Hold Long-Term or Sell for $400-700k? (24y/o, health issues, grew up in lower-class family)

[DoTheWork]

tl;dr - Have a website earning $10,500 per month profit. Expecting it to reach at least $13-15k/mo. soon. Wondering if I should sell it or hold it based on my situation.

-----

I have a good history of making large, important decisions quickly with good judgment, but this is one I'm really struggling with.

I will try to keep this short, but I'm including the background information since otherwise I bet the only answer is "it depends".

Background:
I just turned 24 this week. I did not grow up well off. Up until last year, I lived in a crowded, water-damaged mobile home with 4 people (family) for about 5 years. We weren't destitute, but it wasn't great. Some of the floors and walls were falling apart in the home and we couldn't get that fixed.

In 2020, I went through a lot of rough things. My father got sick and almost died, we found out he was cheating on my mother after 20 years of marriage, he recovered, then he died suddenly, my soon-to-be fiance broke up with me, and I found out my mother was an alcoholic (all that happened in 12 months). I worked a lot on business during this time as a distraction which led we towards where I am today.

Health:
In late 2021 I got sick and never recovered. I have severe cognitive issues, extreme food intolerances, and exercise intolerance. This is all despite being in the best shape of my life leading up to this. A month before I got sick I did a 20-mile mountain traverse in New Hampshire in one day.

I am finally starting to get some answers. I believe it is CIRS (chronic inflammatory response syndrome) caused by mold exposure from the water-damaged mobile home (and possibly my childhood home). My body was primed with disease and it was triggered during a rough virus.

Because of my health, I can only work 2-4 hours per day to prevent my mind and body from completely giving out. And those hours are rough with my cognitive issues.

I expect another 1-2 years before I start to heal, assuming that we're on track for understanding the root cause.

Businesses:
I have two businesses:

1. Website management services for small businesses (subscription-based)
   • Revenue: $8,000/mo.
   • Profit: $4,000/mo.
   • I don't care for this business, but it provides me with steady income
   • Takes me 2-4 hours per week to run
   • I may get 1-2 new customers per year because I'm not trying to grow this. I don't have a good system for bringing in leads. I could see this business slowly fading to half the revenue and profit over the next couple of years, which is perfectly fine with me since I would be okay moving on from this business (as long as I had other income).
2. Online business ownership and acquisition
   • With this business, my goal is to buy, grow, hold, and sell online businesses (perhaps eventually brick-and-mortar)
   • My current portfolio:
     • Automotive website #1 (This is the subject of this post)
       • Started from scratch 1.5 years ago
       • Revenue: $12k/mo.
       • Profit: $10.5k/mo.
       • I really enjoy running this (and all businesses in this portfolio, honestly)
       • Takes 2-4 hours per week to run
     • Automotive website #2
       • Started from scratch 6 months ago
       • Revenue: $50/mo.
       • Profit: (-)$1,000/mo.
       • Following the same strategy of Automotive website #1 and expecting similar results
     • Agriculture services directory
       • Started from scratch in 2019
       • Sold in 2021 for $10k
       • New owner neglected the site for 2 years
       • Just bought it back last month for $1,500
       • It has some solid traffic, but negligible revenue and profit until I monetize it

Finances:
Below is my personal and business balance sheet.

ASSETS
Cash - $35k

• $10k emergency fund
• $15k in business accounts
• $10k in misc checking/savings

Investments - $9k

• $6,500 stocks/ETFs
• $2,500 crypto/speculative

Vehicle - $3,500

• motorcycle
• no loan

LIABILITIES
Student Loans - $38k

Credit Cards - $4k

• Paid in full each month
• Run most of my personal expenses through here

PERSONAL EXPENSES
My personal expenses are $4-5k per month. I don't eat out or buy nice things. I even sold my car. A lot of my expenses are related to my healthcare.

----

Automotive Website #1 has been seeing fast and steady growth over the past 1 year. Each month revenue has been increasing by about $2k per month. I expect the website to reach $12-15k per month minimum soon, which would put my valuation anywhere from $400-700k (assuming growth hits a peak and slows down).

85% of my traffic comes from Google Search, which is risky. In April 2023, my traffic and revenue were cut in half because I was penalized by a Google Search update. However, it was clear why my website was affected. I hired an expert and we fully recovered the site in 2 months. It was my fault for failing to keep my website up to par with the quality that Google is looking for.

