When looking to buy a business, it helps enormously to understand the reasons behind the owner's decision to sell up. The owner of one newcomer to the online media industry, ViralNova, has offered some insight into his motivations behind considering selling up.
Based in the US, but operating globally, ViralNova has been operational for just eight months. The business uses 'click-bait' headlines to attract readers and then makes its revenue through cheap advertising solutions like Google AdSense. Reports from Business Insider suggest that the company is raking in somewhere in the region of $400,000 (£243,000) a month with relatively few outgoings.
But the firm's owner, young entrepreneur Scott DeLong, isn't happy. In fact, he's exploring a sale of his business. DeLong might be working in a niche industry in America, but his approach to the business sale is something many could learn from.
The young entrepreneur told Business Insider's Steve Kovach to confirm that he is exploring his options for selling the business and, while nothing is certain as yet, it seems that DeLong might be wanting out due to the time the company is taking to manage.
He told Alyson Shontel on Twitter that running the company takes up 16 hours of his day and that this isn't something he wants to continue with. Selling the firm would allow “multiple people combined” to “handle [business] in a normal work day”. He added that he would “work with the new owners on the transition” to ensure that the handover went smoothly.
Clearly money will be a strong factor for DeLong in this business sale, especially given that he is still only exploring the idea. But it looks likely that a smooth handover will also be in his interest, perhaps someone with the management and experience in place to take over the company without demanding too much of his time in the future.
There's no universal answer to the question 'why is someone selling their business?' But the buyers that take the time and effort to work out an owner's individual circumstances, and tailor their offers to suit, are often the ones with the highest success rate when it comes to acquisitions. 
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