Summary:
Jim Cumbee and Rachel Miller talk about Rachel’s very unique experience with starting a business, its impromptu sale and then working in the business again with great success.
Main Questions Asked:
- When you made the transition from teaching high school to writing, did you intend for it to become a full-time job?
- People who sit down and make plans are more the exception than the rule.
- At what point did you see your website turning into a business?
- Did you go into it thinking that this is a business that I want to sell?
- How long did you operate your business before you decided to sell it?
- How did you transition from the “aha moment” to putting the deal together?
- Was that number [sale price] high or low or exactly as it should have been?
- How long did it take you to finish the deal?
- Did you have a lawyer or just sell through a check and an email?
- Is “QuirkyMomma” your full-time job?
Key Points made:
- I started doing content writing as a side job after I had my first child. (1:24)
- I use the shotgun approach, just put lots of stuff in and try to hit the target. (2:45)
- I saw it as a business in the first few days. I grew up in a family of entrepreneurs, so you start with your end in mind. (3:15)
- I didn’t think about selling, but I did try to see how I could monetize my writing. (4:10)
- I would consider myself more of a website manager than a mom-blogger. (4:35)
- I started my business quickly and pretty much sold it the same way. (5:00)
- I knew when I took a break that my website would die. (5:35)
- I was being offered work and I said, I don’t have time to work, I need to sell and she said I need to buy and that is how the sale happened. (6:00)
- We used 10 different websites that value your website, we threw out the cheapest and most expensive, averaged the others and used that number. (7:46)
- It was probably low, but if I left my website, it would have died anyway. (8:25)
- It only took a week or two to close the deal. (9:29)
- I think we did have a lawyer, but I trusted Holly to do a good job. (10:05)
- We get between 6 and 10 million views each month. (10:30)
- You have to have someone you trust to take over your legacy. (10:55)
- I basically run the website full-time. (12:10)
- If you have a passion and find someone else with the same passion, teaming up is the best thing you can do. (14:00)
Resources Mentioned:
Thank you for listening! Please subscribe to the podcast in iTunes and if you enjoyed this interview, leave a 5 star rating and review!
The following two tabs change content below.
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.
Latest posts by Tennessee Valley Group (see all)
- Enterprise Value Includes Asset Value - July 25, 2022
