Help selling a website

bluewater

I`m hoping some community members can can offer thoughts and suggestions on my plan to move forward from my current situation (outlined below). Apologies if some of it is a bit vague or muddled... it`s all still  quite up in the air.Background: I own a website (promoting the town where I live - Port Douglas, Australia) which I have built over the last 3 years while studying a B. of Internet Communication (full-time) at university. It owes me somewhere between 3000-4000 hours and, despite never spending a cent on marketing, the site ranks very well in Search Engines and attracts very good traffic levels. Up until now I have not actively chased any advertising dollars, instead I`ve worked on improving and adding features. There are still a few things that need finishing (or adding), and a bit of polishing to be done, but overall the site is ready to go (with full control panel), and the potential is there for good advertising revenue.Current Situation: Now that I am finishing my degree I plan to return my focus to my real passion - the filming, production, and (online) delivering of scuba diving videos and photos. I am looking to sell all, or part of, the website so it can be  run by someone with the time and money to market and grow it to its full potential. So far I haven`t found a buyer to take the whole site, however I do have interest from a few local businesses interested in each buying a share.  The Plan: At present I am looking at the possibility of selling 60%-80% of the site to 3-5 local businesses who would be jointly responsible for the marketing and day-to-day running of the site. I would stay on as the website developer.Questions: What potential pitfalls would there be with this arrangement.Is 3-5 partners too many? They would be in complimentary industries... eg Restaurant, Accommodation, Tour.Would I be better off selling only 49%What special considerations would need to be factored into an agreement / contract?  What other feedback, suggestions, or insights can SUN members offer? Any and all comments welcome, cheersSteve

bluewater

Thanks for the feedback so far... my original plan had been to look for a good salesperson and pay them an excellent commission.. But  in a town of only  4000  they`re as rare as hens teeth. I`ve been trying...And... now there is another startup with multiple crew &  financial backing.... In the last 2-3 months this new crew have started an advertising campaign which I don`t have the resources to compete against by myself. They are advertising on billboards, buses, noticeboards, shop windows, and the local rag.... plus everywhere else you can think of....My customer feedback tells me that my site is still superior... but how long will it take for them to copy every aspect of my site???With regards keeping the site neutral... any contract would definitely have a condition that says that the site continues to provide a standard (free) listing for each and every local business, community group, and sporting club  - this is a part of the IT strategy that comes with the site.  New buyers could however define the type & availability of premium advertising such as banners, landing pages, and videos.I can see the window of opportunity closing.. and think that bringing a `consortium` together would be the way to go.

bluewater

Craig, you hit the nail on the head... Which brings me to my current situation... I would have preferred to have sold the whole site (and possibly continued as an independent contractor to maintain it).  - Or, I could simply shut it down, which would be a shame given its performance and SE rankings.... Or, (my current situation) I can try and make some money from this project by selling a majority share and staying on as the developer.My real passion is elsewhere... so do I just shut this site down?? Or what??

Scotty

Why not just sell it then? If you have 3-5 people that are interested in it,
sell the whole thing outright and use the proceeds from the sale towards
the new venture that you are most passionate about.

I wouldn`t stay on as web developer beyond the initial transfer and
settling phase. There`s no sense in being caught in the middle of a
commitee of owners.

john734

Don`t shut it down... if there is competition and they are spending money, they certainly would be interested in what you have built!    If your site is designed well, and does well in the search engines, they would be fools NOT to be interested in your site.

JMAXMarketing

Good sales people are not rare as hens teeth! You just need to know where to look for them! I have a long time friend who is about to open a web site that you can post your requirements and job description and generate more than qualified applicants to work on a low hourly wage and or commission base. His site is atwww.hourlypdhomejob.com He plans to open soon, and is taking job postings currently via his email atwww.sales@hourlypdhomejob.com We own and operate a telephone marketing company "Virtual" and there is a huge area of Virtual Home-Office Workers trying to break into the Virtual job arena.This man know how to find them, and how to screen them. Check it out!I wish you the best of luck.GailJ Max Marketing