That is all the more reason to not sell it and monetize it better.
verticalscope.com?
- Thread starter steven s
- Start date
That is all the more reason to not sell it and monetize it better.
Agreed
Thanx.
My last email when asked why I wasn't interested.So you went with "passion" in the end - seems like a good call
Cheers,
Shaun
Morally maybe a good call. Financially, probably not.
Your members may not know it, but im sure they would thank you for saving their community from certain damnation. I once got banned from a VS owned forum for simply asking why they were still running Beta software. 3.8.0 Beta 1 to be specific.. I tried to log in the following morning, and yeah you guessed it..
Many forum owners reject offers from VerticalScope. They will likely continue to track your site and may reach out to you again in the future.
Sorry, not just yet. I did come to terms with myself. I'd like enough money to buy a new M3 for cash, including taxes and Euro Delivery.
And still admin the site. That ain't gonna happen.
On a different note.
I got one of those emails out of the blue, do I want to sell my domain?, happytogether.com.
I get them all the time.
This time I said, sure. $100,000.00 US.
What the hell. Besides, I also have happytogether.co
I can throw that one in for another $50,000.00
I got one of those emails out of the blue, do I want to sell my domain?, happytogether.com.
I get them all the time.
This time I said, sure. $100,000.00 US.
What the hell. Besides, I also have happytogether.co
I can throw that one in for another $50,000.00
Gee. That makes me think now.
happytogether.com | happytogether.co
318ti.org | 318ti.net
schlossman.co
bavforums.com | bavforums.net | bavforums.org
bavarianforums.com | bavarianforums.net | bavarianforums.org
parkinsgrovehoa.org
bronxroots.com
1-series.org
Then there are sites I don't own, but maintain.
bmwccaofest.org
chapterfest.com
nccbmwcca.org
happytogether.com | happytogether.co
318ti.org | 318ti.net
schlossman.co
bavforums.com | bavforums.net | bavforums.org
bavarianforums.com | bavarianforums.net | bavarianforums.org
parkinsgrovehoa.org
bronxroots.com
1-series.org
Then there are sites I don't own, but maintain.
bmwccaofest.org
chapterfest.com
nccbmwcca.org
Steven S, you have a good community and although you've mentioned a few times that the decision not to sell may be stupid of you, its not. From reading your posts you seem like you care about your community, and when or if you decide to sell, your members will understand. Its ultimately up to you to decide what your motivation is, deep inside. If in the future you decide you just want or need the money, thats totally fine - don't ever let anyone tell you different. Our situation changes, our interest changes and sometimes cashing out is the best way to clear your plate of responsibilities or provide a venue for the community to exist.
For example, back in the days when I used to develop hacks, and be active on vBorg and vBcom, I used to own and manage a general discussion forum which grew as a board for misfits that left other forums which ultimately closed or died out. The first time around I ran the website, and like you, decided not to sell to the first offer that came my way out of passion. Eventually my situation changed, I got older, started at a great University and my passion waned - I didn't get another offer and shut a very active and vibrant forum down. If I had sold, there would have been a good chance the community could have continued, instead I shut it down cold.
But lucky for me, the story gets better. A few years pass, the members of that forum banded together and created a memorial community which was active as ever - they got in touch with me and I rebuilt it under our old domain and it was better the second time. Truth be told, my passion still wasn't there, I only hosted and developed the forums because I felt I owed it to the members. Another offer came in to acquire the community, it was great money for me - more than compensated me for my time and effort. I took the money and turned away, instinctively this was the best decision for the community and its members. The forum then merged with www.generalforum.com and is vibrant and ever.
So when selling a community of yourself, here are a few simple things to think about. By no means is this list exhaustive or indicative of how the process works. It may not be the right way, but it has worked for me.
Decide what your motivation is.
Do you want a quick exit? How about a soft/phased exit? Was it a hobby or did you want to make this into a viable business? If its a hobby, are you still interested in it as you were when you started it? Do you want to release yourself of responsibilities to explore other opportunities? If it was supposed to be a business, why is someone willing to buy it? If the buyer is going to blast the community with ads why don't you try? Can you monetize it yourself?
What was your plan in the beginning?
If this was a hobby, and you'd like to monetize it, but don't feel you have the skills, how about selling part of the business? Finding a partner? Merging with a competing community? For example: what other websites is VerticalScope interested in? How about if you merge together and make a bigger community that could potentially be more aggressive in future sale negotiations.
Where do you want to take it? Can you take it there?
Sometimes people begin hobby forums to the point where they experience phenomenal growth but they're not meant to run it. If you can monetize it, why not hire a general forum manager, alleviate yourself of some of the responsibilities. Even if the community was started as a hobby, did you have a plan to where you wanted to take this? Are you the person to take it there?
Do you just want to sell for just money or are you willing to negotiate agreements?
Some community owners don't understand that when they sell, they can make contractual demands. Maybe because you're new to the space of website acquisitions, but in the scale that I have dealt with them (very small) I haven't had the need to get a team of lawyers, accountants and investment bankers on board - I simply made the demands myself, did my due diligence and sought council when required.
Best of luck and keep up the great work with your community.
For example, back in the days when I used to develop hacks, and be active on vBorg and vBcom, I used to own and manage a general discussion forum which grew as a board for misfits that left other forums which ultimately closed or died out. The first time around I ran the website, and like you, decided not to sell to the first offer that came my way out of passion. Eventually my situation changed, I got older, started at a great University and my passion waned - I didn't get another offer and shut a very active and vibrant forum down. If I had sold, there would have been a good chance the community could have continued, instead I shut it down cold.
But lucky for me, the story gets better. A few years pass, the members of that forum banded together and created a memorial community which was active as ever - they got in touch with me and I rebuilt it under our old domain and it was better the second time. Truth be told, my passion still wasn't there, I only hosted and developed the forums because I felt I owed it to the members. Another offer came in to acquire the community, it was great money for me - more than compensated me for my time and effort. I took the money and turned away, instinctively this was the best decision for the community and its members. The forum then merged with www.generalforum.com and is vibrant and ever.
So when selling a community of yourself, here are a few simple things to think about. By no means is this list exhaustive or indicative of how the process works. It may not be the right way, but it has worked for me.
Decide what your motivation is.
Do you want a quick exit? How about a soft/phased exit? Was it a hobby or did you want to make this into a viable business? If its a hobby, are you still interested in it as you were when you started it? Do you want to release yourself of responsibilities to explore other opportunities? If it was supposed to be a business, why is someone willing to buy it? If the buyer is going to blast the community with ads why don't you try? Can you monetize it yourself?
What was your plan in the beginning?
If this was a hobby, and you'd like to monetize it, but don't feel you have the skills, how about selling part of the business? Finding a partner? Merging with a competing community? For example: what other websites is VerticalScope interested in? How about if you merge together and make a bigger community that could potentially be more aggressive in future sale negotiations.
Where do you want to take it? Can you take it there?
Sometimes people begin hobby forums to the point where they experience phenomenal growth but they're not meant to run it. If you can monetize it, why not hire a general forum manager, alleviate yourself of some of the responsibilities. Even if the community was started as a hobby, did you have a plan to where you wanted to take this? Are you the person to take it there?
Do you just want to sell for just money or are you willing to negotiate agreements?
Some community owners don't understand that when they sell, they can make contractual demands. Maybe because you're new to the space of website acquisitions, but in the scale that I have dealt with them (very small) I haven't had the need to get a team of lawyers, accountants and investment bankers on board - I simply made the demands myself, did my due diligence and sought council when required.
Best of luck and keep up the great work with your community.
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