local community,
Speaker:she had just opened her brick and mortar shop.
Speaker:And I walked in,
Speaker:we were talking about me coaching with her and to my
Speaker:horror, she,
Speaker:we were talking about her numbers.
Speaker:She pulls out how she was tracking sales.
Speaker:It was all on a piece of paper.
Speaker:And I'm like,
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:how do you do your sales tax?
Speaker:She's like,
Speaker:I just add it all up every month.
Speaker:And I'm like,
Speaker:well, what if you get audited?
Speaker:Oh my gosh.
Speaker:And I know that exists.
Speaker:And people are just getting started.
Speaker:And especially for her,
Speaker:there were so much,
Speaker:she was decorating the shop and the excitement was the shop,
Speaker:not the business stuff behind it.
Speaker:Right. And she's in Scott,
Speaker:all of her ducks in a row.
Speaker:So everything was fine.
Speaker:But I think this just talks about the importance of having
Speaker:it done properly.
Speaker:And it's so much easier when you put these things in
Speaker:place, right at the start.
Speaker:Absolutely. You only have maybe two or three or four numbers
Speaker:to put in at the start and then more common than
Speaker:more calm versus having to try and retrofit heaven forbid all
Speaker:this data in Definitely.
Speaker:And also another point I would add to that too,
Speaker:is when you're working with all of this data,
Speaker:make sure that you start collecting email addresses from the beginning
Speaker:to not just your customers,
Speaker:but have some sort of free lead magnet that you're using
Speaker:to generate signups to your email list.
Speaker:So you're focusing on growing your list and building that relationship
Speaker:with your community through newsletters,
Speaker:because that is another really valuable asset that you will have
Speaker:in your business when it comes time to sell.
Speaker:When you can show that you have this list of active,
Speaker:engaged people who open your emails,
Speaker:that's really attractive to buyers as well.
Speaker:Right. For sure where we're at here in terms of things
Speaker:that are important to have already established in your business,
Speaker:let's get to now,
Speaker:like, let's say you're considering selling.
Speaker:Okay. So all the accounting in mind,
Speaker:probably the processes to your point,
Speaker:where do you get the product?
Speaker:How much do you buy?
Speaker:Like all of that is partially in your accounting,
Speaker:right? But there has to be some way to track back.
Speaker:So someone would know Google analytics.
Speaker:So how much business is being driven to your website?
Speaker:So the visibility of your company directly to your website.
Speaker:So you're saying Chelsea,
Speaker:not at T none of that,
Speaker:your website.
Speaker:Yes. Always good to have,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:you have your SES and Amazon and everything,
Speaker:but you have to have your own home on your own
Speaker:website where you control everything,
Speaker:right. And the Etsy stuff isn't for,
Speaker:not because those sales are going to show up in your
Speaker:overall sales numbers too.
Speaker:Yes. It all comes together.
Speaker:These are just the different elements.
Speaker:Then you talked about email addresses.
Speaker:And again,
Speaker:we've talked a lot here,
Speaker:Chelsea, about how important email is because you can contact them.
Speaker:You don't really own their email,
Speaker:but it's something that you can resource unless they opt out.
Speaker:There's a lot of value to that.
Speaker:Would you say about social media followings?
Speaker:How important is that to a sale,
Speaker:To a sale?
Speaker:It's not as important as everything else,
Speaker:but it's a nice to have.
Speaker:So if your ideal customers are all on Instagram and that's
Speaker:where you focus a lot of your marketing,
Speaker:then that's important.
Speaker:Everything. When you sell your business,
Speaker:you're selling everything.
Speaker:So you're selling your social media accounts.
Speaker:Your everything goes with it as one nice package.
Speaker:And if you have engaged,
Speaker:active social followings with maybe 10,000
Speaker:people are just throwing a number out,
Speaker:that's good.
Speaker:It looks nice.
Speaker:And it just helps the overall sale,
Speaker:but it's not a necessity.
Speaker:So if you want to sell your business and you've never
Speaker:really focused that much on social media,
Speaker:that's okay.
Speaker:You're not going to not find buyers because you haven't been
Speaker:super active on social media.
Speaker:It's just a nice to have,
Speaker:Could tip the balance.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:I just kind of think no matter what the numbers have
Speaker:to be solid,
Speaker:but people still also buy and invest like there's an emotional
Speaker:level too.
