Since 2024, I've been buying up WordPress agencies. 

We've done three of them now, and it's been a tonne of fun.

Some big wins, a few face-palms and lots of learning.

I'm sharing these 10 lessons in case they can help you on your own journey, whether you're thinking of buying or selling.

1. Price vs Terms

It's so easy to get fixated on the price.

It's the headline number, the one most people remember.

But what's way more important are the terms of the deal.

I can offer you $20 million for your agency, but if the terms are $1 a day for the next 20 million days, it's not such a great deal, is it?

Is the cash up front, or is it paid out over years? Is there an escrow, and is it at risk? Are there liability caps? These are the questions that really matter.

A good deal is a win-win-win: a win for the seller, a win for the buyer, and a win for the customers. 

And you don't get there by focusing on price alone.

2. Clearer Future = More Cash Upfront

This one is simple. 

The more confidence people can have in the future of your business, the more cash they will be willing to put on the table today.

This is why recurring revenue is so powerful. 

If you have a solid base of clients on hosting and maintenance plans, people can see a clear path to future revenue.

That's a business people are willing to pay a premium for.

If your revenue is all project-based, it's a lot harder to predict the future. 

And that means more risk, and less cash up front for you.

3. Your Clients Care, But Not as Much as You Think

This might be a tough pill to swallow, but your clients don't care about you as much as you think they do.

What they care about is getting their problems solved.

When there's a change in ownership, of course, they're going to be a little nervous.

"Is this new person going to care as much as the last one?"

This is where you have to be proactive. In all three of our acquisitions, we've gotten out ahead of it. 

We've communicated with the clients, we've shown them they're in good hands, and we've invested in building those relationships.

4. Systems are Everything

A business is just a collection of systems.

And the stronger those systems are, the more valuable the business is.

Think about it. 

A customer support system that's just a shared email inbox is a mess. 

A well-oiled customer support engine that can scale? That's a thing of beauty. And it's worth a lot of money.

5. Only Consolidate What's Important

When you acquire a business, there's a temptation to merge everything.

Consolidate all the systems, all the processes, all the things.

But sometimes it's a mistake.

We learned this the hard way with one of our acquisitions. 

We underestimated how much time and energy it would take to consolidate the server infrastructure.

In hindsight, we should have just left it.

Some things just aren't worth the headache of consolidating.

6. Expect Some Turnover

An acquisition is a big change. And for some people, it's a chance to reflect on where they are at and what they want out of life.

It's completely normal for some team members to decide to move on. 

It's happened in every acquisition I've been a part of, on both sides of the table.

Don't take it personally. Just be prepared for it.

7. And Watch for New Leaders to Rise

But here's the flip side of that coin.

For every person who leaves, there's someone else who sees an opportunity.

An acquisition can be a chance for new leaders to step up and carry the torch. You probably already know who they are.

While some people see it as the end of a chapter, others see it as the beginning of a new one. 

8. Avoid Complexity

Complexity is the enemy of value.

Tangled relationships, inconsistent service offerings, and custom-coded nightmares... these are the things that create drag and make a business less valuable.

Keep it simple.

The more you can standardise your offerings and streamline your processes, the more attractive your business will be to a buyer.

9. Take the Good with the Bad

No matter how much due diligence you do, there are always going to be surprises.

You'll uncover some things that are worse than you expected.

And you'll find some hidden gems that you didn't know were there.

That's just the nature of the beast. 

If you get too focused on any one thing, you'll lose perspective. You have to take the good with the bad and look at the bigger picture.

10. The Financial Changeover is a Pain

The administrative side of an acquisition can be a nightmare.

Changing over bank accounts, tax IDs, and all the other legal and financial stuff is a tonne of work.

Do not underestimate it.

They say that M&A doesn't scale, and they're right. 

It can be just as much work to acquire a $1 million business as it is to acquire a $10 million business.