Frequently Asked Questions
Buying a website – or an online business – is complex and the process can be daunting for many first and second-time buyers. Below are a number of common questions we receive regarding our process and listings, but we encourage you to get in touch with us! We’d love to answer any questions you may have.
Questions on Our Listings
Do you go through a vetting process with your listings?
Yes. In fact, less than 10% of potential sellers who contact Quiet Light Brokerage become clients because we have strict controls on who we choose to represent.
We speak to many frustrated buyers who quickly found that the vast majority of websites for sale cannot stand up to the scrutiny of due diligence. When they view a Quiet Light Brokerage listing, they quickly see that we place an emphasis on giving you the information you need to make a good decision.
Every buyer is responsible to do their own due diligence, but when you review a Quiet Light listing, you’ll find that our clients are better prepared and know that their websites need to be verified through your due diligence process.
How can I verify the financials of the business?
Quiet Light Brokerage clients verify their financial statements with third party documents. This may involve bank statements, merchant account statements, and tax returns.
If any of these items is not available, this will be disclosed upfront.
How often do you come out with new listings?
There is no regular schedule that we follow for releasing new listings. We simply release our clients’ websites to the marketplace as they become available.
We never release more than one business per day to our email list. Fill out the information below to be added to our notification list.
How Can I Get Advanced Notice About Your Listings?
Every buyer is looking to get information before a listing hits the marketplace. Because of this, we recommend you do two things:
1. Register for new listing announcements. You can do this at the top of our Websites for Sale page. This will ensure that you are notified as soon as we release a new listing.
2. Get to know our advisors. Talk to our advisors regularly. Give feedback on their listings. Pick up the phone and talk to them about what you are looking for. We love working with buyers who are quick to give feedback.
Questions on Pricing, Offers, and Financing
How do you come up with the asking prices on your listings?
Fortunately for us, we have a lot of internal market data which we can use to help determine a fair, market-ready asking price for almost any business. In addition, we also use general market comparables.
The process of determining an asking price is both simple and complex at the same time. The actual formula for determining asking price is very straightforward (Discretionary Earnings x Some Multiple). However, knowing how to properly calculate discretionary earnings and understanding what influences multiples is a complex topic that you can only fully learn through actual, real-world experience.
If you want to know more about this topic, take a look at our comprehensive guide on website value.
Do Seller’s Offer Financing?
In some cases seller financing is a very real possibility; however, most sellers strongly prefer to work with buyers who can bring cash to the closing table.
As a general rule, cash buyers tend to receive preference.
If you need financing for an acquisition, we recommend looking into SBA loans or other sources of external financing.
How open are your clients to performance-based financing?
Performance-based financing are payments that you make to the seller based on the performance of the website you bought from them.
For example, you may offer a bonus payment of $20,000 if the business meets or exceeds a certain revenue target over the first 6 months of your ownership.
Buyers tend to love performance-based financing since it can reduce your risk exposure, especially for a risky business or a business that requires significant changes under new ownership.
Generally speaking, however, sellers dislike performance-based financing since that financing is dependent on a buyer’s ability to successfully run their website. A seller may have confidence in their own ability to run a profitable website, but they may not have the same confidence in someone that they do not know.
As with any aspect of making an offer, performance-based financing is something that should be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Do your sellers ever look for partnerships or investors?
On occasion, we do speak with individuals who are interested in finding a partner or investor for their business. However, the listings that we bring to the marketplace are always brought with the intention of being acquired in full. We specialize in facilitating asset sales. Outside of this specialty, we typically will not take on a client and bring them to market.
You are always welcome to propose a partnership to a seller, but you should be prepared with the understanding that most sellers intend to sell their assets in full.
Can I get a bank to help finance the acquisition?
Yes! In the past it was rare that banks would fund the acquisition of a web-based business, however, this has changed over the past several years.It is rare that banks will fund the acquisition of a web-based business,
SBA financing is quite common for Internet-based businesses. If you want some recommendations of banks we’ve worked with, please reach out to us.