When Should I Sell My Business? The Pros and Cons of Exiting Your Company

Last year, I sold my software company (Long Tail Pro) that I had built and run for 5 years.

Deciding whether or not to sell that company was an intense process and left me with several sleepless nights.  This was a significant business that was by far my biggest revenue generator and income source, so it was no small decision.

Ultimately, I feel like I made the right decision to sell the company…and I'm glad I can still say that over a year and a half after the sale!

But now here I am again, I'm looking to sell another business.  As you may have seen on some of my recent income reports, I've built up a great niche site + Amazon FBA business that has averaged $15k net per month over the past 12 months.  (This is my “Home Goods Brand”).

Even though I've been through the process before, I still find myself struggling with the decision: Is selling my business the right move?

So, today I'd like to walk through some of the pros and cons of selling a business.  In the process I'll share some of my thought process and hopefully help you think through your decision if you are considering selling a business as well.

Why Would Anyone Sell a Profitable Business?

The business I am looking to sell in the very near future is quite profitable.  As mentioned, it has netted me an average of $15,000 per month for the past 12 months.  I started the business about 2 and a half years ago.  

I also spend less than an hour a week working on the business.  I do have an employee that probably puts in 3 to 5 hours a week into the business.

So, if I don't spend any time working in the business and it's profitable, why would I consider selling it?

The answer is risk.

While the business is going well now, I can't predict what the future will bring.  Since this is an Amazon FBA business, I don't know if Amazon will change something tomorrow that will drastically reduce the sales of my business.

This unpredictable risk is enough for me to consider selling.  I've had a good run for 2.5 years. Is risking $450,000 (a very rough estimate of value) worth it?

So one way to look at is this:

• I can take the guaranteed $450,000 now.  Or I could keep rolling the dice that Amazon won't change anything and try to grow the business.

However, this is just one way to look at things.  There are several reasons to keep and run a profitable business as well.  

Reasons to NOT Sell Your Business

One reason to keep a business rather than selling is if you think you can grow it through your own efforts.  You might be able to adjust pricing, explore additional sales and marketing channels, or perhaps bring in new products.

There are lots of levers you can pull to try and grow a business.  Have you explored all of these options?  If not, perhaps you should focus on growth rather than selling your business.

In a nutshell, you have to consider whether or not you are leaving growth on the table and is the effort to achieve that growth within your skillset.

With my business, I potentially could do the following to grow the business:

• Increase my link building and SEO efforts to make more sales on my own platform (outside of Amazon)
• Optimize listings and conversions better on Amazon
• Get my product into retail stores
• Increase paid traffic strategies
• Create new products

I have experience with SEO and creating new products, so these are both levels within my skillset that I could leverage.  I have minimal experience running my own paid traffic campaigns, but I could always hire someone.  The same could also be said for retail.

Other Pros and Cons to Consider

When it comes down to it, there are TONS of factors for people to consider; and every business is unique and everyone's personal situation is unique.

I know this may be a little different, but I am going to make a Pros and Cons table and walk through my individual decision making process for whether or not I should sell my Home Goods Brand business.

Pros to Selling	Cons to Selling
I could get paid up to $450,000	I don't really need the money (thanks to my previous exit).
I could use the money to invest in real estate or some other passive investment	$15,000 a month is a significant revenue stream to give up.
I could use the money to buy another business that I feel like I could grow more easily	There is TONS of growth potential
I wouldn't have to worry about Amazon	Will I have enough monthly revenue to cover my existing employees if I sell?
Free up mind power to focus on other existing business ventures	I'm leaving a lot of cash on the table if I can grow the business over the next year
Would free up a little bit of my time	The cash flow is enough to hire more employees that could work in the business to grow it or work outside the business to grow my other ventures
My skillset is better geared towards digital products vs. physical products	I could hire people with the right skillset to grow the business
I've become a bit bored with the business, other ventures are more exciting
Another owner could likely grow the business with a fresh set of strategies

 

As you can see above, I've bolded the pros and cons that I'm placing the most emphasis on.  These are the points that I'm thinking about most. 