Because I am considering selling within the next year, I am hesitant to spend money developing new traffic channels. However, if I'm going to hold for the long term, I need to start developing new traffic channels NOW.

The big question:
I am trying to figure out if I should sell in 8-12 months, lock in mid-6-figure exit for financial security purposes (especially given my health situation), and use those funds to support new acquisitions for my holding company.
OR
Continue to grow the business, develop new traffic channels, and save/invest the monthly cash flow. I'm afraid my website traffic will tank and decline indefinitely and I would've missed out on an exit that might be "life-changing" for me. If I lost my income and could not cover my personal expenses, my health would suffer severely. I cannot work a job because I can only work in 10-15 minute bursts with huge breaks in between, and I would need quite a high-paying part-time job to support my expenses anyway.


Thank you for taking the time to read. Your input is greatly appreciated.

 

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[Plushy]

Look into DNRS by Annie Harper about the mold illness. I used her method to cure me of long term chronic health issues I had. She developed the program to help with her mold illness. I was in a very similar situation to you and couldn't work longer than 15 minutes at a time at my worst. My health reasons are also why I'm going ham on financial freedom.

I think you shouldn't be too scared about selling the website if the opportunity presents itself because what's most valuable is your skill of creating websites and that will never go away. Right now it does look like a good source of income while you are dealing with health issues. I feel that the health things can make decision making harder. I think you know your market and website best. If you feel like there is no room left for it to grow, it may be best to sell. If you feel like the audience is only 10% of the potential market it may be worth continuing to grow it. You know it the best though. If it's a niche thing and it has hit its peak, perhaps selling is good. But you also enjoy running it and for 2-4h of work a week that's very good. Personally I would prioritize getting health in its best state so you can trust your decision. And at the end of the day, sometimes it really is a gamble which path to take.

 

[DoTheWork]

Look into DNRS by Annie Harper about the mold illness. I used her method to cure me of long term chronic health issues I had. She developed the program to help with her mold illness. I was in a very similar situation to you and couldn't work longer than 15 minutes at a time at my worst. My health reasons are also why I'm going ham on financial freedom.

I think you shouldn't be too scared about selling the website if the opportunity presents itself because what's most valuable is your skill of creating websites and that will never go away. Right now it does look like a good source of income while you are dealing with health issues. I feel that the health things can make decision making harder. I think you know your market and website best. If you feel like there is no room left for it to grow, it may be best to sell. If you feel like the audience is only 10% of the potential market it may be worth continuing to grow it. You know it the best though. If it's a niche thing and it has hit its peak, perhaps selling is good. But you also enjoy running it and for 2-4h of work a week that's very good. Personally I would prioritize getting health in its best state so you can trust your decision. And at the end of the day, sometimes it really is a gamble which path to take.

I've heard DNRS mentioned but didn't know she designed it for her mold illness. I've been using the Curable App which gave me some small improvements. I just read some great things about DNRS on Reddit. I will check it out this week and probably get started with it!

I appreciate your insights on the situation. Makes perfect sense. I'll have to keep an eye on the opportunities to see if I think it will plateau soon. You're right about the skill of building the websites. The good thing about the niche I discovered is that I can repeat it multiple times in different aspects of the automotive industry. I'm confident I could grow another site the same way I did with this one.

 

[BizyDad]

tl;dr - Have a website earning $10,500 per month profit. Expecting it to reach at least $13-15k/mo. soon. Wondering if I should sell it or hold it based on my situation.

-----

I have a good history of making large, important decisions quickly with good judgment, but this is one I'm really struggling with.

I will try to keep this short, but I'm including the background information since otherwise I bet the only answer is "it depends".

Background:
I just turned 24 this week. I did not grow up well off. Up until last year, I lived in a crowded, water-damaged mobile home with 4 people (family) for about 5 years. We weren't destitute, but it wasn't great. Some of the floors and walls were falling apart in the home and we couldn't get that fixed.

In 2020, I went through a lot of rough things. My father got sick and almost died, we found out he was cheating on my mother after 20 years of marriage, he recovered, then he died suddenly, my soon-to-be fiance broke up with me, and I found out my mother was an alcoholic (all that happened in 12 months). I worked a lot on business during this time as a distraction which led we towards where I am today.