Speaker:And if they had an opportunity,
Speaker:all numbers being equal,
Speaker:let's say,
Speaker:and one company had a thousand Instagram followers and another had
Speaker:40,000 Instagram followers.
Speaker:I think they'd probably go because social credibility,
Speaker:we still put value on it,
Speaker:whether they buy or not,
Speaker:we still put value on it.
Speaker:Yes. Overall,
Speaker:not as important as the other three,
Speaker:for sure.
Speaker:Not as important as your sales.
Speaker:So how much is your business making?
Speaker:That is the first thing that buyers will look at.
Speaker:So we understand what we should have in place and we're
Speaker:going along our business.
Speaker:Everything's good,
Speaker:we're happy.
Speaker:And then we decide that now is the time where we
Speaker:want to consider selling the business.
Speaker:How do we figure out what the value of the business
Speaker:is? Yes.
Speaker:As a broker,
Speaker:that is what I do.
Speaker:I give business valuations to people.
Speaker:If you are interested in selling your business,
Speaker:you can go and I'll give you a free valuation of
Speaker:blogs for sale.co/v
Speaker:a L short for evaluation.
Speaker:And we take a lot of things into consideration.
Speaker:But the typical standard that a buyer will pay is up
Speaker:to three years,
Speaker:times your monthly revenue.
Speaker:So how much your business is making per month.
Speaker:And it's usually between two and three years.
Speaker:So three years would be the higher end two years.
Speaker:We're seeing most businesses sell at the 24 X multiple.
Speaker:So that means two years times your monthly revenue between two
Speaker:and three,
Speaker:that standard monthly Gross revenue.
Speaker:Yes. That is one of the things that we look at
Speaker:when we're doing valuations.
Speaker:And then we take everything else into consideration too.
Speaker:So we look at your traffic,
Speaker:we look at,
Speaker:like, we're saying social media,
Speaker:we see what's going on in your social accounts.
Speaker:We look at the actual on your website and on your
Speaker:sales pages,
Speaker:depending if you have digital physical products,
Speaker:we're looking at all of your marketplaces that you have.
Speaker:And we're really just putting everything together to give a good
Speaker:valuation. That really makes sense and is within the market value.
Speaker:In addition to that,
Speaker:we're also going to look at reviews.
Speaker:So you're going to want to make sure that when you're
Speaker:ready to sell your business,
Speaker:your business is primed in a good light,
Speaker:right? So we want to go and make sure you don't
Speaker:have a ton of bad reviews on Trustpilot or on your
Speaker:Facebook page.
Speaker:We just want to make sure that the business you're selling
Speaker:really is a legitimate,
Speaker:good business.
Speaker:And once we take all of that into consideration,
Speaker:then we give you a report and a suggested listing price.
Speaker:And as a broker,
Speaker:all we can do is give you a suggestion based on
Speaker:the market value and all of the little elements that I
Speaker:was just mentioning there,
Speaker:really the selling price is completely up to you,
Speaker:the seller.
Speaker:So you can put it up for any price that you
Speaker:want, but we would recommend that you stay within that recommended
Speaker:range as that is what buyers are used to and what
Speaker:to expect.
Speaker:And we see sites,
Speaker:businesses sell for more than the asking.
Speaker:We see them sell for significantly less.
Speaker:There's so many factors that come into when you're actually you're
Speaker:live. Your listing is live and you're having negotiations.
Speaker:And the broker,
Speaker:I take care of having to have meetings with potential buyers.
Speaker:We're taking all of that off of your plate.
Speaker:So we're having tons of emails throughout the day with interested
Speaker:parties, you are running your business,
Speaker:you don't have to worry about that.
Speaker:And then once we find a good buyer and there's potential,
Speaker:there, there's an offer on the table.
Speaker:That's when we bring you in and we present an offer
Speaker:to you and you can meet the buyer and then you
Speaker:have the opportunity to accept reject or counter.
Speaker:And once everything is happy,
Speaker:then we go into the next phase,
Speaker:which I'm sure Sue you'll want to get more into that.
Speaker:But that is the listing process.
Speaker:Going back to the value of the business.
Speaker:I have three questions.