For me, I think I'm ready to sell because Amazon is still a single point of failure.  Yes, I generate perhaps 10% of my sales outside of Amazon, and I do refer significant traffic to Amazon with my own website.  However, I still know that if Amazon were to change something drastically tomorrow, my business could get cut in half or worse.

Others may not view the risk of being reliant on Amazon as that big a deal.  I may be being overly cautious, because obviously Amazon is not going anywhere soon.

At the end of the day, that's why there would be lots of upside potential for a new owner as well.

What I Plan to Do With the Money

If I sell this business, I'll be left with a significant amount of capital to invest in other things. What should I invest in?

Right now, I'm looking to turn some of the capital I generate from my “active” businesses to more passive investments like real estate.  At this point, I have not made any real estate investments, but I plan to.

And yes, I would use a property manager so that my investment is as hands-off as possible.

I've been consistently investing in the stock market and will continue to do that.  However, I started investing in Bitcoin and Etherum a little while ago and will likely put some more money into these or other crypto-currencies. I feel that as a sector, there will continue to be strong growth in this area for a number of years (but also highly volatile).

I also made my first loan on Prosper.com, and depending on how that goes may beef up some loans there.

Other than that, I'll keep a little bit of money in the account until I figure out what my next venture will be. 

But then again, maybe I'm counting my chickens before they hatch and no deal will ever come to fruition!

Your Thoughts?

Overall, what are your thoughts about selling a business?  When is the right time to sell and when is it not the right time?  I'm open to hearing your thoughts in the comment section below.  Thanks!

The post When Should I Sell My Business? The Pros and Cons of Exiting Your Company appeared first on Niche Pursuits.

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How to Choose the Right Color Schemes for Your Ecommerce Shop

It seems crazy, doesn’t it?

Something as abstract as color can influence the decisions people make.

I’m not just talking about everyday decisions, but those with real consequences for your business.

I mean the kind that impact your bottom line.

That’s not an unfounded claim. Research has shown that color accounts for 85% of an individual’s purchasing decision:

Shocking, I know.

But there is some fascinating science behind it.

It’s called color psychology, and I’ll explore some of it in this post.

First, I want to make something clear.

I’ve seen claims that merely making a switch from one color to another is the magic bullet for sky-high conversion rates.

That’s insane.

Conversion optimization is a bit more complex than that.

So is color psychology.

There’s no universal best color to use on your ecommerce website.

And no amount of psychological hacking can influence a customer if your product and messaging aren’t aligned with their desires.

With that said, using the right color schemes can have a massive impact on the way customers interact with your website.

These interactions can ultimately lead to more sales and more revenue.

It’s worth noting many variables influence people’s responses to color.

In this post, I’ll get into a few of these elements and ways you can use them to make the best creative decision for your ecommerce shop.

1. Choose colors for your brand and not just your ecommerce store

Too obvious?

You’d be amazed at the number of people who forget that choosing the right color scheme is a branding choice.

If you have no brand, it’s impossible for you to make the right decision when it comes to visual elements.

Don’t think about your store as separate from all the other aspects of your business.

The color scheme you select has to be consistent across all your business assets. I’m talking about social media, business cards, blog graphics, etc.

Before you even think about colors, get crystal clear about your brand. When you have that insight, it will be much easier to relate it to the world in visual terms.

And guess what?

You don’t need to go on a philosophical tangent to tell people who you are and what you stand for.

In fact, the best brands are ridiculously simple—yet very impactful—in their messaging.

Use the following exercises to help you gain clarity.

• In one sentence, express who you are, what you do, and whom you do it for.
• Think about one word that describes your ideal customer.
• How about one word that describes your brand?
• Decide how you want people to feel about your business.
• What problem do you solve for customers and how do they feel after it’s been solved?

Take a note of your answers. You’ll need them in the second step.

2. Apply color psychology

In the exercises above, I place a lot of emphasis on feeling.

Why?

All decisions, including purchasing decisions, are emotional.

And that is why colors are so impactful when it comes to getting people to take action.

Colors evoke emotions.

Think about it.

It’s why you’d wear a red outfit if you want to be a show stopper. That’s what red does.

If you entered a room and the dominant color was black, you’d feel a sense of sophistication and luxury. That’s the response that black evokes.

Why do we associate emotions with colors?