Health:
In late 2021 I got sick and never recovered. I have severe cognitive issues, extreme food intolerances, and exercise intolerance. This is all despite being in the best shape of my life leading up to this. A month before I got sick I did a 20-mile mountain traverse in New Hampshire in one day.

I am finally starting to get some answers. I believe it is CIRS (chronic inflammatory response syndrome) caused by mold exposure from the water-damaged mobile home (and possibly my childhood home). My body was primed with disease and it was triggered during a rough virus.

Because of my health, I can only work 2-4 hours per day to prevent my mind and body from completely giving out. And those hours are rough with my cognitive issues.

I expect another 1-2 years before I start to heal, assuming that we're on track for understanding the root cause.

Businesses:
I have two businesses:

1. Website management services for small businesses (subscription-based)
   • Revenue: $8,000/mo.
   • Profit: $4,000/mo.
   • I don't care for this business, but it provides me with steady income
   • Takes me 2-4 hours per week to run
   • I may get 1-2 new customers per year because I'm not trying to grow this. I don't have a good system for bringing in leads. I could see this business slowly fading to half the revenue and profit over the next couple of years, which is perfectly fine with me since I would be okay moving on from this business (as long as I had other income).
2. Online business ownership and acquisition
   • With this business, my goal is to buy, grow, hold, and sell online businesses (perhaps eventually brick-and-mortar)
   • My current portfolio:
     • Automotive website #1 (This is the subject of this post)
       • Started from scratch 1.5 years ago
       • Revenue: $12k/mo.
       • Profit: $10.5k/mo.
       • I really enjoy running this (and all businesses in this portfolio, honestly)
       • Takes 2-4 hours per week to run
     • Automotive website #2
       • Started from scratch 6 months ago
       • Revenue: $50/mo.
       • Profit: (-)$1,000/mo.
       • Following the same strategy of Automotive website #1 and expecting similar results
     • Agriculture services directory
       • Started from scratch in 2019
       • Sold in 2021 for $10k
       • New owner neglected the site for 2 years
       • Just bought it back last month for $1,500
       • It has some solid traffic, but negligible revenue and profit until I monetize it

Finances:
Below is my personal and business balance sheet.

ASSETS
Cash - $35k

• $10k emergency fund
• $15k in business accounts
• $10k in misc checking/savings

Investments - $9k

• $6,500 stocks/ETFs
• $2,500 crypto/speculative

Vehicle - $3,500

• motorcycle
• no loan

LIABILITIES
Student Loans - $38k

Credit Cards - $4k

• Paid in full each monthly
• Run most of my personal expenses through here

PERSONAL EXPENSES
My personal expenses are $4-5k per month. I don't eat out or buy nice things. I even sold my car. A lot of my expenses are related to my healthcare.

----

Automotive Website #1 has been seeing fast and steady growth over the past 1 year. Each month revenue has been increasing by about $2k per month. I expect the website to reach $12-15k per month minimum soon, which would put my valuation anywhere from $400-700k (assuming growth hits a peak and slows down).

85% of my traffic comes from Google Search, which is risky. In April 2023, my traffic and revenue were cut in half because I was penalized by a Google Search update. However, it was clear why my website was affected. I hired an expert and we fully recovered the site in 2 months. It was my fault for failing to keep my website up to par with the quality that Google is looking for.

Because I am considering selling within the next year, I am hesitant to spend money developing new traffic channels. However, if I'm going to hold for the long term, I need to start developing new traffic channels NOW.

The big question:
I am trying to figure out if I should sell in 8-12 months, lock in mid-6-figure exit for financial security purposes (especially given my health situation), and use those funds to support new acquisitions for my holding company.
OR
Continue to grow the business, develop new traffic channels, and save/invest the monthly cash flow. I'm afraid my website traffic will tank and decline indefinitely and I would've missed out on an exit that might be "life-changing" for me. If I lost my income and could not cover my personal expenses, my health would suffer severely. I cannot work a job because I can only work in 10-15 minute bursts with huge breaks in between, and I would need quite a high-paying part-time job to support my expenses anyway.


Thank you for taking the time to read. Your input is greatly appreciated.

If the DNRS doesn't help, I say sell. The stress of the fear of loss sounds like a lot to handle for you. And that stress could impede recovery.

With recovery achieved, you know the formula, you can recreate the success.

Your worst case is seeing the site make more $$ for someone else. But it is just as likely they tank it and you possibly pick it back up on the cheap. Chose your buyer, um, wisely...

