Selling a website as a going concern?

Ebay?

But seriously there must be a business selling agent that specialises in selling websites.

Start with your local business directory or search the internet I am sure there are specialists that can help,

good luck.

and don't forget to consult your accountant about the Capital Gains implecations.



Regards


NB

NB,

Thanks for that. In fairness, I'm not so bothered about making any big cash from any sale so much as covering costs and ensuring that the hard work myself and others put in isn't lost. We worked long and hard and didn't seek VC to push our concept and it effectively starved to death due to zero advertising and the like).

Damned shame. Still, to the right person it could be worth it for the content and marketing possibilities (though of course ethical use of data is a concern).

A sad day for me.

John

John,

Its always a sad day when someones venture comes to an end.

You mention "others" in your last post, does one of your colleages not wish to continue with the venture?

I am sure there is someone out there that wants to continue and take advantage from all your groundwork. Its just a matter of advertising in the right places. Are there any trade magazines you could advertise your website in?



Regards


NB

Hi John

Maybe a tasteful 'For Sale Sign' on the web site itself, you probably have some trusted and loyal customers that would hate to see the site go away and they may be willing to step up to the plate?

Just a thought and good luck.

Regards

Andy

Hi John

Would not a tasteful 'For Sale' sign on the web site be an idea?

There maybe someone in your User community that would be willing to step up to the plate and take on the running of the site?

Just a thought and good luck.

Regards

Andy

Hi NB. There's one other in an official capacity (who has had enough of waiting for some kind of return) and several others who help us for free (moderation/admin staff who do it because they have (had?) faith in the site.

There are trade journals, but you said it yourself when you mention the 'A' word: "Advertise". We don't have any pennies to spend on advertising of any sort. That's always been our downfall - a well-regarded site amongst those who heard of us via word-of-mouth, but otherwise unknown.

In a sense all it needs is some fresh ideas and a small advertising/marketing budget. However, as I'm seriously planning my PhD right now, I might not be the best guy to take it forward, and in any case though I'd really enjoy remaining as part of the site, I expect that if we did manage to sell the site, the new owners would probably want to bring in an entirely fresh team.

John

What it's worth is, post dotcom frenzy, almost entirely down to how much money it brings in, but if you have competitors in the same marketplace it may be worth more to them.

Work on the basis that the average, risk-averse, potential buyer will probably be looking for a return on their investment in 3-5 years and price it accordingly. The world is full of websites with potential but no actual profit, if yours is one of those it's probably only going to be sellable if you get lucky.

-- Ian

Ian, we were profitable for a short while - but only because I built our servers from scratch, designed, wrote, deployed and supported our web application, and kept the thing ticking over. My partner was supposed to find income and build business relationships but though she enjoyed business shmoozing, she was ultimately of no use whatsoever.

Running a tight ship*, this site has grown to where it is, and I don't personally believe it is so risky as some, so it's potentially a winner for the right person with some kind of resources to make more of it. That person ain't me. I am a creator, I crave new projects, and whilst I've refined my concept along the way, it needs a better business mind than I could offer to take it forward.

John

* FYI, "Tight Ship" is a bit of an understatement. This ship is so tightly run it's a model of efficiency but equally a bit of an enigma: last year it's won a national business award, paid no salary to me, made money, been up, been down, operates on less than £400 per month all-in. Not bad. However, the reason it's so 'tight' is because there never was any money to burn. I firmly believe that an advertising budget of £5k and a development budget of perhaps £10k could take this into the good returns bracket... if only...

John,

I believe the first thing you should do is sit everyone down and discuss all the options. There may be someone who is already in the organisation that may be willing to play a bigger role.

Look for a soloution within the existing business before considering selling your website. It maybe that you just need a few years break while you do your PHD, leaving the opportunity to return to the website at a later date.



Regards


NB

You could ask TL.

From my experience, it may be best to ask for a low upfront price and agree on a further sum to be paid if the website becomes significantly profitable in the next, say, three years.

Er! what does it do or sell? I may be showing my ignorance here, but surely a web-site is only a shop-window for a business. There may be a few exceptions like Google where the web-site is the business, but otherwise it the underlying business value which is saleable (or not!)

It "Shapes the future of call centres" I believe.

Matthew

Aaaahh! - now I understand, or on second thoughts, do I