Speaker:Sure. One,
Speaker:what if you're a very inventory,
Speaker:rich business.
Speaker:So I have a product based business also,
Speaker:and I hold a lot of inventory.
Speaker:That's going to be needed to fulfill orders.
Speaker:Yes. So does that get calculated in?
Speaker:Sure does.
Speaker:Yes. So when we sell physical product businesses,
Speaker:we take into consideration the actual inventory that comes with the
Speaker:business and that could either be added into the valuation.
Speaker:So the buyer will be able to buy the business with
Speaker:a bonus of all of this inventory,
Speaker:or sometimes we have it where you have the price of
Speaker:the business,
Speaker:and then you also have to buy the inventory off of
Speaker:the seller.
Speaker:But again,
Speaker:that is personal preference to the seller.
Speaker:I like to do it where there's just one price and
Speaker:the inventory is included.
Speaker:So the price is higher and the inventory is included.
Speaker:Right. Okay.
Speaker:And equipment,
Speaker:same Thing.
Speaker:Exactly. Yeah.
Speaker:If you have a shop storefront,
Speaker:when it gets into that,
Speaker:then yeah.
Speaker:You're going to want to look at those assets and the
Speaker:actual things that are coming with the business or machines,
Speaker:it takes to create the products depending on what it is.
Speaker:Okay. And then digital assets.
Speaker:Yes. How is that valued?
Speaker:Yes. The digital space is what we specialize in.
Speaker:So we're talking digital products like courses,
Speaker:eBooks, membership,
Speaker:sites, apps,
Speaker:things along that,
Speaker:of course there's no physical inventory for a digital product,
Speaker:but a lot of the time it will come with students.
Speaker:Or if you have a membership,
Speaker:you have members,
Speaker:maybe if it's an app or a software there's people that
Speaker:are paying monthly for that access.
Speaker:So that is taken into the valuation on the digital side
Speaker:as well.
Speaker:Okay. And then what about future potential?
Speaker:Like, let's say you have a business that is right in
Speaker:line with the trends.
Speaker:There's a huge opportunity for maybe retail placement of the product.
Speaker:Like you can see the extension it's very clear to see,
Speaker:but the current owner hasn't taken advantage of that yet.
Speaker:Yes. Is there anything there?
Speaker:So as far as the value,
Speaker:we can't value on potential.
Speaker:We can't put a price tag on what might happen in
Speaker:the future.
Speaker:We can only put the valuation on what has happened.
Speaker:The actual assets that are coming with the business and the
Speaker:actual sales that have happened.
Speaker:But if there is some standout opportunities there,
Speaker:and there's some really exciting possibilities that we're seeing,
Speaker:we put that into the listing to let interested parties know
Speaker:about the potential.
Speaker:We're not putting it into the price.
Speaker:We're not saying that it will be valued more because it
Speaker:might have these sales in the future,
Speaker:but we'll put it in actual text writing opportunities for the
Speaker:new owner.
Speaker:We're writing it out so that people can see what they
Speaker:may be able to do.
Speaker:But no,
Speaker:I'm not able to charge more on something that hasn't happened
Speaker:yet. That would be amazing,
Speaker:but we can't do that.
Speaker:No, but That makes sense.
Speaker:And I do feel like it's showing,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:if you're part of an industry and you see an opportunity,
Speaker:it shows potential and it gives them the vision for the
Speaker:path of what could be,
Speaker:which also could be the decision maker of whether they buy
Speaker:your business or they buy a different business.
Speaker:Absolutely. Yes.
Speaker:You definitely want to let people know what your ideas are.
Speaker:Opportunities for growth.
Speaker:This is No interesting.
Speaker:Chelsea, thank you so much for sharing all your knowledge with
Speaker:us on this.
Speaker:So let's continue with the path we started down earlier.
Speaker:You shared with us how you do the valuation,
Speaker:what you put into all the numbers and what you would
Speaker:then present to a future or potential buyer.
Speaker:And then what happens from there?
Speaker:Like what would we expect as someone buying a business and
Speaker:hiring You?
Speaker:What did I tell you?
Speaker:Super interesting episode.
Speaker:Isn't it?
Speaker:We will get right back to it.
Speaker:After a short break to hear from our sponsor.
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Speaker:Yes, absolutely.