It’s part of our conditioning.

And it’s not just emotions. Concepts, actions, and qualities are all evoked from visual cues such as color.

That’s great news for your business. Consider the colors known to evoke the feelings you want your customers to have.

Want to come across as trustworthy and dependable? Consider blue.

Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter all use this color for a reason.

Have you ever noticed there’s also an abundance of blue in the financial industry?

It’s the color of security and trustworthiness, which is what you want people to feel when you’re handling their money.

PayPal uses it.

So does Citigroup.

And many others like Goldman Sachs.

That’s just one example where color is used to bring out a desired emotion.

Here are the feelings other colors evoke (both positive and negative):

And some more …

Note: This is theoretical information.

The truth is, color psychology is more nuanced than that.

Other variables need to be considered, which I’ll explore in the following points.

3. Consider your industry and your products

The space you operate within matters.

So does the product you sell.

I’ll explain with some examples.

Soft feminine colors like pink, baby blue, and light green are dominant in the beauty industry. That’s because a large percentage of beauty brands are geared towards women.

Take Sephora for instance.

Or Estee Lauder.

Black, gold, and silver are prominently used in the luxury automobile industry.

Take Lexus for instance.

Brands with a health and eco-conscious focus, like Babyganics, gravitate towards greens, blues, and yellows.

Again, these are just a few examples.

I recommend you visit the ecommerce stores in your industry.

Examine their color schemes and other visual elements.

What works and what doesn’t?

What are some patterns that show up across the board?

You don’t have to use them, but it helps to get a sense of what’s happening within your industry.

You may even decide that a particular color is represented too much in your industry. To differentiate your brand, you can take an alternate path.

At least if you know what’s out there, you’ll be deviating consciously and not by accident.

4. Consider your target demographic

This is one of the most crucial considerations.

People have different color preferences. This means they’ll respond differently to visual cues.

Do you see how this can be tricky?

If your business targets a broad demographic, it can be difficult to pick an appropriate color scheme.

It speaks to the importance of niching down and catering to a well-defined group of people.

Whether you have a narrow or wide niche, factors such as gender, culture, and age do have an impact on color preference.

Let’s say your business targets both men and women. If you used a feminine color, you’d isolate half of your prospect pool.

The same goes for culture.

While white represents purity in the West, it communicates a whole different story in Asia.

Age has a similar effect.

In many parts of the Caribbean, purple is the color of death. But that’s mainly a social conditioning of the older generation.

With a young crowd, purple is a royal and sensual color. That’s even more so for the young female generation.

You have to consider the people you serve.

Define all the demographic factors representing them. And make a decision based on that.

5. Use the right color usage pattern

By now, you’ve seen color psychology has many nuances.

Everything—from your industry to the specifics of the people you serve—has a part to play.

What does that mean for your business?

There’s no right answer to the color question.

It’s not a one-size-fits-all solution.

But doesn’t that put you back at square one?

If there are so many variables, you can’t possibly know what to use.

There’s an easy solution.

Use a color pattern that’s visually appealing.

So simple but so effective.

Think of it this way.

The other considerations, like industry, gender, age, and culture, are there to make sure you don’t choose the wrong color.

It’s so you don’t isolate any part of your customer base by being inconsiderate to their social conditioning.

But the dominant deciding factor should be what has the most visual appeal.

This means choosing colors that complement and contrast each other well.

I’ve made this super easy with a three-step formula.

Step #1: Choose a core color.

This will serve as your base.

It will be the color you use the most. I recommend one that reflects the feeling you want to evoke in your customers.

For instance, Quick Sprout’s core color is green.

Step #2: Choose a color complementary to your core color.

Your secondary color should be something that contrasts well with your base.

A good rule of thumb is to select a color opposite of your dominant color on a color wheel.

It’s important that you use the wheel.

Why?

Many people assume that because two colors are different from each other, they contrast each other well.

That’s not the case.

The color wheel is a perfect representation of the relationship between primary, secondary, and tertiary colors.

When you use it, you’re relying on the proven principles of color theory to determine the right contrast.

Step #3: Choose a color that pops against the other two.

Finally, you need an accent color.

This is one of the most important pieces of the puzzle.

