How I Successfully Sold My Online Businesses With Quiet Light

“After selling several online businesses privately, through marketplaces, and through brokers, I’m convinced Quiet Light is an excellent resource for business owners who want to maximize their selling price.”

      – Marc Andre, a two-time Quiet Light client who sold businesses with Advisor, Brad Wayland in 2018 and 2023.

The Challenge of Selling My Online Business

In 2018, I had been running a photography blog for a few years and was looking for a change. Since I’d sold sites through my own network in the past, I figured that’s the approach I would take again. After being in the industry for several years, I had some decent contacts and thought I could probably get an offer I’d be happy with. I reached out to an ideal buyer, a company I’d collaborated with multiple times over the previous 12 months. We both had the same target audience but sold different and non-competing products.

They were probably the most ideal buyer possible for this site. Both brands would have benefited significantly by being under common ownership. Additionally, they had acquired other sites before, so this would be nothing new for them.

This company did make an offer, but they wanted to stretch the payment out over several years with only a small amount upfront, so I declined. 

Maximizing the Exit with Quiet Light

Shortly after that, I got in touch with Brad, whom I’d known for several years at that point. Brad told me he’d started working as a broker for Quiet Light about six months earlier, and he thought he could probably find a buyer for my site. 

After talking with Brad and providing my financials, he gave me his suggested listing price. It seemed unrealistically high to me, but Brad was confident it was a realistic number. 

About a week later, the listing went live with Brad’s suggested price. Within four days, we had two strong offers, and I accepted one of them (it was for about 95 percent of the asking price, cash upfront).

After the broker fees, the amount I walked away with was 33 percent higher than the offer I’d received on my own, and that doesn’t even take into account that the lower offer was spread out over several years.

Obviously, I was thrilled with the outcome!

Another Profitable Online Business Sale

Following the sale, I started working on a new site, a personal finance blog. Fast-forward a few years later to early 2023, and I was, again, ready to move on to something different. 

One of the things I learned while running a personal finance blog is that many people want to get into that space. I, like many other finance bloggers, received emails all the time from people interested in acquiring the site. So when I started to think about selling, I got back in touch with a few of those people.

These contacts did lead to a few offers, but I was confident that Brad could get a higher price if I listed it with Quiet Light. I reached out to him for a valuation to see what he thought the site was worth. I felt like I was pretty aggressive in the price I was looking for, but again, Brad suggested a slightly higher asking price. 

The listing went live, and I was hoping for a quick sale like the last one. This time the first week was pretty quiet, partly due to the more aggressive price and partly due to the market slowing down in 2023.

Despite the slow start, interest picked up the following week. Brad lined up a few calls with potential buyers, and I received two offers. I accepted the better offer less than three weeks after the listing went live.  

This time, the offer was about 94 percent of the listing price, which was still an excellent price since the list price had been bumped up.

Why I Sell My Online Businesses with Quiet Light

Prior to working with Quiet Light, my only previous experience with an online business broker was when my wife and I listed an Amazon FBA business with another leading brokerage in late 2016. That broker was so extremely aggressive with the list price that we got zero offers in four months, despite having calls with 5–10 potential buyers. After getting nowhere with that broker, I wound up selling the business on my own for a more realistic price.

Never Pushy

My experience with Brad and Quiet Light was completely different than the experience with this other broker. Brad was never pushy (to me or to potential buyers). He didn’t come off like he was trying to sell anything. Instead, it felt like Brad was simply trying to find the best fit between buyer and seller.

Always Realistic

Brad also never gave me an unrealistic valuation just to get the listing. The offers I received were very close to the list prices, and that’s without any counteroffers that potentially could have increased the selling prices a bit.

In both cases, I had amazing experiences with Brad and Quiet Light, exceeding my expectations. After selling websites and online businesses a few different ways, I’m convinced that an excellent broker like Brad is the best option for sellers in most cases. 

Extensive and Credible Buyer Network

Quiet Light’s network of buyers is amazing. There’s no way for most online business owners, myself included, to reach a comparable audience of qualified buyers. 

I would absolutely list a business for sale with Brad and Quiet Light again, and I’ve already referred a few friends.

Author Bio: Marc Andre

Marc has been building, growing, and selling online businesses since 2007. He’s built successful businesses in industries like web/graphic design, photography, travel, and personal finance. Marc is the founder of Flip My Site, where he publishes content related to buying and selling websites, including inspirational stories of successful exits by entrepreneurs around the world.