Speaker:So if you are someone looking to buy a business,
Speaker:you would go and you can take a look at the
Speaker:listings. You can have a meeting with me to really discuss
Speaker:the ins and outs of the business.
Speaker:We can get the seller involved on the call so that
Speaker:you can really understand his or her reasons for starting the
Speaker:business, how they run it and why they want to sell
Speaker:it. And usually the main reason that people want to sell
Speaker:is because they want to focus on other projects.
Speaker:Like you were saying,
Speaker:Sue your passion as an entrepreneur,
Speaker:isn't gone,
Speaker:but you're passionate in that particular business.
Speaker:Isn't where it used to be.
Speaker:You've gone on to something else.
Speaker:So that is what we see as a main reason when
Speaker:it comes time that you want to make an offer on
Speaker:a business,
Speaker:that part is easy.
Speaker:You just tell me the price that you'd want to pay.
Speaker:I present it to the seller.
Speaker:They have the opportunity to accept or decline or send you
Speaker:a counter.
Speaker:And then once we've reached a price and everyone's happy,
Speaker:then I provide the legal contracts of sale between the buyer
Speaker:and seller.
Speaker:And I open an escrow account and the escrow is used
Speaker:as a secure third party holding.
Speaker:So this is so that I don't see your bank information
Speaker:and the buyer and seller,
Speaker:don't see each other's banking information that is all done through
Speaker:escrow, where the buyer sends the money and escrow holds it
Speaker:once it's secured there and being held,
Speaker:we then the broker and the seller,
Speaker:we then sent all of the files over to the buyer.
Speaker:So that's the actual website,
Speaker:the domain access to your Etsy account,
Speaker:access to your Amazon FBA or social accounts,
Speaker:everything that comes with the business,
Speaker:we just make sure that it gets to you securely and
Speaker:in a timely fashion.
Speaker:And then once you have everything on your side,
Speaker:you then go back to escrow.
Speaker:You Mark that,
Speaker:yes, you've received everything.
Speaker:And then that releases the funds to the seller and it
Speaker:officially closes.
Speaker:And I always like to make sure that the sellers provide
Speaker:30 days support to make sure that they can onboard and
Speaker:train the new owner and just be there to assist.
Speaker:And then for me,
Speaker:I'm there to help you at any step.
Speaker:At any time,
Speaker:you can always send me an email.
Speaker:We can always have another follow-up meeting just to make sure
Speaker:that everything's rolling and you have everything you need.
Speaker:And I also provide online courses to help you with the
Speaker:next step so that you can take your marketing to the
Speaker:next level so that you can build out the WordPress site.
Speaker:If your site is on WordPress and everything's sort of covered
Speaker:there to help you with the next step.
Speaker:So you can really grow and get a really good return
Speaker:on your investment.
Speaker:Perfect. So we're kind of seeing the view from both sides,
Speaker:the seller and the buyer.
Speaker:And as you were talking,
Speaker:Chelsea, I was like,
Speaker:almost tearing up thinking like,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:when everything's done and you sign off,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:this company that you've built,
Speaker:right. And how you feel in your heart for all the
Speaker:reasons you're deciding you're going to go somewhere else.
Speaker:But like,
Speaker:that's gotta be pretty emotional for the salad.
Speaker:Yes, it is.
Speaker:It's emotional.
Speaker:Especially the first company that you sell,
Speaker:the one that you grass root,
Speaker:built yourself from your bedroom.
Speaker:That's always going to be the hardest one to see go.
Speaker:But when you made that decision that,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:you've given it your all,
Speaker:and now it's reached a point where it should go to
Speaker:someone else and they can really run with it.
Speaker:Then it's the right time.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:that it's a good thing.
Speaker:And especially then when you get that big payment into your
Speaker:bank account from escrow,
Speaker:it's a great day.
Speaker:You're popping a bottle of champagne.
Speaker:You're jumping around the room with your family.
Speaker:It's a very happy day when that happens.
Speaker:Yeah. Well,
Speaker:and then it's turned around face forward and where are you
Speaker:going next?
Speaker:That's right.
Speaker:Yes. You have that money that you can put towards your
Speaker:next adventure.
Speaker:Yeah. What type of a percentage does a broker take?
Speaker:Is there like a range?
