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Entrepreneur’s M&A Journal Episode 45—Interview With Andrea Ayers

Summary:

Andreea and Jim walk you through Andreea’s journey from opening her own online t-shirt shop to selling that venture and then starting an entirely new business. Join us to learn how to get the most from your business when selling so that you can move on to your next project.

Main Questions Asked:

➢ How do you go for working from McKenzie to owning your own t-shirt company?
➢ How did you pick a t-shirt business?
➢ What were you thinking that would be the break-through for you?
➢ When you started the business did you have an exit in mind?
➢ How did you find your buyer?
➢ How did you determine your valuation?
➢ Was your inventory over and above your valuation?
➢ How long did it take for you to close the sale on your business?
➢ Looking back on it, is there anything you would have done differently?
➢ What do you think caused it to work out so well?
➢ The key for you was to make sure your web-site got activity?

Key Points Made:

➢ I moved from New York to Colorado and thought I would just open my open business. (2:05)
➢ I knew I wanted a consumer product and saw someone wearing an inspirational t-shirt and decided to research that business. (3:45)
➢ I wanted to make my t-shirts eco-friendly. (4:47)
➢ I focused on a niche market, with women and yoga, eventually I expanded. (5:41)
➢ I didn’t have an exit in mind. I fell in love with the t-shirts and messages and yoga. (7:15)
➢ After 4 years, I felt it grew beyond where I could take it. (7:50)
➢ I had a vision, but I didn’t know what it would take to get there. (8:02)
➢ I thought about closing the business, I thought about keeping it at the same size, then I thought maybe I could sell it. (9:20)
➢ I found a website in a yoga market. I listed it there and got a lot of interest. (10:00)
➢ I ended up determining my valuation at 3x’s my profits. (10:34)
➢ The valuation included the inventory. (11:30)
➢ It took about 3-4 months to sell the business. (11:50)
➢ I would have looked more or maybe hired someone to help me through it all, if I had to do it again. (12:25)
➢ I didn’t have any professionals with experience to help me decide valuation. (12:48)
➢ My business was able to run without me. (13:29)
➢ Publicity and getting my t-shirts in magazines brought the website a lot of traffic. (15:17)
➢ I sold the business when it was doing very well. (23:07)
➢ I wrote an e-book and then received requests to assist others with launching their businesses. (17:40)

Resources Mentioned:

www.launchgrowjoy.com

Thank you for listening! Please subscribe to the podcast in iTunes and if you enjoyed this interview, leave a 5 star rating and review!

 

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Tennessee Valley Group

Jim Cumbee established Tennessee Valley Group to help business owners fulfill their dreams for life after business ownership. It’s a mission that his 30+ year career history had prepared him well for—in addition to being an attorney, transition mediator and business broker, Jim has been a buyer, seller, and entrepreneur. His broad range of experience gives him unique insight into how business buyers and sellers can achieve their goals.

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