Niche Exit Planning Tactics
Selling a Web Site Hosting Business
The sale of your web site hosting business is the culmination of this stage of your entrepreneurial journey. Although most business owners expect a storybook ending, it will take the careful application of sound selling principles to bring your sale to a successful conclusion.
You need to get a good price for your web site hosting business. To get there, you'll need to set realistic expectations and follow a deliberate selling strategy.
Fortunately for sellers, forward-thinking entrepreneurs continue to be attracted to web site hosting businesses that exhibit strong financials and potential for future growth.
Tips for Seller Financing
Capital is hard to come by these days. Financial institutions have tightened up their lending policies, making it difficult for inexperienced and undercapitalized entrepreneurs to buy web site hosting businesses. As a result, buyers expect sellers to finance a significant portion of the sale. It's common for sellers to finance as much as 70% of the purchase price with a payoff period of four or five years, sometimes in the form of a balloon payment at the end of the repayment period.
Maintaining Objectivity
Objectivity is a rare commodity in a business sale. Your estimate of your company's worth is probably skewed by your emotions and your close, personal connection to the business. Although it may be a hard pill to swallow, you need to find a way to introduce objectivity into your sale. A business broker can be a valuable resource in right-sizing your expectations and preparing you for market realities.
Handling Unexpected Outcomes
Every business seller dreams of a fast sale and a fat payday. But it's highly unlikely that the sale will meet all of your expectations, especially if your initial estimates were created without the benefit of a solid appraisal or market knowledge. Despite your best efforts, you need to prepare yourself for the possibility of receiving less than you expected from the sale of your web site hosting business. In the event that the sale fails to meet your expectations, you may want to consider taking the business off the market until you can grow it enough to achieve your desired sale price.
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