How to Sell Your Business with Joe Valley, Ep #10

What would it look like to sell your ecommerce business down the road? If you think about it, there will come a day when you will exit your ecommerce business – either by selling it, closing it or at the end of your life. What does that day look like – what if you can turn a profit? Here to address some of those questions and a lot more is Joe Valley from Quiet Light Brokerage!

Joe is a serial entrepreneur who has extensive experience in starting up and managing online businesses. Joe was first introduced to Quiet Light Brokerage when they advised him on the sale of an ecommerce business. Today, Joe works for Quiet Light Brokerage and has leveraged his business acumen to help sellers like you plan an exit from your business. You don’t want to miss a minute of Joe’s helpful and valuable insights!

Discover how to sell your #Business on this episode of Maximizing #Ecommerce with special guest - Joe Valley! #Entrepreneurship Click To Tweet

Outline of This Episode

[1:00] Kevin introduces his guest, Joe Valley.
[4:20] Why you should connect with Scott
[6:20] How did Joe get started in his career?
[10:00] Joe explains how an ecommerce business gets sold.
[15:00] How do you determine the value of a business?
[22:30] What is the workload expectation for buyers?
[27:00] Why buyers need to be likeable.
[29:30] The emotional toll of selling a business.
[33:00] Joe shares some tips for leaders looking to sell their business.
[36:00] Why you need good accounting software.
[43:00] Joe goes over a few examples of selling a business.
[47:00] Closing thoughts.

What it looks like to sell an ecommerce business

You probably aren’t looking to sell your business right now – most people are just trying to make a profit! Like all things in life, reality often comes zooming in faster than expected – that’s why you need to have a plan in place or at least an idea of what it takes to sell your business.

In his conversation with Kevin, Joe Valley walked through a recent sale he facilitated for a woman in San Francisco. The first part of selling your business is going through a valuation – this is where a brokerage like Quiet Light pours over your financials and helps you determine a reasonable selling price. Next comes the difficult part – addressing problem areas – this is where you have to fix some potentially deal-breaking issues for prospective sellers. Finally, you have to take a look at the transferable nature of your business – can all the essential elements of your business be transferred seamlessly to a new owner?

This is just a brief snapshot of what it looks like to sell an ecommerce business – for an even deeper dive, make sure to tune into this episode of Maximizing Ecommerce!

Determining the value of a business

Drilling down even further – Kevin talked to Joe about the valuation process and how brokerages like Quiet Light get to a listing price that is fair for the seller. According to Joe – brokerages don’t set the sale price for businesses – buyers do that. In some ways, the listing price for a business is figured out the same way a house is listed – the market sets the price.

Joe also explained that businesses need to figure out what their trailing twelve months seller’s discretionary earnings are – this is done by looking at the net income after a profit and loss analysis plus adbacks. Is your head spinning yet? While this might all sound confusing – Joe breaks it all down in an easy to understand way. Get Joe’s full explanation of how to determine the value of a business by listening to this episode!

How do you determine the value of a business? Is it based on a formula or a gut feeling? Hear Quiet Light Brokerage’s Joe Valley answer the question on this episode of Maximizing #Ecommerce! #Entrepreneurship Click To Tweet

Why buyers need to be likeable

Most people are moderately familiar with the process of buying and selling a house – while there are some similarities with selling a business, there are some notable differences. When selling a house – it is common for the buyer and seller never to meet. It’s a different story when it comes to selling a business – in fact, the compatibility between the buyer and seller can be a significant factor!

Some sellers will decide to go with a different buyer because they don’t like how a prospective buyer is approaching their business and what they’ve built. When selling a business – buyers need to be likeable, and sellers need to be reasonable. Joe Valley has several fascinating examples to flesh out the buyer and seller compatibility aspect – make sure to listen to this episode of Maximizing Ecommerce to hear more!

Don’t skimp on good accounting software!

Did you know that using good accounting software can make a huge difference when you go to sell your business? It’s true! Think about it – if you don’t have a good handle on what your financial status is and the monetary projections are for your business – a prospective buyer would be in the dark.

With the plethora of tools and services available on the market today – there is no good reason for savvy sellers like you to skimp on this crucial aspect of running a viable business. Bite the bullet and invest in fool-proof accounting software that you can trust. Listen to this episode as Joe Valley explains how failing to have orderly financial records cost one seller over $50,000 in profit – you don’t want to miss it!

Don’t skimp on good accounting software! It could end up saving you $1,000’s! Hear the story of one #Ecommerce seller by listening to this episode of Maximizing #Ecommerce! #Entrepreneurship Click To Tweet