Speaker:Yeah. It's usually anywhere from 15 to 25%.
Speaker:I do 20%.
Speaker:If the deal is under a hundred thousand dollars.
Speaker:So that's when we have the smaller businesses and the content
Speaker:sites. And then when it's a larger business,
Speaker:over a hundred thousand dollars selling price,
Speaker:then it goes to 15%.
Speaker:Got it.
Speaker:And what about if you enter into a business and it's
Speaker:a disaster,
Speaker:there's no records.
Speaker:They have none of the information put together.
Speaker:Do you even take on a client like that or what
Speaker:happens then?
Speaker:Well, I give everyone a spreadsheet that I've made.
Speaker:So I try to make it as easy as possible.
Speaker:So folders that you can go around and collect what you
Speaker:need to do before I can sign you on as a
Speaker:client. So I provide resources to help you get there.
Speaker:And I'll show you how to add me to your Google
Speaker:analytics. I have everything kind of streamlined.
Speaker:So if someone isn't as organized,
Speaker:I can give you that little push to help you get
Speaker:organized so that we can get your listing up.
Speaker:If someone just straight up says,
Speaker:I can't it,
Speaker:then I'm not going to be able to take them as
Speaker:a client.
Speaker:Because if you can't get your records together to sell,
Speaker:you're never going to be able to sell.
Speaker:So it would not work out.
Speaker:I don't think so,
Speaker:but I've never run into that.
Speaker:That's good to know.
Speaker:Yeah. And probably people who don't have their records put together,
Speaker:aren't even really ever thinking about selling.
Speaker:They're just closing.
Speaker:Yes. Is there any business that should never think about selling?
Speaker:Just shut down?
Speaker:Well, I mean,
Speaker:if you're doing something that you think has obsolete,
Speaker:if it's a business that just can't work,
Speaker:that you don't see a way a possibility to run its
Speaker:course. Yeah.
Speaker:Like it's run its course,
Speaker:or maybe it's a very in-person style company that now with
Speaker:COVID right now,
Speaker:it's just not possible.
Speaker:But I never liked to think that something is not possible.
Speaker:I feel like there's always a way to figure it out
Speaker:and maybe we can't see it because we're in the mix.
Speaker:We're in the,
Speaker:day-to-day running the business,
Speaker:but maybe someone else from the outside could see where they
Speaker:could fix it or develop If it's a business there's still
Speaker:customers. Yes.
Speaker:Maybe there's still social media.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:you might pivot with the product.
Speaker:That's a good point.
Speaker:Yes. Could just be a pivot.
Speaker:And I think what 2020 taught us was the art of
Speaker:the pivot.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:we all had to figure out a way to make things
Speaker:work when suddenly everything changed and everything went online or we
Speaker:weren't able to even go get our groceries.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:we had to get really good at being able to pivot.
Speaker:So it's a good exercise to do regardless.
Speaker:Yeah. Boy,
Speaker:isn't that the truth,
Speaker:any mistakes that come to mind that you commonly see when
Speaker:someone is looking at selling their business,
Speaker:let's go with that angle.
Speaker:One thing that really stands out and I do have to
Speaker:remind people sometimes once they've put their business up for sale,
Speaker:they're not out yet.
Speaker:So a lot of times people will put up for sale
Speaker:and then they just mentally,
Speaker:they move on from it.
Speaker:But you really have to still run your business while it's
Speaker:yours. And especially while it's up for sale,
Speaker:you want to continue making sales.
Speaker:You want to continue driving traffic to your website or to
Speaker:your marketplaces.
Speaker:You want to make sure that you're still running the business
Speaker:actively, just because it's up for sale.
Speaker:That's not the time to check out because people who are
Speaker:going to be looking at your business,
Speaker:they want an active business.
Speaker:They don't want an abandoned business.
Speaker:So you just have to remember that it's not sold yet.
Speaker:And just keep hanging in there,
Speaker:running the show,
Speaker:Which brings up another point.
Speaker:What about employees?
Speaker:Yes. Well,
Speaker:I'm just wondering if you have employees,
Speaker:they may or may not be interested in staying with the
Speaker:business. If it's sold,
Speaker:they may be working for you because they like the relationship
Speaker:you have.