Why?

Your pop color is what you’ll use for your calls to action.

I highly recommend you use it only when you want your web visitors to take a particular action.

It can be to sign up for a lead magnet, purchase a product, or click on a link.

This way, you condition your web visitors to act when they see your accent color.

Map all the touchpoints on your website that lead your prospects down your sales funnel.

These are the points where you want to use this color.

Let’s look at Ramit Sethi’s blog as an example.

Yellow is, of course, his accent color.

What’s more insightful is how he uses it.

Every call to action is yellow.

Here’s a call to read more of his content:

He asks users to enroll in one of his courses:

If you have a problem or questions, he clues you in to speak to live support:

It’s a very subtle visual cue to encourage people to act.

And I bet it works exceptionally well.

How do you choose your accent color?

Let’s go back to the wheel. Since you’re using three colors in your scheme, you want to form a triad within the color wheel.

Your first two colors will represent the first two points of the triangle.

And your accent color is the last connecting point.

What if you want to use more than three colors?

It’s the same principle. Instead of a triangle, form a square or rectangle within your color wheel.

Most brands use 2-3 colors.

6. Consider user experience when selecting a color scheme

Above all, user experience should come first.

The aspect of user experience most affected by color is readability.

Nothing will make a web visitor hit the back button faster than yellow text on a white background (or some other equally distasteful color scheme).

To avoid that, you want to choose colors high in contrast.

White background and black text do the trick.

You can experiment more with graphics. Just be sure to check the contrast value on the colors to see if they complement each other.

7. Color psychology is not an exact science

By now, you may have noticed a ton of factors influence color choices.

Yes, the theories have merit. They’ve been tested and proven to work for some people, but don’t bank on it.

There are many anomalies.

For instance, many studies have shown that both men and women hate orange:

That’s insane!

For one, I love orange.

And many other brands have used this color to great success.

Amazon is a prime example.

That may have something do with the fact that orange has also been proven to encourage impulse shopping.

The point I’m making here is this:

No one color scheme will have people knocking down your door to buy what you’re selling.

It’s not an exact science because there are too many variables.

You should definitely take into consideration the theories that are out there.

But don’t let that restrict you.

Use the colors you love and find appealing.

The key is to test them to see what your customers respond to the best.

Conduct split tests and make color the only variable.

You can’t go wrong there.

Conclusion

I’m a big champion of color theory and all things consumer psychology.

I know first-hand that it works. I’ve seen the results in my business.

But I’m also big on not remaining confined to theory.

Your brand is unique.

And so are your consumers.

The only way to find out what works for them is to put the theories into practice.

See what impact they have and make adjustments from there.

I have no doubt that if you consider all the factors discussed in the article, you’ll find a color scheme that works wonders for your ecommerce business.

How do you use color psychology in your business?

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4 Easy-to-Implement Tactics to Increase Your Newsletter Subscribers (FAST)

Can I go out on a limb here?

I’m going to guess you’re already sold on building an email list.

After all, you’ve heard the advice many times over:

“Build an email list. It’s where the money is.”

If you’re remotely interested in growing a business with staying power, it’s the wise thing to do.

It’s reported that for every dollar spent on email marketing, there’s an average $44 return on investment.

Here’s the thing though.

List building can be quite puzzling for both Internet marketing newbies and veterans.

Marketers agree. A whopping 63% say generating leads is their top challenge.

The source of this confusion?

The massive amount of conflicting information out there.

There are about 198 MILLION posts on how to build an email list:

That’s insane!

I’ll tell you one thing.

You don’t need to spend weeks creating a 45-page e-book as your opt-in offer. And you don’t need to read another “197 Ways to Grow Your Email List” post.

You can simply tweak your website to instantly boost your subscriber count.

Best of all, many of these tweaks will take less than an hour to implement.

That translates to more leads with less work.

Exciting, right?

In this article, I’ll give you four ridiculously easy to implement tactics. None of them require you to start from scratch.

Instead, you can make a few adjustments to your website for a more efficient list-building system.

Ready? Let’s start.

1. Funnel existing traffic to high-performing landing pages

Like I promised, we won’t be reinventing the wheel here.

