Going All In<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Chris took a bold step in 2016 to purchase a business on Flippa that would serve as a replacement for his corporate income. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was mind-blowing, the sheer scale and breadth of all these different businesses that have been created by passionate entrepreneurs, ready to be snapped up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the course of five years, Chris has well and truly achieved financial freedom with Flippa<\/a>. Chris is a certified Flippa Super Seller\u2014 having completed 13 transactions on Flippa\u2019s marketplace for a total of $572,943 US. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Included in his transaction list has been his purchase and successful sale of French Wedding Style, an established 11-year-old blog focusing on French-inspired weddings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Chris went through different phases in his business journey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n At first, he dedicated four years to scaling a single website, but when the desired growth didn’t materialize, he decided to change his approach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy next strategy was to acquire multiple businesses and run them all in parallel, like a portfolio,\u201d Chris said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This allowed Chris to run three income-generating businesses\u2014 Lucid Dreaming<\/a>, Australia Counseling<\/a>, and French Wedding Style<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Chris bought French Wedding Style, it had been listed for a few months as a confidential listing, primarily due to Covid-related concerns within the wedding industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Chris recognised the potential value of the business, considering its low acquisition cost of 1.6 times the annual revenue, which was relatively low for a content site with strong domain authority. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While the purchase of the French Wedding Style blog was \u2018off-brand\u2019 for Chris\u2014as weddings weren’t exactly his interest\u2014he saw potential in the site and was eager to put effort into it, even planning his wedding in France as a way to fully immerse himself in the business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen I buy a business, I try to put my all into it. So I literally planned to marry my partner in France. I thought, what a cool experience to buy the site, go to France, visit a few of the Chateaus and get married.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite his best intentions, managing multiple businesses came with its own set of challenges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOf course, the trade-off is the amount of time you can invest in each of the businesses and grow them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chris knew this could potentially lead to a decline in rankings and overall performance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs the years go by, you wonder \u2018Have I grown this business enough? Or is the risk increasing because I literally haven’t had the time to invest in growing it? That’s the situation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhile I liked having multiple income streams, I also didn’t feel like I could do any of the individual businesses justice. And just from a personal satisfaction point of view, that wasn’t a good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chris’s journey with French Wedding Style was marked by unique challenges due to unfortunate timing coinciding with the Covid-19 pandemic and its <\/p>\n\n\n\n subsequent lockdowns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n French Wedding Style, focusing on helping couples plan weddings in France, was severely impacted as travel to the country was banned, and weddings were put on hold. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Initially, Chris was optimistic that the restrictions would be lifted quickly, but the reality proved to be far different. Travel bans and wedding restrictions severely impacted the business, focusing solely on weddings in France. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As the pandemic persisted longer than anticipated, he admitted there were moments of regret surrounding the purchase. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But they held on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe just held the business, we didn’t sell super low during the pandemic or anything. We just dug our heels in, held onto it, and things started picking up over the last 12 months or so. But at that point, I think, honestly speaking, we were just a little bit mentally over it all,\u201d Chris said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe had all this energy ready to grow that site, to scale it, and we literally couldn’t do anything for two years because of all the restrictions. So by the time restrictions lifted, our mental energy had shifted onto other things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the good news, despite restrictions, it was still making money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat was the lovely thing about the online business model, it had no costs apart from website hosting, which was negligible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, Chris knew it was time to pass on the French Wedding Style blog to new owners with the time, energy, and motivation to grow the business further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s better to see a website go on and thrive under a new owner than slowly die because someone didn\u2019t have the time to invest in it,\u201d Chris said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs long as I can make an on-paper ROI, and generated enough income over the time I\u2019ve owned it, it\u2019s a win.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the end, the decision to sell the French Wedding Style blog was not just about profit. It was also about the opportunity to free up capital and energy for other ventures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chris sold the business for 3.5 times its annual revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the time of sale, French Wedding Style made $1,220 monthly from direct advertising, with a 99% profit margin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe didn’t renovate it. We didn’t migrate it. We didn’t do anything to it, really. We just held it and operated it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The sale of the business was remarkably quick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was exactly one month from the day I listed it to the day the money arrived in my bank account,\u201d Chris said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was really cool to be able to liquidate an asset so quickly. Especially when you compare it to selling a house!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n And they had a lot of interest. Chris had 6 lengthy Zoom calls with interested parties. In the end, it went with the \u2018buy now\u2019 price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWith so much interest, my wife and I were talking about whether we should remove the \u2018buy now price\u2019\u2014this was at 10 pm the night before. But the next morning, I woke up, and someone had pressed the \u2018buy now price\u2019. It was meant to be.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The transfer of the site, the social media accounts, and other related tools took less than a week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI handed over the keys to the hosting account, so we didn\u2019t need to migrate it to a new host. I transferred the domain registration and handed over the password, alongside social media account access and some tools like MailChimp. Just like that, it was all done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chris said they were in touch with the new owners, offering them a 60-day support period. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe spent two sessions, each lasting two hours, on Zoom with them, walking them through the whole site process, which they recorded. Every click and move on WordPress, where to go, what to do, it’s all documented.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chris said this was the buyer\u2019s first venture into owning an online business, so it was exciting to be a part of their journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe new owners were in the middle of planning their own wedding in France. Plus, the wife\u2019s French, and they\u2019ve got some contacts in the industry. They want to live over in France in a few years, so it was a great fit for them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a Flippa Super Seller, Chris’s knack for spotting “hidden gems” sets him apart\u2014having established several strategies for buying and selling on Flippa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He filters out businesses that are at least five years old and have some degree of traffic or earnings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When he’s in the market to buy, he meticulously analyses each potential acquisition that fits his criteria and will strike a deal as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But his ultimate piece of advice? Don’t invest in a business if you lack a genuine passion for its industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I’ve come across businesses in fashion, even a car parts website with a solid business model. It could’ve been a profitable flip, but I’m not into engines and gears, so I stepped back. There are plenty of great businesses out there, but if your heart’s not fully in it, the investment might not be worth it,” Chris said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Currently, Chris said he\u2019s completely invested in the development of his latest venture, a laser engraving business that makes some rather unusual personalised corporate gifts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “After a year of gathering financial data, we’ll weigh our options. We might flip it, pocket the profit, or we might just stick with it to see how far we can push it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/CUTXkpVTQsV9JGSCDJIkvQL89ZzugA3aYgYmnCCBVOAx8uXZgRfoyw1sylMgr6-FAVLzqLO8uBVd2Xw6k_35MnHn58jX_KZXSjm4FCBtAOB1C8VD3NGqonEAr0vf8lzr3wBb7ptSLeo8SYfBiBKQv2k\")
Discovering French Wedding Style<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Deciding to Sell <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/UzImGRw7uK5IPTq1SrPreF1FkHG5xMDWEHSPURd7li6HMVJOjPYourT7iH6_va1ZVoM5PPNTPPDvKmSysUspaISZ3ALBqurt7ZsUxf-4xgi33AaARpV2dHPKh45n7TzPxtRRakl6hZ_NJDEWmVCrNbI\")
Selling French Wedding Style<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A Seamless Transfer Process<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Strategies & Advice From A Seasoned Flippa Seller & Buyer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n