Speaker:They're not interested in having a new boss for a number
Speaker:of different reasons,
Speaker:right? So where does that fall in the realm?
Speaker:I actually have a couple of questions for employees.
Speaker:Let me start with what's the value or do retention of
Speaker:employees play a role anywhere in their negotiations?
Speaker:They absolutely do.
Speaker:If you have employees,
Speaker:then a lot of the time that will be put into
Speaker:the sale agreement and you often will want to make sure
Speaker:that you are either including the opportunity for your employees to
Speaker:stay on.
Speaker:When you put your business up for sale.
Speaker:If it's a larger company,
Speaker:a lot of times companies don't want their employees to know
Speaker:that the businesses for sale.
Speaker:So that's when we wouldn't put the name of the business
Speaker:up, there'd have to be an NDA that buyers signed before
Speaker:they even see anything about the business.
Speaker:And that is done just because a sale could take a
Speaker:long time and you don't want your employees to think,
Speaker:Oh no,
Speaker:the new owner might come in and fire me because we
Speaker:don't know what's going to happen yet.
Speaker:And I think that if you just lead from a place
Speaker:of, you have an idea of how long it's gonna take
Speaker:for you to sell,
Speaker:and you can expect that it could take six months to
Speaker:a year when you actually get to the point where you
Speaker:are in negotiations with a serious buyer,
Speaker:then that's when you're going to talk to them about,
Speaker:well, what are their plans for the company?
Speaker:Are they going to want to keep the employees on?
Speaker:Do they have their own team?
Speaker:And you just kind of play it by as things progress
Speaker:and every company will be different.
Speaker:So I'm not able to just give a flat answer to
Speaker:that because it really depends on the individual business structure.
Speaker:And we also see a lot of in the digital space.
Speaker:We see companies that have virtual assistants.
Speaker:So they're not full-time employees and they work remotely,
Speaker:but the buyers they always ask,
Speaker:will your virtual assistant be willing to stay on?
Speaker:Can I keep her him on for a certain time?
Speaker:And that's just,
Speaker:then you just straight up ask your virtual assistant and you
Speaker:say, Hey,
Speaker:I'm thinking of selling this business.
Speaker:And I know that the buyer would be interested in keeping
Speaker:you on.
Speaker:Would you be open to that?
Speaker:No pressure.
Speaker:You just work one-on-one with them.
Speaker:And obviously any contracts that are in place,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:all of that.
Speaker:Yes. Yeah.
Speaker:I was just thinking about employees.
Speaker:It is difficult from an emotional standpoint.
Speaker:Like when do you tell them,
Speaker:what do you say?
Speaker:You don't want to blindside people,
Speaker:but then you don't want to tell them too early.
Speaker:That's a delicate dance.
Speaker:I think Definitely.
Speaker:Yeah, because you don't want to tell them too early.
Speaker:And then they start looking for another job and maybe you're
Speaker:not actually going to sell for another year.
Speaker:And then you have people with one foot out the door.
Speaker:You wouldn't want that.
Speaker:Right. I did a blog post years ago.
Speaker:Now it was for my other company.
Speaker:My other company is called the ribbon print company.
Speaker:And it's the best we have the best customers,
Speaker:everything. And I did,
Speaker:it was actually a YouTube video.
Speaker:It's still up today.
Speaker:And it says,
Speaker:I'm moving on.
Speaker:And it had to do with what was coming next in
Speaker:the business.
Speaker:So enhancement,
Speaker:but people freaked out Because they thought you were leaving.
Speaker:Yes. And literally they totally freaked out,
Speaker:which in a way is good.
Speaker:So first I have say anyone who is a ribbon print
Speaker:customer of ours.
Speaker:I am not looking to selling the business right now anyway,
Speaker:not four years.
Speaker:So don't worry.
Speaker:Don't worry because I really do feel like I have to
Speaker:say that.
Speaker:But there is something to that I think too,
Speaker:in terms of who's leading and if they leave,
Speaker:what's going to happen to sales.
Speaker:What if customer service isn't the same?
Speaker:What if all the systems are different?
Speaker:I don't know.
Speaker:I'm thinking from a personal perspective right now,
Speaker:but as a seller,
Speaker:if ever I decide to do that,
Speaker:I feel a loyalty to my customers.