Brian Dean calls this the Landing Page Funnel (LPF) Technique. It requires two things you should already have:

1. traffic
2. a landing page designed to convert leads.

Don’t worry, you don’t need tens of thousands of visitors a day or a landing page that converts at 50%.

Here’s how this works.

First, identify the landing pages that convert the best on your website.

Then, direct traffic you already receive to these pages.

Easy stuff, right?

Most people want more traffic. Some even take the necessary steps to get these much-coveted website visitors.

But they miss out on the golden opportunity to convert that attention into leads.

Once you have the two elements, it’s not difficult to do.

All you have to do is link extensively to these high-converting landing pages.

Place a link at the top of your website’s pyramid (in the main navigation menu):

You can also put a link in the comment section of posts as I do on Neilpatel.com:

Or place links to landing pages for your top resources in your sidebar:

My point here is this: you may not need more traffic or opt-in offers to increase the number of your subscribers.

Track where your current web visitors spend the most time and ensure they have easy access to a high-converting landing page.

It’s as simple as adding a few links.

But what if none of your current landing pages convert well?

Improve them.

A basic email grab form is not enough.

You need to have all the persuasive elements on your landing page.

Here is how to improve your landing pages:

• reduce the number of form fields. One form field is excellent, two is enough, and three is too many.
• add social proof elements. Got an endorsement from a big name? Show it off. Have 15 000 subscribers? Let people know. Got one raving testimonial from a reader? Feature it.
• have a strong value proposition. I’ll demonstrate with an example from SmartBlogger.

They’ve had this same lead magnet for ages.

And I bet it converts like crazy.

It’s a valuable resource for writing headlines.

They don’t ask people to

download these headline formulas.

Instead, they lead with a compelling value proposition:

write viral blog posts quicker.

Makes sense?

2. Create content upgrades

I am a big fan of content upgrades.

You can uplevel your content by adding bonuses unique to each piece of content.

Let’s say you write an ultimate guide on promoting a blog post. You can create a quick cheat sheet for blog post promotion.

Like this:

You just have to extract the key points from your already-written blog post and create your bonus content.

I recommend keeping it short, snappy, and easily consumable.

Lead magnets, including content upgrades, should be something that subscribers can consume and implement quickly.

This way, there’s a sense of instant gratification, and your perceived value goes up.

It’s exactly what you want.

I’ll admit. This is the most time-consuming tactic on this list.

After all, you have to create a unique bonus for each post.

There are some clever ways around that, and I’ll share them with you.

1. Create multi-purpose content upgrades.

In other words, create a bonus that can be used for several blog posts.

This is easy to do if you’re blogging about the same topics.

2. Use the content you already have.

Let’s say you write a blog post entitled “27 Ways to Generate More Leads Using LinkedIn.”

You can feature 21 of these strategies in your blog post and provide the rest as a bonus.

Like this:

3. Have a formula for creating your upgrades.

You don’t need to have every type of bonus under the sun to see results from this tactic.

Have a podcast? Stick with giving out transcripts.

Create only long-form and comprehensive content? Stick with PDF versions of your posts.

Decide what type of content upgrade you want to give to your readers, and go all in on it.

The process will become formulaic and efficient when you do it this way.

Whether you use these time-saving strategies or not, content upgrades are still worth the time you put into them.

Depending on what the actual upgrade is, it may take you an hour maximum.

Don’t neglect to prominently feature your content upgrades. Don’t bury them in the middle or at the bottom of your posts.

Instead, make readers aware of this bonus from the beginning.

What are some examples of content upgrades?

• PDF version of a post
• cheat sheet
• checklist
• additional strategies
• list of resources or tools
• printables and templates
• transcript
• video or audio recording
• a challenge

The list goes on, but these give you enough food for thought.

If you’re serious about increasing your email list, here’s my challenge to you.

Step #1: Go through your website analytics, and pinpoint five blog posts with the most traffic.

Step #2: Create one content upgrade for each blog post. Spend less than an hour on each one.

Put these steps into action, and you’ll see a difference.

3. Create a vault of subscriber-exclusive content

It’s true.

Traditional opt-in offers don’t work anymore.

I’m talking about bulky reports and e-books.

Even if people sign up for these resources, they typically put off reading them.

