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Comment by throwawayValue | Hacker News Reader

You are correct - different buyers will value the business differently based upon their intentions for it. Some would be more interested in growing the SaaS side, so far all of the offers I've received are related to this, whereas others might be more interested in growing the AdSense & affiliate revenue.

Important to note, my business provides a service which will always be in demand no matter if real estate is booming or busting.

I think if I could get a 5x sale price I would take it. Best so far has been 4x and none have been below 3x.

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While it's true that the value to certain buyers will vary, if you do decide to sell, then it is your job to sell it to them. They'll only pay as much as they'll see it's worth. If they're not the most business savvy or entrepreneurial person, they will obviously not see much value and therefore would not be willing to pay a lot. However, if you explain the value and potential additional revenue streams as well as adjusted growth estimates, then they'll see past the current basic revenue stream. Take a look above at iheartmemcache's answer (the really long one). He does a great job at pointing out the possibilities to maximize revenue.

If this angle doesn't work, then try growing the business a little more in the direction of the aforementioned comment for a bit. Once you've succeeded in growing the business a bit and proving the model, go and start selling it again to people whom have contacted you previously.

You're right - it is my responsibility to sell it and so far I've just been listening to offers and haven't countered because I wasn't interested in selling at those times. However, I now would counter all offers with a reasonable asking price and detail the reasons for that price as well as my thoughts on where the growth potential is.

I agree that iheartmemcache's response really hit it on the head and I was waiting to see if it generated any other responses. The strategy he laid out is exactly in line with what I've been thinking.

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