Even if it does do well under someone else, you still have the cash in your pocket and again, once healthy, you'll have more fuel and motivation to build the next one bigger.

 

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[msufan]

Because you can very possibly recreate this site's success, because you have a very small nest egg in case of emergency (such as your current illness), and because you lack control over the Google algorithms sending you traffic, if you can get the $400K-$700K quoted in the title, I vote sell.

Congrats on being in this excellent position given your young age and less-than-ideal starting point.

 

[DoTheWork]

If the DNRS doesn't help, I say sell. The stress of the fear of loss sounds like a lot to handle for you. And that stress could impede recovery.

Very very good point. The loss of income and fear of not being able to take care of myself would be absolutely horrible for my health. Even if I could still meet my needs, the stress of the income restriction would be bad, especially since I now live across the country away from family (moving to another climate was helpful for my health).

 

[DoTheWork]

Because you can very possibly recreate this site's success, because you have a very small nest egg in case of emergency (such as your current illness), and because you lack control over the Google algorithms sending you traffic, if you can get the $400K-$700K quoted in the title, I vote sell.

Congrats on being in this excellent position given your young age and less-than-ideal starting point.

Good point. If I had the nest egg I would be much more willing to accept the income risk if I built another high-earning site. Ideally, the second website I'm working on will be generating some good income a year from now anyway. Maybe even on par with this site!

Still pretty terrifying hoping that nothing bad happens to my traffic in the next 10-12 months. I'll have to do everything I can to minimize that risk.

 

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[devsql]

It's best to sell when it is growing.
I sold my site in Feb 2022 and was wondering if I did the right thing after the transaction. My site was growing 10-20% every month before Feb, so I thought that maybe I could hold it for longer.
However, later I checked it in Ahrefs and saw that the site lost 40% of traffic in April-May. If I held it for 3 months longer, I am sure I would have to sell it for twice less.

 

[DoTheWork]

It's best to sell when it is growing.
I sold my site in Feb 2022 and was wondering if I did the right thing after the transaction. My site was growing 10-20% every month before Feb, so I thought that maybe I could hold it for longer.
However, later I checked it in Ahrefs and saw that the site lost 40% of traffic in April-May. If I held it for 3 months longer, I am sure I would have to sell it for twice less.

How many months of good revenue did you have before you sold it? Back in April/May I was only making $5k/month with the site, then it jumped up higher. I thought maybe I should wait until I have 12 months of higher revenue so I can get the best average revenue for the valuation multiple. But perhaps it would be worth selling in 6-8 months instead to minimize risk for my situation.

 

[MitchC]

Can you sell business number 1 instead? Makes more sense to me

 

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[Tyler_Durden]

From the information you gave us, I think to sell it could be a good idea for a few reasons:
-You lived through some traumatic shit and to take a break and reflect on it, even for just 1 year will greatly help you and your mental health.
-also you could invest it in maybe a good real estate property but be very careful there. If you invested in a good property you might have enough passive income
-You could of course create something new with the money, a better service or something similar.

I think it depends on 2 questions?
Do you think you could make more money in the future if you stick with the business?

How is your mental health, do you think it would be good if you stick with it and get more money or is it better to take a break and maybe start something again in the future.



That is totaly up to you. You are far more succesfull than I am so you will have more expierience and knowledge. Those are just the things I would consider for the decision if I would be in your position. I hope I could help

 

[Simon Angel]

There's no guarantee the sites will grow or even maintain the revenue they're currently generating despite your best efforts. I'd sell.

Also, your life, health situation/limitations are very similar to mine. Good job on getting up to this point, I think you owe yourself that payday. I'd 100% sell if I were in your situation, give myself some time to recover and plan out what I want to do with a big cushion behind me.

 

[devsql]

How many months of good revenue did you have before you sold it? Back in April/May I was only making $5k/month with the site, then it jumped up higher. I thought maybe I should wait until I have 12 months of higher revenue so I can get the best average revenue for the valuation multiple. But perhaps it would be worth selling in 6-8 months instead to minimize risk for my situation.

In my case, Empire Flippers quoted an estimate based on 6 months, but the buyer insisted on 12-mo. Like I said, in last months my traffic was growing rapidly, so 12mo was a better deal for the buyer. Ultimately, it all depends on how many potential buyers you have. I had only one, so I had to go with their offer. Still, I did good, b/c they lost half the traffic after Google core update.