The result? They never consume the information, yet alone implement it.

Think about the last time you downloaded an e-book. You tell yourself you’ll read it later and never get around to it.

I bet it happens all the time. I know it does for me.

Is there an easy solution?

Put all your free resources in one place so subscribers can have easy access to them.

Here’s an example from Blogging Wizard:

When you click the “exclusive content” link, it takes you to a high-converting landing page with 15+ resources.

These resources are found on a password-protected page.

When you sign up, you get the password, and that’s it.

You’ve got a lifetime access to a vault of valuable resources.

Note:

Blogging Wizard married this strategy with the content upgrade.

Within blog posts, they feature their collection of subscriber-exclusive resources as a content upgrade.

Now, that’s smart.

Here’s another example from Melyssa Griffin:

Again, you don’t have to start from scratch.

I’ll give you the step-by-step play.

Step #1

Gather all the free resources you’ve created in the past. It could be ultimate guides, checklists, webinars, cheat sheets, etc.

Here’s a list of what Blogging Wizard has in its vault so you can get an idea:

Step #2

Create a specific website page to host these resources. I recommend using the Essential Grid WordPress Plugin to display your content in a customizable grid.

Step #3

In WordPress, set the visibility of your page as “password protected,” choose your password, and publish your page.

Step #4

Create a landing page for your exclusive content, and funnel traffic to that page.

You’ll instantly have an opt-in offer that will keep converting leads.

You won’t have to create a new offer every few months when the one you have feeds you.

Be sure you keep adding fresh content to your vault, and you’ll be good to go.

4. Optimize these two most valuable website pages

There’s a good chance you’re not making the best use of crucial website real estate.

I’m talking about the two pages most people do nothing with.

The Home page and the About page.

Do a quick audit of your website.

If you don’t have more than one (minimum two) opt-in forms on both of these pages, you have a problem.

Fortunately, it’s an easy fix.

Let’s start with the Home page

Have you ever seen websites with home pages taken up almost entirely by opt-in forms?

Or at least, the first thing you see is a call to action to sign up for something.

Here’s what I mean:

Here’s another example from Neilpatel.com:

Derek Halpern has about six calls to action on his homepage, inviting visitors to subscribe.

Five of them are presented in the first half of the page:

Too much?

Maybe, but it works.

Just ask his 300K subscribers.

The point is, you need to make optimal use of your homepage.

It’s often the most visited website page. You just have to do a few tweaks to add those opt-in forms.

Here are two quick fixes you can do right now:

Step #1

Add a HelloBar to your homepage to divert traffic to a landing page of your choice.

This is an opt-in tool that converts like crazy.

It’s as effective as a pop-up but less obtrusive and annoying.

Step #2

Add a link to an opt-in form or page in your main navigation menu.

Simple, right?

Let’s talk about your About page

There are few website pages as important as this one.

When new readers come to your blog, they’re guaranteed to visit this page.

They don’t know, like, or trust you yet.

That’s what your About page should be geared towards.

More importantly, it should convert these web visitors into subscribers.

How do you do that?

1. Make your About page persuasive
2. Add a few opt-in forms

I’ll tell you the key to making your About page subscriber-worthy.

Don’t make it about you.

Conflicting, I know.

Here’s a unique way to look at it.

Your About page should tell a story. Your audience should be the hero of that story. And you should position yourself as a trusted adviser to the hero.

Makes sense?

After you’ve amped up the quality of your About page, sprinkle in a few opt-in forms.

Beautiful designs like the one above work, but you can keep it simple with an inline opt-in form.

Conclusion

Profitable businesses are built on the relationships they nurture with their audiences.

Right now, the best (and only) way to do that effectively is through email marketing.

At the center of that is getting people to trust you enough to give you their email addresses.

And you know what?

It’s way less complicated than people make it out to be.

You really don’t need to spend hours creating bulky opt-in offers.

Double down on a few strategies that have been proven to work. In this article, I gave you four you can start using immediately.

They’re super actionable and easy to implement.

Put them to work, and I guarantee your subscriber count will increase.

What are your best strategies for gaining new subscribers fast?

from Quick Sprout http://ift.tt/2vSd6GF