Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

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:

1. What potential pitfalls would there be with this arrangement.
2. Is 3-5 partners too many? They would be in complimentary industries... eg Restaurant, Accommodation, Tour.
3. Would I be better off selling only 49%
   
4. What special considerations would need to be factored into an agreement / contract? 
   
5. What other feedback, suggestions, or insights can SUN members offer? 
   

Any and all comments welcome, cheers

Steve

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"The truth, whilst amusing and interesting, is totally irrelevant. Perception is the only thing that counts." author unknown (to me at least)

Instead of selling, if you are still developing it ... why not just hire on someone to run the thing?

Selling the site to local businesses makes it lose it`s neutrality and therefore its usefulness.
Keeping it independent is the best way to go.

That`s not saying you can`t monetize the thing where local businesses can buy better listings or ad spots.

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.


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"The truth, whilst amusing and interesting, is totally irrelevant. Perception is the only thing that counts." author unknown (to me at least)

I love Port Douglas!  My wife and I visited there in October `05.  We took a daytrip up into the Daintree and of course, a snorkel cruise to the reef.  I even did a little sailing myself.  One thing I`m sure most tourists don`t stop to see is that cool historic cemetery of the town`s pioneers.  Port Douglas was our favorite stop in Australia and I`m glad we chose it over the even more touristy Cairns.  My wife wanted to move to Port Douglas after we returned to Colorado for winter.

Okay, I know that was off topic but your site brought back good memories.  I know you say it is hard to come by salespeople in your small town but how about reaching outside of the town.  Cairns is bigger and I assume has more commercial resources.  Maybe you should look for salespeople out of Cairns.  Isn`t it only about 45 minutes to an hour drive away?

I think supporting a Web site is either a personal passion or a professional contract. I doubt there`s much in between.

If, as you say, other sites are competing, and if they have that passion or financial investment in keeping it going, then why would you bother to keep this site up?

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??


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"The truth, whilst amusing and interesting, is totally irrelevant. Perception is the only thing that counts." author unknown (to me at least)

Shut it down. So what if it`s a shame for it to go? If enough people agree with you, then you`ll get plenty of people pounding on your door to keep it going, put it back up, or to buy it. But it seems only people with some sort of vision would think it`s a shame that it goes away.

That`s the bigger problem in most of today`s western culture. People are SO short-sighted, lost in trying to fight fires and deal with crises of incompetence, that they simply can`t see the value of anything long term.

And so competent people like yourself are in a quandry. On the one hand, you know you can elevate ANY site you build in the SEs. You know how to build it, to sell it, market it, or whatever. You know how hard it is and was to do, and how few other people will be able to accomplish the same thing.

On the other hand, if nobody can perceive the value, then does it have a value? That`s the distinction between intrinsic value versus subjective value. In this case, you`re seeing the intrinsic value. The potential buyer market sees only another Web site.

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.

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.

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 at
www.hourlypdhomejob.com
He plans to open soon, and is taking job postings currently via his email at
www.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.
Gail
J Max Marketing


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J Max Marketing Gail & Jeff