 

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[Ela]

Sell your site, use cash to fix your health and invest on more sites.

Time is everything. I never trust google or any other search engine, anything can happen with their regular updates.

 

[DoTheWork]

Can you sell business number 1 instead? Makes more sense to me

Good question. I have thought about it, but it's my most steady revenue stream and it's not quite ready to be handed off to an owner. I do too much hands-on client work and that's not usually appealing to a potential buyer.

I would not feel too comfortable getting rid of this revenue stream right now.

From the information you gave us, I think to sell it could be a good idea for a few reasons:
-You lived through some traumatic shit and to take a break and reflect on it, even for just 1 year will greatly help you and your mental health.
-also you could invest it in maybe a good real estate property but be very careful there. If you invested in a good property you might have enough passive income
-You could of course create something new with the money, a better service or something similar.

I think it depends on 2 questions?
Do you think you could make more money in the future if you stick with the business?

How is your mental health, do you think it would be good if you stick with it and get more money or is it better to take a break and maybe start something again in the future.



That is totaly up to you. You are far more succesfull than I am so you will have more expierience and knowledge. Those are just the things I would consider for the decision if I would be in your position. I hope I could help

Thank you for the input. I would be fine starting something new and the mental break would be beneficial. The peace of mind of knowing that I could take some more time off, maybe just for a year, would be helpful for my recovery. I'd still have my other projects, but could go at a slower pace.

There's no guarantee the sites will grow or even maintain the revenue they're currently generating despite your best efforts. I'd sell.

Also, your life, health situation/limitations are very similar to mine. Good job on getting up to this point, I think you owe yourself that payday. I'd 100% sell if I were in your situation, give myself some time to recover and plan out what I want to do with a big cushion behind me.

Makes sense! That seems to be the general consensus.

In my case, Empire Flippers quoted an estimate based on 6 months, but the buyer insisted on 12-mo. Like I said, in last months my traffic was growing rapidly, so 12mo was a better deal for the buyer. Ultimately, it all depends on how many potential buyers you have. I had only one, so I had to go with their offer. Still, I did good, b/c they lost half the traffic after Google core update.

Very interesting. I would not have expected them to base it on 6 months. Was there any particular reason for them doing so, or is that their standard practice? Also, I believe they do this on accrual accounting, correct? They emailed me today so I suppose I'll ask them anyway. My cash flow is always 45 days delayed due to the nature of ad and affiliate networks.

Sell your site, use cash to fix your health and invest on more sites.

Time is everything. I never trust google or any other search engine, anything can happen with their regular updates.

Thank you for the insights!

 

[Vntonio]

I saw some guys with the same niche websites, doing affiliate marketing in my country language (non-English) and they do only a few hundred bucks and have had the websites for many more years.

The question is, if you want to answer, how do you monetize the automotive website? Through affiliates, selling physical/digital products, ads, promotes?

 

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[DoTheWork]

I saw some guys with the same niche websites, doing affiliate marketing in my country language (non-English) and they do only a few hundred bucks and have had the websites for many more years.

The question is, if you want to answer, how do you monetize the automotive website? Through affiliates, selling physical/digital products, ads, promotes?

I earn 85% of my revenue through display advertising and 15% through affiliate sales (Amazon Associates Program).

 

[biophase]

Automotive Website #1 has been seeing fast and steady growth over the past 1 year. Each month revenue has been increasing by about $2k per month. I expect the website to reach $12-15k per month minimum soon, which would put my valuation anywhere from $400-700k (assuming growth hits a peak and slows down).

If it hits $15k/mo, that’s $180/yr. Multiples for that type of website are kind of low. I mean you could only get 2x, $360k.

Using a broker they would take 10%, giving you $324k. After taxes, you could only pocket $260k.

 

[DoTheWork]

If it hits $15k/mo, that’s $180/yr. Multiples for that type of website are kind of low. I mean you could only get 2x, $360k.

Using a broker they would take 10%, giving you $324k. After taxes, you could only pocket $260k.

What makes you say that valuations are low for this type of website?

The preliminary valuation I received from Empire Flippers was 3.2x profit. I've seen plenty of other websites sell for similar or much higher.

I don't recall seeing many sites selling for 2x unless they aren't easy to manage or are trending downward.
I know multiples aren't as great right now as they were 2-3 years ago, but that still seems much lower than I would expect.

