Shopify is an ideal platform to boost online sales and help your small business grow exponentially. With the ease of usage and management offered by the platform, it is no wonder that hundreds of thousands of business owners and prospective buyers flock to this digital marketplace on a regular basis. Having successfully established your enterprise and witnessed its growth, you may now be considering cashing in on its success. Or, you may have other reasons to put your Shopify business for sale. In either case, there are a series of steps to be followed and factors to be considered to ensure you get the best returns in the bargain. This can be a long and arduous journey, if not done right. Let us take a look at how you can successfully and smoothly sell your Shopify business.
Establish Your Reasons For Selling
Before commencing this expedition, be certain about your decision and crystal clear about the reasons to put your Shopify business for sale. There may be alternatives to selling that you may not have considered, or, you may be making an emotional decision in haste. Your own conviction about the reasons for selling will percolate through the entire buying process and hold you in good stead, especially during the final negotiations. It also helps convey clarity and seriousness to potential buyers, putting you on firm ground.
Know Your Business’ Value
While it is common for people to start crunching numbers immediately, it is important that the value of your business is not simply in digits. There are several tangible and intangible components that need to be taken into consideration as well. For starters:
- Age of the business: Older businesses are deemed more attractive since they have withstood the test of time and swinging market conditions.
- Brand Recognition: Well-established original brands with good word of mouth and online presence are likely to retain their customer base even after the change in ownership.
- Diversity of inventory: Consumer trends have become rather fickle lately and can change anytime. Businesses dependent on a single product or products that are seasonal/occasional in nature are deemed a risky prospect and may attract a lesser number of buyers.
- Financials: Naturally, the financial health of the business is a paramount consideration and something that rides foremost on the buyers’ minds. More on this in the following section.
Gather Business Performance Data
While a lot of this may already get covered during the valuation exercise, it deserves a special mention due to the criticality of this step. Meticulously organized financial and operational metrics give a clear and transparent view of a business’s health. Detailed profit and loss statements, sales figures, historical trends, future projections, and outstanding loans help buyers assess the financial risk factor of buying your Shopify business for sale and the ease of running it upon taking its ownership.
Identify Areas Of Improvement
The metrics gathered and analyzed are not just for the buyers’ convenience. They can open a window for you to get the pulse of your daily business performance and identify gaps and areas of improvement. Some examples can be:
- Expanding your product range, especially if your revenues are heavily dependent on a single product, at the moment.
- Paid/unpaid marketing campaigns to generate more online buzz and enhance the brand value.
- Any other tangible efforts to increase store traffic, focus on improving average customer review, smoother supply chain management (SCM), reducing returns and exchanges, website enhancements and so on.
Prepare For Listing
Having successfully carried out the aforementioned activities, you are now all set to list your Shopify business for sale. Here you will come across several mediums to choose from, each with its own merits. Some of the popular modes to list and sell your business include:
- Digital Marketplace: Experienced sellers may wish to take it upon themselves to carry out the sale. This can include listing the business on digital marketplaces that serve as a yellow pages directory for online businesses. Other avenues can be selling directly to a competitor or through their own professional network. The clear advantage here is the cost saved in the form of commissions and other financial overheads. On the other hand, it can be an overwhelming exercise and may not be ideal for first-time sellers.
- Brokers: Brokers can smoothen the process by using their expertise to identify potential buyers and carry out legal/contractual proceedings. This can save you a lot of time, hassle and stress. For this service, though, they will charge a brokerage that can either be a fixed amount or a percentage of the final sale proceeds.
- Acquirers: Possibly the smoothest and most transparent way to put your Shopify business for sale, is through an acquiring platform. With years of experience and a robust technological infrastructure at their disposal, these companies can help you get the best value for your business with minimum fuss.
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In Summation
Selling your Shopify store is neither an easy decision nor a simple process. However, we hope that this guide to sell Shopify business will serve you well in this journey.