Speaker:But if I don't own it anymore,
Speaker:I'm expecting the person who buys it to take care of
Speaker:them. Yes,
Speaker:absolutely. And the same with the people on your email list
Speaker:or in your Facebook group,
Speaker:who you built a relationship with?
Speaker:I sold a mental wellness blog last year.
Speaker:It was one that I bought and I developed and I
Speaker:sold it.
Speaker:And while I was running it,
Speaker:I connected with so many people in the Facebook group.
Speaker:And when it was time to sell,
Speaker:that was a very crucial point that anyone that I met
Speaker:with any interested buyers,
Speaker:I said,
Speaker:these people in this group,
Speaker:they are such an amazing community.
Speaker:If you come in and you take over this business,
Speaker:I need to know that you are going to nurture that
Speaker:relationship and answer their questions.
Speaker:And you'll have someone there to support them.
Speaker:You're going to want to think about all of the people
Speaker:that have come around and rallied around your business because those
Speaker:people, yeah,
Speaker:they do go with the business too.
Speaker:I'm kind of wondering again with my scenario.
Speaker:What if you sold the business and to your point,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:you kind of stick around for 30 days to help out.
Speaker:What if the roles reversed and they paid you or your
Speaker:employees a salary for 60 days just to make sure everyone's
Speaker:okay. Yes.
Speaker:Something like that.
Speaker:So you can do creative.
Speaker:I'm sure.
Speaker:Like anything it's like buying a house.
Speaker:So like you write things into the contract,
Speaker:Right? That's right.
Speaker:You customize it the way that you want to do it.
Speaker:So when you're working out a deal,
Speaker:you as the seller of the business,
Speaker:you have the creative right.
Speaker:To put in anything that you want to make sure that
Speaker:you're getting the deal that you want.
Speaker:Okay. Really interesting.
Speaker:In summary,
Speaker:I think now what would you say to somebody who is
Speaker:just starting their business,
Speaker:having listened to this and what would be the advice for
Speaker:that newbie in terms of best advice for a future state?
Speaker:Well, I would say,
Speaker:first of all,
Speaker:go you,
Speaker:that is amazing that you're starting a business out there,
Speaker:please keep on doing it.
Speaker:That is the best thing is when you're creating your own
Speaker:business and put your blinders on and just do the work,
Speaker:but really take time to enjoy it.
Speaker:And if you're thinking,
Speaker:Hey, maybe I have an exit plan.
Speaker:Maybe I won't be running this forever.
Speaker:Like we've mentioned the basic things that you would be doing
Speaker:anyway, like keeping track of your records and your profit and
Speaker:loss and building your lists.
Speaker:That's all really important.
Speaker:But also just think about how you can create a really
Speaker:cool product it's digital or physical,
Speaker:the really amazing,
Speaker:helpful product that you have that doesn't necessarily rely on you
Speaker:being the one to be able to provide it.
Speaker:So something like coaching services,
Speaker:one-on-one type thing,
Speaker:where you are the person that serves the customer that is
Speaker:going to be harder to sell,
Speaker:not impossible,
Speaker:but it's definitely harder.
Speaker:So what can you create?
Speaker:In addition to that,
Speaker:like an online course,
Speaker:like an ebook,
Speaker:or like we're talking about jewelry,
Speaker:businesses, something where you can teach someone to make the thing
Speaker:that you make.
Speaker:That's always going to help you in the end,
Speaker:when it comes time to sell,
Speaker:thinking about someone else,
Speaker:being able to come on and be you and take on
Speaker:your responsibilities without you actually having to be there.
Speaker:Perfect love that.
Speaker:And I'm also thinking like guides,
Speaker:depending on what your jewelry,
Speaker:candles, cupcakes,
Speaker:special secret recipes,
Speaker:things like that.
Speaker:Things that can be duplicated,
Speaker:but not by you.
Speaker:Yes. All of that.
Speaker:Okay. So now I'm going to switch it up on you
Speaker:here. Chelsea,
Speaker:what about someone who's listening and is like,
Speaker:Oh, new.
Speaker:Like I have none of this in place.
Speaker:My business is four years old.
Speaker:I better get things in line because you never know about
Speaker:the future.
Speaker:So what do you say to that person?
Speaker:Never too late to get organized.
