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:
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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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