Do You Want to Sell Your Digital Agency in 35 Years?

3 Golden Nuggets From This Episode

There are a number of factors you should be looking at to get your agency ready to sell. We can help! Go to AgencyMastery360.com.

1. What you need to start preparing. There's a number of factors a buyer would potentially look at in evaluating whether or not they should buy your agency. One of them is profit margin, whether you're consistently making profit and whether your profit is expanding. Also, revenue growth and scalability, since obviously buyers want to buy agencies that are growing and have a lot of momentum. John says the important thing is considering whether you have the infrastructure in place and the right team to grow, over any earnout or followup period.

2. A common misconception. One of the most common questions John gets is around the target revenue for selling. Whether an agency should be at $10 or $5 million and then sell. “This is a common misconception from owners,” he says because people think the right time to sell is when you’ve topped out at a particular number. Many commonly look to sell a business when their lease is up, and John agrees it could be a factor, so have in mind it may come up. But actually, the right time to sell is when you have the most momentum behind the business and the most wind behind your back. If you’re not in this situation and still want to sell, remember that Jason always advises the right time to sell is when you need the money or you hate the business.

3. Thinking about selling soon? We have a very active market right now with a lot of owners who are thinking of potentially selling. There are really lowinterest rates, so cash is easy to come by, and a lot of companies have excess working capital on their balance sheets because of either PPP loans or some of the fiscal stimulus. Also, capital gains tax rates are potentially going to increase at some point in the near future. It is a very dynamic climate and John advises taking some of those factors into consideration. Don't necessarily sell sooner than you want, but it is a good time if it's been something you're considering the next 35 years.

Is it time to sell your digital agency? Considering a merger or acquisition in the near future? John Burns worked in mergers and acquisitions for 15 years when he realized a gap in the market, specifically for agency owners. So 7 years ago, he started Clare Advisors, a company that provides mergers, acquisitions, and financial advisory services to privatelyheld digital agencies and companies in the marketing, media, and business services industries. In this interview, John discusses what owners should consider preparing to sell their agencies, the common misconceptions of when to sell, and why now is a good time if you're considering selling in the next three to five years.
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JASON SWENK IS AN AGENCY ADVISOR THAT GUIDES MARKETING AGENCIES THROUGH A PROVEN FRAMEWORK FOR GROWING THEIR AGENCY FASTER & EASIER.

In 1999 he launched his first digital agency growing it to a multimillion dollar operation working with brands such as AT&T, Hitachi, and Lotus Cars. After 12 years of amazing growth, his agency was acquired in 2012.

Since then he has cofounded and has grown another 8figure agency. He also runs a unique consultancy helping marketing agencies grow, scale, and enjoy running their agency by applying the framework that he used to grow, scale, and eventually sell his agency.

Jason has helped over 20,000 agencies in 42 countries meet or exceed their business goals. He generously shares it all as a speaker, podcaster, and author. He has been featured as an expert in top media publications such as Entrepreneur and Inc. Magazine. Plus, he currently hosts the top agency podcast: The Smart Agency Master Class.

Jason is dedicated to providing tactics and strategies to agency owners. His mission is to be the resource he wishes he had as an agency owner.