Speaker:You can start now if you're just listening now and you
Speaker:realize you haven't been doing this stuff,
Speaker:don't freak out.
Speaker:You have not failed.
Speaker:Just start putting things together,
Speaker:start keeping track of things moving forward and whether you're going
Speaker:to sell or not,
Speaker:it's just good to do.
Speaker:Good to keep things organized.
Speaker:And like I say,
Speaker:you can just start at any time.
Speaker:Okay. So no excuses.
Speaker:It's not too late.
Speaker:Just start,
Speaker:just do it.
Speaker:Yeah. Perfect.
Speaker:And honestly,
Speaker:everything that you've talked about are good,
Speaker:solid, foundational business practices to have in place.
Speaker:Anyway, if you're thinking of putting them in place,
Speaker:because you've heard the podcast and you think you should for
Speaker:potential sale,
Speaker:it might also do a world of good for your business
Speaker:overall today when you put it in place.
Speaker:For sure.
Speaker:Wonderful Chelsea,
Speaker:this has been amazing.
Speaker:Where can people go to learn more about you?
Speaker:Well, thank you so much again for having me.
Speaker:This is honestly been so much fun.
Speaker:I am on blogs for sales.co.
Speaker:So that's blogs for sale dot C O.
Speaker:That is the marketplace where you can go and buy businesses
Speaker:or sell your business.
Speaker:You can go there.
Speaker:I'll give you a free valuation.
Speaker:If you want some tips and advice for potentially selling.
Speaker:And I also have a website at her paper,
Speaker:route.com. That is where I share marketing and online business development,
Speaker:growth hacking tips.
Speaker:We dig into funnels.
Speaker:We dig into email list,
Speaker:building lead,
Speaker:magnets, all that great stuff that your business,
Speaker:we all need it.
Speaker:So it's all there.
Speaker:And I would love it if you also checked out my
Speaker:podcast, the her paper route podcast,
Speaker:but thank you so much for having me.
Speaker:Wonderful. Well,
Speaker:thank you so much for being here.
Speaker:I really it take care of Chelsea.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:You too.
Speaker:So well now you're a whole lot wiser about what's behind
Speaker:the sale of a business.
Speaker:As you've heard putting some of the things in place that
Speaker:would add value to the sale of your business are also
Speaker:solid business practices.
Speaker:Regardless. You never know what the future holds and talking about
Speaker:the future.
Speaker:I want you to specifically Mark your calendar for next week.
Speaker:You're going to learn some eye opening things about how you
Speaker:may be unintentionally guiding your prospects away from a sale.
Speaker:Seriously. This is perhaps the biggest game changing episode for you
Speaker:so far.
Speaker:And finally,
Speaker:I want to slip in another reminder that you have only
Speaker:a short time to sign up for my free class,
Speaker:how to turn your handmade products into an income producing business.
Speaker:Go to gift biz on rapt.com
Speaker:forward slash masterclass there.
Speaker:You'll see all the details and be able to register.
Speaker:Thank you again for spending time with me today.
Speaker:If you'd like to show support for the podcast,
Speaker:a rating and review would mean the world to me and
Speaker:helps the show get seen by other makers.
Speaker:So it's a great way to pay it forward.
Speaker:Also make sure to follow the podcast.
Speaker:So new episodes will automatically be downloaded to your phone.
Speaker:That way you don't miss a thing,
Speaker:including next week's super important,
Speaker:special episode,
Speaker:and now be safe and well.
Speaker:And I'll see you again next week on the gift biz
Speaker:unwrapped Podcast.
Speaker:I want to make sure you're familiar with my free Facebook
Speaker:group called gift is breeze.
Speaker:It's a place where we all gather and our community to
Speaker:support each other.
Speaker:Got a really fun post in there.
Speaker:That's my favorite of the week.
Speaker:I have to say where I invite all of you to
Speaker:share what you're doing to show pictures of your product,
Speaker:to show what you're working on for the week to get
Speaker:reaction from other people and just for fun,
Speaker:because we all get to see the wonderful products that everybody
Speaker:in the community is making my favorite post every single week,
Speaker:without doubt.
Speaker:Wait, what,
Speaker:aren't you part of the group already,
Speaker:if not make sure to jump over to Facebook and search
Speaker:for the group gift biz breeze don't delay.
