Introduction to Website Investing

The first module serves as a brief introduction to the Website Investing Masterclass course. Take a moment to get familiar with the instructor, Jeff Hunt and get a brief glimpse into what to expect throughout the rest of the modules to follow. You will learn:

• The importance of sharing your personal experience with website investment with your peers on online communities.
• How to expand your knowledge and succeed in website investment by taking action.
• The LEAP system, its purpose and importance and how it can help you succeed in the world of website investment.

You will be encouraged to join the online community so that you can ask your peers questions, learn more about them and share your own personal ventures. A brief look will also be taken at the four steps of the LEAP (Locate Evaluate Acquire Profit) system.

Why Buy Websites?

In this module, you will be discussing the reasons why buying a website is a good idea. Start by exploring each reason briefly and work through the module as you prepare to delve deeper into the course. You will learn:

• Reasons you should buy a website that include: flexibility, earnings, the process of investing in a website financially and accelerated success.
• How websites help you to achieve accelerated success.
• A detailed comparison between online and traditional businesses and how they stack up against each other.

As you approach the end of this module, you should be more confident about your decision to engage in online business and understand why the most experienced entrepreneurs choose to buy businesses even though they have the skills to build them from scratch.

Locate

This module is separated into 5 individual parts and explores the Location part of the LEAP system in great detail. You will start by analyzing the best sources to purchase websites and by the end of the module, you should be confident enough to pick out suitable available websites using enhanced tools to refine your search. You will learn:

• Good sources to find good deals for websites and how best to approach each one.
• Everything you need to know about Flippa.com including what it has to offer, how it has improved as a platform and the advantages and disadvantages of marketplaces.
• The benefit of using a website broker and the situations when brokers are best.
• How to setup brokerage and website marketplace accounts, as well as the recommended accounts to create.
• How to effectively sort through the many website buying opportunities to identify the correct ones to pursue.
• Answers to the most common questions that people who are new to website investing ask.

The module includes a recommended list of brokers that you are encouraged to explore as well as the opportunity to examine private deals and the strategies you can use to secure them. An assignment to set up a Flippa.com account and set up automated searches and brokerage accounts is also included.

Evaluate

The longest and most detailed module in the course, Module 4 is comprised of 29 parts all designed to give you a systematic approach for sizing up each investment opportunity. The Evaluate module of the LEAP system is structured by exploring 4 website deal case studies, each from a different business model. In each case study you will:

• Learn the business model success factors including how it operates, the monetization approach, and advantages and disadvantages of the model.
• Learn the key business metrics for the model.
• Learn the tools used to evaluate websites employing that business model.
• Practice the use of the tools multiple times to learn what to look for and get used to the user interface.

The case study review approach will give you the opportunity to practice the evaluations of these critical aspects of every online business:

• Traffic: sources, concentrations, positive and negative patterns, backlink quality
• Financials: ratios, red flags, missing and miscategorized expenses, completeness, opportunities
• Content: quality, uniqueness, structure, usability, age, SEO, navigation
• Reasons for selling: what to look for
• Effort: tasks, realistic evaluation of time required, skill requirements, outsource-ability
• Dependencies: suppliers, technology, pre-existing relationships, key employees, contracts, non-transferable advantages
• Legalities: exposures, considerations
• The Product or Service
• The Process
• Other Assets

You will learn and practice a risk-based method for valuation. You will practice identifying risk categories, risk degree and opportunity, to accurately ascribe a value to each website deal using a tool provided in the course. You will use a website evaluation checklist to develop an understanding of the categories and specific items to evaluate in each opportunity. More than just a laundry list of things to look for, the Evaluate modules will teach you the most important items to focus on in each evaluation so that you can prioritize the assessment process.

Acquire

The Evaluate module enabled you to qualify a good opportunity. The Acquire stage of the LEAP system takes you through the process and requirements needed to negotiate and purchase the business. You will learn

• The steps and key points of the acquisition process.
• The dynamics of an auction- Learn the dos and don’ts to help protect you and ensure you don’t get scammed in addition to helping you stay ahead of other people bidding on the websites.
• The process of buying a website.
• The process of a sale and all the steps involved.
• The steps involved in the escrow process.
• Different types of Escrow deals.
• The Letter of Intent and its structure.
• The Asset Purchase Agreement and its structure.
• Other contracts involved in the sale
• The importance of getting assistance on website deals.
• The steps involved in transferring the website from the seller to the buyer.
• Selling your website- how to prepare to sell your website.
• Business operations- how to keep your website under control
• The difference between being an owner and an operator.

The module also includes a list of recommended tools and experts you can turn to assist you in securing a website deal as well as a discussion on the importance of post-sale support and training.

Profit

This module focuses on the growth and operation of your newly acquired website business.  Start with a quick overview of the final step of the LEAP system, Profit and learn all you need to know to effectively manage your business model and ensure that your website succeeds. You will learn

• How to optimize the profit of your business.
• The steps you can take to grow your profit.
• Strategies for each business model to improve customer engagement, click-through rates, revenue and profitability.
• How to increase the asset value of your website.
• The importance of thinking like a seller and the things you need to get your website ready to sell.
• The process of controlling your business and how it benefits your business.
• Official business formation and the factors that affect it.
• The difference between an owner/operator and investor. Learn what each one is and how they differ.
• If and when to sell your business

Conclusion

This module covers your action steps to go forward and be a successful website investor. You will learn what additional resources and support is available and why you should make use of it. You’ll hear a few stories of website purchases and lessons learned as well as some final tips to take with you into your first transaction.