Rick P. Network owner who sold to Verticalscope & Internet Brands @ForuMediaInc

What are your thoughts about teaming up and working together? How does that work?

Once you have identified sites that you are interested in, how do you go about buying them? Do you simply ask if the site is for sale? What about sites that are not for sale at this time? Do you keep in touch with the owner? Do you become active in those communities?

 

I think that question was for @WEfail

 

Everyone has an agenda, even me. Taking that into account and understanding that makes its almost impossible to work with someone or teamup. The goal between working together should be in how the partnership can grow and benefit everyone. Not everyone shares that view. My agenda is to make money and create a union that stands the test of time....

In working together and not as an Inc. someone has to own the domains, someone has to own the license, someone has to take the payments. That someone is always NOT one of you. Trust is needed from everyone. A clear understanding that what once may have been solely yours is now shared, and belongs to everyone can be a BIG turn off for people.

Think crowdgather. How Sanjay Sabnani got people to surrender their sites for shares worth nothing ($0.13) while he earns $240,000 salary from your previous assets is retarded IMO. I remember the sales pitch he gave me. Perhaps because I am not as educated in the stock market, I could not wrap my head around the concept.....

From my experience when I have considered working together with another network owner I always came back to the same question time and time again, "can i pay someone for that skill or asset at a lesser cost than having to become partners and give up what I have built?". I think that self asked questions already says alot from the very beginning.
Partnerships can be trouble if you aren't thorough on the expectations of everyone involved.

There was a time when I always wanted to team up with this one guy I knew but we were so far apart on how we evaluated our assets. He felt I undervalued mine while I thought he over valued his. I like to buy sites, he preferred to build. He wanted to employ family, I wanted to outsource. I am not a firm believer in 'potential' unless certain criteria is met.

Partnerships are a gamble. If you can do it on your own, do it.

That all said I have had 2 awful business partners and 1 good one.
The 2 awful ones didnt meet the companies expecations, failed to deliver and failed to care. I failed to keep them with me
The 1 good partner did what he had to do and got the job done and did really well on his investment.

You can have success teaming up and I just think its rare.

If I am interested in buying a site, I:
Usually inquire if the site is for sale via email followed up by a call.
If they say yes I ask for some data, ie: analytics, sales, membership numbers and a few other items.
If I like what I see I put an offer together and email it to them. They sign, I sign, we all sign.
Send money.
Regret. LOL

Sometimes after an offer has been given people do back out. They fear the NDA and or non-compete. Sometimes people just want the offer in writing to use as leverage against the next guy making an offer. I have had people show me offers of $1,000,000.00 for sites I have offered $5,000. They ask me to come up to $20,000.... *did anyone else just giggle....*

If I contact someone and they say the site is not for sale and if I like the site enough I will just offer something. Depending on the site I just start off at $5,000 but I need to really like it. Its always a gamble and most forum owners just want you to tell them how great their site is. If I still want the site a month later i might offer $7,500. Most I have offered to an OK site without any data/history on the site was $15,000. One a top site I had been following I was throwing out 80-120k to the guy, he didn't budge.
I made a rule for myself, never pay more than $15,000. Its very rare I offer more, but I have in a few instances.

I have no interest in participating in other communities, I have my own. I make a few exceptions here and there on sites I like.

If I feel the site will never be sold to me, i delete their contact out of my gmail and our correspondence.I don't want to pester people and I don't chase people to give them money.

In the past I had chased one site owner over the course of a few years. Every 6 months, offering what I felt was way more than market value and the guy blew me off. I stopped chasing. Recently he contacted me asking where I went and if I still wanted it. My interest was lost. I did reply with:
"Unless there is a deal to be had, my interest has passed. Sell ME on it." It was the last I heard from him. That site hasn't changed ownership and likely never will. I don't think he will ever see another offer like I made him ever again.