How to Sell a Website for $1 Million

By Gregory Go, About.com Guide to Online Business

Shane Pike, an entrepreneur who built NursingJobs.org from the ground up and sold it to a major Internet company for big bucks, has written an in-depth article about his experience building and selling a site.

How to Sell a Website for $1 Million teaches other site builders what it takes to have a million dollar exit. Shane talks about:

1. Is your site worth $1 million? When you're evaluating the value of your website, some factors to consider include the strength of your brand, your site's defensibility (how vulnerable is it to new competition), are you still growing, how valuable is your niche, and your site's uniqueness and market position (are you the leader or one among many).
2. Are you sure you want to sell? Shane talks about why now might not be the right time to sell, and more importantly, why now is the perfect time to sell. You may want to sell now if a sale will set you up for life, if the business is risky and external forces may strip your site of all its value, or if you're just burned out.
3. How to sell for the maximum price. Shane offers 3 ways to sell a site -- do it yourself, use a broker, or use an investment bank. He then explains how using an investment bank (the way he sold his site) maximizes the dollar amount you can get for your website.

I had a chance to talk to Shane last year at BlogWorld Expo and found him to be a very open and knowledgeable guy. His blog, AskShane.org, is well worth a read for anyone trying to earn a living building (and selling) websites. Check out Shane's blog and ask him some questions. He's generous with his experiences and more than willing to teach others how to reach their goals too.

Picture from www.landlordtenant.org.uk added by pitonhneg