Have you ever wondered how much your real estate media agency is worth? Whether you’re a solo operator or leading an agency, understanding the value of your business is crucial for long-term success in the industry.
Wondering how much you can sell your real estate media agency for? That answers largely depends on the type of business you're operating.
Here's the breakdown:
The Solo Journey
Running an Agency
Equity is Better Than Margins
How to Build Equity NOW
The Solo Journey
Starting as a one-man band in the real estate media industry is a common path. Flying solo means your business is essentially an extension of yourself, and your customers are loyal to you as a person rather than your company brand.
At this stage, your business is worth 0.3x revenue.
While there’s nothing wrong with flying solo, it’s essential to recognize that there comes a time when you need to take the initiative to level up.
Running an Agency
Scaling up to an agency is often the next logical step for ambitious individuals in the real estate media space. A larger operation allows you to focus most on the things that actually matter — value-adding tasks, business growth and creating equity.
At this stage, your business is worth 3x to 5x profit depending on the market.
This is the exact reason why many want to scale up to an agency. Just by taking this first step, you’re able to add triple the value of your business.
Equity is Better than Margins
As you grow, margin compression is inevitable. No one likes to see their margins compress. Trust us, we’ve been there — we get it.
But margin compression is NOT a bad thing. It’s the cost to play at the higher stakes table. And with higher stakes comes even higher rewards.
Think about it.
When you’re a one-man show, you accumulate cash. How your business is doing is directly correlated to your personal income.
Equity appreciation is worth the margin compression if you’re thinking like a true business owner — that is, long-term.
While cash provides immediate liquidity, it’s equity that yields substantial returns. If you want a secure exit strategy for all your hard work, equity is the way to go.
I’ll give you an example. At ACRE Partner, I just helped close a deal with a partner who sold his $330k/year agency at a $1.1 million valuation. These are the types of long-term dreams we help ACRE Partners achieve day in and day out.
Here's a helpful graphic that explains the value of building equity over worrying about margins:
How to Build Equity NOW
Increase revenue and profit trend
Great systems, processes and workflow
Staff redundancy
Training & SOPs in place
A diverse client base
High AOV and customer spend
Strong cashflow & clients who pay upfront
Recurring revenue (aka retainers)
5-star client experience & reviews
Have questions on how to pursue these tactics? Or do you have ambitions to transition from solo to agency life? Here at ACRE Partner, we have the answers and we get results. Because we live and breathe in this space.
DM us @acrepartner on Instagram to join our over 50+ member community of top real estate media agency owners who are just as hungry as you are.
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