In 2007, a year after having sold his first online business, a friend asked Mark if he would be willing to help him sell his web hosting company. During the previous year, Mark was evaluating whether or not to start a consultancy firm to assist owners of profitable websites who wanted to divest of their websites. With the call from this friend, Quiet Light was officially born. Mark retained his friend’s business, put the listing out to market, and within two months had found a buyer at a price that was higher than average web hosting companies were fetching in the marketplace.

Since that first business in 2007, Mark has personally helped dozens of small business owners and entrepreneurs and has also expanded Quiet Light to the team it has today. In building out a team of advisors to help other small business owners, Mark has always emphasized the importance of honesty, working in the client’s best interest (even if that means not working in his own best interest), and thorough preparation of all listings before they are brought to market.

Before Quiet Light Brokerage, Mark founded an online publication and grew it’s subscriber base to 220,000 members. Mark has been a presenter at top conferences and seminars as well as a guest author for numerous publications.

Q&A with Mark

When you were in college, did you know that you wanted to work on the Internet?

I had no idea what I was really going to do in college. I knew that entrepreneurship appealed to me quite a bit, but I really didn’t know where or how I was going to get into business. Fortunately during my senior year I got a job with Alabanza Corporation, a dedicated web hosting company geared to hosting automation systems for virtual hosting companies, and from there I was exposed to the world of Internet entrepreneurship. So no, I didn’t know what I wanted to work on the Internet – I really just stumbled into it. To be honest, there are still days that I wonder what it would be like to work a business that doesn’t require being constantly plugged in.

Why did you start Quiet Light?

After I sold my online publication through another firm, I realized that my experience and knowledge of SEO, marketing, and technology would be great assets when preparing and marketing an Internet business for sale. At the time there weren’t too many people doing this, and I figured that my experience dovetailed nicely into being able to help people through the oftentimes confusing and stressful process of selling a valuable asset like a website. Over the years I discovered that there was a real need in this industry for transparency and a starkly honest approach to both people who want to sell and those looking to buy. I think that honesty is what really allowed Quiet Light to grow so quickly.

What is your favorite part of what you do?

I love it when a good deal comes together and everyone involved walks away in a better position than when they started. Selling anything of value is risky.  Watching a buyer and seller work out a deal that truly leaves each person in a better position than when they started is real fun.

What is the single best piece of advice you ever received?

To always be willing to listen to criticism, correction, and advice, regardless of who is giving it. That doesn’t mean you have to agree with it, but be willing to listen.

If you could have just one superpower, what would it be?

Definitely invisibility. It works well with my personality.

“My name is David A. Stuebe, a recent client of Quiet Light Brokerage. I was originally referred to QLB from a client of mine who sold his business successfully with the help of QLB. So, from the beginning I new that QLB would complete my business sale in a timely manner and do an overall great job. During my initial consultation from Jason Yelowitz and Mark Daoust with QLB, I was given the necessary instructions that guided me through to the final sale of my business. From start to finish, Jason and Mark did an excellent job and I would recommend their talent and knowledge to anyone trying to sell their online business.”

– David A. Stuebe

“Clker.com was my first sale. Mark and Jason with Queitlight brokerage have made the sale process easy, they helped us with marketing, negotiating and agreeing on a contract with the purchasers and provided prompt responses and advice when we had questions. I am very happy with their service and hope to use it again in the future.”

– Mohamed Ibrahim, President & CEO, Brain Waves LLC