The Fatal Error When Selling Your Business with Thomas Smale - Honest Ecommerce Ep. 150

Thomas Smale is the Founder and CEO of FE International. He is a serial business entrepreneur and M&A expert, having built the industry-leading firm in the $1-100M global technology sector.

With experience dating back to the early 2000s, Smale offers invaluable technical, diligence and negotiation advice to early-stage and seasoned business owners alike, which has resulted in over 1,000 successful exits.

Smale can be regularly found speaking at industry events where he enjoys meeting like-minded entrepreneurs and investors.

Alongside his duties at FE International, Smale is a sought-after author and keynote presenter for leading industry events worldwide.

He has been interviewed on top podcasts and blogs on a variety of topics, including business strategy, buying and selling businesses, negotiation tactics and more.

He writes a business column regularly on entrepreneurship, growth, and business management for Entrepenur.com and is a Young Entrepreneurs’ Council member.

In This Conversation We Discuss:
[00:00] Intro
[01:19] Thomas’ backstory
[04:54] Reasons to buy or sell websites
[06:25] 3 main buyer groups for websites
[08:15] 3 types of websites that FE Intl buys
[12:30] Setting up for selling your business
[15:31] What makes FE Intl different
[17:15] Sponsor: Electric Eye https://electriceye.io/
[17:35] Sponsor: Mesa https://apps.shopify.com/mesa
[18:19] Sponsor: Rewind http://rewind.io/honest
[19:46] Sponsor: Gorgias https://gorgias.grsm.io/honest
[20:18] Sponsor: Klaviyo http://klaviyo.com/honest
[21:06] Best practices for selling your website
[22:23] Don’t sell your business when it’s declining
[23:44] It’s easier to sell businesses now
[25:30] Write down your processes
[25:58] Consider an evergreen business industry
[28:56] Does FE Intl help buyers?
[29:55] Be careful in choosing advice
[31:40] Should you raise money?
[32:20] Consider your future early on
[33:59] Where to find Thomas and FE International

Resources:
Connect with Thomas https://twitter.com/ThomasSmale https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomassmale/
Sell your online business with a Professional M&A Advisor you can trust https://feinternational.com/
Get a free valuation of your website https://feinternational.com/sell-your-website/
Scale your business with https://electriceye.io/
Download Mesa at the Shopify App Store https://apps.shopify.com/mesa
Respond to any of Rewind’s welcome emails and mention HONEST ECOMMERCE to get 1 month free http://rewind.io/honest
Level up your customer support https://gorgias.grsm.io/honest
Get started with a free account at http://klaviyo.com/honest

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Honest Ecommerce is a weekly podcast, community & educational resource providing online store owners with honest, actionable advice to increase their sales and grow their business. Visit http://honestecommerce.co/ for more information.

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