 

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[biophase]

What makes you say that valuations are low for this type of website?

The preliminary valuation I received from Empire Flippers was 3.2x profit. I've seen plenty of other websites sell for similar or much higher.

I don't recall seeing many sites selling for 2x unless they aren't easy to manage or are trending downward.
I know multiples aren't as great right now as they were 2-3 years ago, but that still seems much lower than I would expect.

When I was actively looking for sites, ones with display advertising or affiliate links were generally lower than e-commerce or other sites.

I remember seeing 1.5x to 3x ranges, or 18mo to 36mo ranges.

A quick scan through empire flippers in the under $750k range shows a wide variety of asking prices from 24mo to 44mo.

In the current market I’d think 3.2x may be tough for even a decent e-commerce website. So I’d imagine your type would be even lower. I could be wrong but you won’t know until you put it up for sale. As a casual browser all the time, I see a lot of price drops now.

 

[DoTheWork]

When I was actively looking for sites, ones with display advertising or affiliate links were generally lower than e-commerce or other sites.

I remember seeing 1.5x to 3x ranges, or 18mo to 36mo ranges.

A quick scan through empire flippers in the under $750k range shows a wide variety of asking prices from 24mo to 44mo.

In the current market I’d think 3.2x may be tough for even a decent e-commerce website. So I’d imagine your type would be even lower. I could be wrong but you won’t know until you put it up for sale. As a casual browser all the time, I see a lot of price drops now.

Okay, very interesting and definitely worth considering.

Regardless of the multiple, the broker fees and taxes are something I need to factor into my calculation.

I could expect a 15% commission fee with Empire Flippers. Also, through a quick calculation using an online tool, the additional income during that year would increase my marginal tax rate by 10-15% in that year.

If I'm understanding correctly, a $400k sale would be reduced to ~$300,000 from the broker fees and higher tax rate.

You now have me second-guessing the general consensus of all the current responses to this thread... ugh, haha!

 

[DoTheWork]

I ran some "napkin math" scenarios including broker fees and taxes.

The numbers below represent the total accumulated profit (all monthly profits + a post-tax/fee sale, if applicable). I used a 2.6x profit multiple, except for valuations where a downtrend came prior to the sale.

I'd say the biggest missing piece in these calculations is opportunity cost.

Sell ASAP:
This option is the general consensus of this thread at the moment.
$437k after 1 year

Fast growth with a plateau after 4 years, hold forever:
$2.1m after 8 years

Slow, steady growth (+$1k/mo. avg. each year), hold forever:
$1.5m after 8 years

No growth, with sale:
$725k after 3 years
$870k after 4 years
$1m after 5 years

Consistent downtrend (-$2k/mo. avg. each year), with sale:
Reduced valuation by 30% because of downtrend.
$497k after 3 years
$540k after 4 years
$552k after 5 years

Growth with significant downtrend, no sale:
Assumes profits reduce to $5,000, $3,000, and $500 per month for the last three years, then the site goes to $0.
$426k after 5 years

Hold forever with steady profit, no growth:
$1.2m after 8 years

Significant downtrend, hold forever:
The site goes to $5,000 per month after 1 year, then slowly loses ~$500/month in average profit each year.
$438k after 8 years

 

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[biophase]

Okay, very interesting and definitely worth considering.

Regardless of the multiple, the broker fees and taxes are something I need to factor into my calculation.

I could expect a 15% commission fee with Empire Flippers. Also, through a quick calculation using an online tool, the additional income during that year would increase my marginal tax rate by 10-15% in that year.

If I'm understanding correctly, a $400k sale would be reduced to ~$300,000 from the broker fees and higher tax rate.

You now have me second-guessing the general consensus of all the current responses to this thread... ugh, haha!

I wasn’t trying to make you second guess. But just letting you know what to expect to keep.

Assume a $400k sale. 15% commission would be $60k. So you get $340k.

If you are in the USA. Assume a 15% capital gains tax rate, if you’ve made under $492k. Then a state tax. I’m just using 5% as an average. So 20%. So that tax is $68k.

$340k - $68k = $272k is what you put into your bank account. This would be your nest egg.

But also remember that if your website is making $180k a year, you’ll be taxed at 24% plus 5% state tax too. So the $180k a year is really around $127k a year.

Selling actually is taxed at a lower rate than keeping. Ordinary income vs capital gains.

