Episode Number:

30

June 22, 2025

Danan Coleman talks with Ian Drogin from QuietLight about what it takes to sell your eCommerce business, how to maximize valuation, and when to start planning your exit strategy. Whether you’re just starting or already thinking about selling, this episode gives clear direction for preparing and profiting from your business exit.

Meet Ian: The Ecom Exit Expert

Ian is an advisor at Quiet Light, where he helps entrepreneurs buy and sell businesses. After building and selling his own eCommerce brand, Ian now guides sellers through valuations, deal prep, and navigating the entire M&A process.

Quiet Light has helped hundreds of sellers maximize their exits through smart planning and honest guidance.

How eCommerce Businesses Are Valued

SDE (Seller’s Discretionary Earnings) is the foundation of business valuation. To get the total value:

  • Calculate SDE (basically profit + add-backs like your salary or home office expense).
  • Apply a multiple (typically between 2.5x–4x, depending on growth, risk, and documentation).
  • Add the landed value of your inventory on top.

Valuations vary greatly depending on several factors, including how well-documented and transferable your business is.

Key Takeaway: Know your SDE and keep your financials clean. Understanding how your business is valued helps you plan smarter, even if you're not selling today.

The Four Pillars of Business Value

To get the highest multiple, strengthen the “Four Pillars of Value”:

  • Growth: Are sales and profit increasing steadily?
  • Risk: How reliant are you on one product, supplier, or channel?
  • Transferability: Can someone step in and run the business easily?
  • Documentation: Are your SOPs, books, and data clean and transparent?

These pillars are what buyers and brokers use to determine your multiple. The stronger they are, the higher your valuation.

Tip: Improve transferability and documentation early. A business that runs without you is more valuable—and less stressful.

When to Start Planning Your Exit

The best time to plan your exit is now.

  • Even if you’re years away from selling, running your business “as if” you’re preparing to sell ensures better operations.
  • Clean books, diversified revenue, and documented processes benefit you whether you sell or scale.

Many business owners wait too long to prepare and miss the opportunity for a premium valuation.

Key Insight: Start exit prep early. You’ll not only get a better price later but a better-run business today.

How to Increase the Value of Your Business

To improve your exit valuation, focus on:

  • Clean, accurate books (use a professional bookkeeper).
  • Delegating operations and reducing reliance on the founder.
  • Building predictable, growing revenue.
  • Having SOPs for every key function in the business.

A business that runs smoothly without you is more attractive to buyers and more profitable to run.

Strategy Highlight: Automate, delegate, and document. These three moves can dramatically increase your exit value.

What’s the Market Like Right Now?

  • Multiples are down from the 2020-2021 aggregator peak, but solid businesses still sell well.
  • Current market is dominated by individual buyers and small PE firms with lower risk tolerance.
  • Tariff and supply chain uncertainty may temporarily impact valuations for some Amazon sellers.

Now is a good time to prepare for sale, even if you wait a few months to list.

Market Note: Focus on fundamentals. Buyers are more cautious but still active if your business is dialed in.

Ready to Exit Smarter?

Final Thoughts

Selling your business is a big decision—but it’s also a major opportunity. Whether you’re aiming to exit in 6 months or 3 years, the best strategy is to start operating like a premium asset now. That means tightening up your books, building out standard operating procedures, delegating key tasks, and improving your brand’s transferability.

Think of your business as a product you’re preparing to sell. The better it’s packaged, documented, and systemized, the more buyers will pay—and the faster it will sell. Even if you ultimately decide not to exit, these steps will make your business more resilient, scalable, and enjoyable to operate.

Start now, stay consistent, and surround yourself with experts who know the landscape. Your future buyer—or future self—will thank you.

Subscribe to The eCom Growth Show for more insights that help you grow, scale, and successfully exit your Amazon business!