 

[DoTheWork]

I wasn’t trying to make you second guess. But just letting you know what to expect to keep.

Assume a $400k sale. 15% commission would be $60k. So you get $340k.

If you are in the USA. Assume a 15% capital gains tax rate, if you’ve made under $492k. Then a state tax. I’m just using 5% as an average. So 20%. So that tax is $68k.

$340k - $68k = $272k is what you put into your bank account. This would be your nest egg.

But also remember that if your website is making $180k a year, you’ll be taxed at 24% plus 5% state tax too. So the $180k a year is really around $127k a year.

Selling actually is taxed at a lower rate than keeping. Ordinary income vs capital gains.

Okay, understood. Thanks for explaining it.

Even though it is taxed at a lower rate, the high broker fee definitely adds to my confusion in this decision, although I am still leaning towards a sale.

 

[Dark Water]

Your main two businesses/websites are profiting ~$15k/month combined and require 4-8 hours of work per week.

You are capable of working 2-4 hours per day given your condition, which translates to 14-28 hours per week.

From my perspective, you have a lot of time and money in order to work on your health condition right now. You have access to $50k in cash if you really wanted it. When you already own your time, how does an extra $250k change your life in a way that $50k can't?

IMO, it doesn't. I don't see a significant benefit to selling off here and I think it's the easy way out - it's the popular option in this thread because it's an event rather than a process. Keep the businesses, pay off your student loans, sell the motorcycle, and hire help to reduce your time on the website management service business which you don't like to run so you can focus your time on the business you do like to run.

Are those private student loans with a 14% interest? Or federal with ~5%? Either way, it's worth comparing them to your $9k investment portfolio.

 

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[DoTheWork]

Your main two businesses/websites are profiting ~$15k/month combined and require 4-8 hours of work per week.

You are capable of working 2-4 hours per day given your condition, which translates to 14-28 hours per week.

From my perspective, you have a lot of time and money in order to work on your health condition right now. You have access to $50k in cash if you really wanted it. When you already own your time, how does an extra $250k change your life in a way that $50k can't?

IMO, it doesn't. I don't see a significant benefit to selling off here and I think it's the easy way out - it's the popular option in this thread because it's an event rather than a process. Keep the businesses, pay off your student loans, sell the motorcycle, and hire help to reduce your time on the website management service business which you don't like to run so you can focus your time on the business you do like to run.

Are those private student loans with a 14% interest? Or federal with ~5%? Either way, it's worth comparing them to your $9k investment portfolio.

I do like your perspective. I think the only benefit of having the 250k over the 50k is that I would have a longer runaway of being unable to earn income if it came to that.

In general, the idea of holding a business for the long term is much more appealing to me, I just don't know if that is a risky decision based on the nature of the business and my health. A big influx of cash would be nice, but the monthly cashflow is more appealing to me.

If I'm planning to sell, I'm less willing to invest in new traffic channels right now. This could end up screwing me over if I decide not to sell. However, if I'm planning to hold the site for the long-term, I'd be much more eager to invest in new channels NOW which helps protect me against Google fluctuations in the future.

I actually sold my $30k car to buy the $3.5k motorcycle brand new, haha. I rarely venture out at the moment due to my health which is why I did that.

The student loans are all federal. They've always shown 0% interest rate because of the payment pause. I will definitely pay more into those if I think the investments won't exceed them.

 

[Mr. Tycoon]

as the great entrepreneur DENNIS FELIX said regarding selling a business : sell when you don't need to sell. or when you're bored.

good luck!!

 

[ZCP]

@DoTheWork i'd be interested in the first business. DM me. maybe we can work something out that make sense for you longer term and could pickup some of the upside? buy / merge / partner. hit me up.

 

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[WillHurtDontCare]

I wasn’t trying to make you second guess. But just letting you know what to expect to keep.

Assume a $400k sale. 15% commission would be $60k. So you get $340k.

If you are in the USA. Assume a 15% capital gains tax rate, if you’ve made under $492k. Then a state tax. I’m just using 5% as an average. So 20%. So that tax is $68k.

$340k - $68k = $272k is what you put into your bank account. This would be your nest egg.

But also remember that if your website is making $180k a year, you’ll be taxed at 24% plus 5% state tax too. So the $180k a year is really around $127k a year.

Selling actually is taxed at a lower rate than keeping. Ordinary income vs capital gains.

This is a really good post on evaluating sell vs hold