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value: john warrillow

Before you simply close the doors on a business that is not meeting your expectations, consider whether there are parts of your company that might be worth something to someone else.

Like selling a wrecked car for its parts, some elements of your business might have a market.

For example:

Your "Google juice"

Do you get a lot of traffic to your website from "natural searches?"

It can take years and a lot of content for Google's search engine to recognize and prioritize a website. Therefore, if you naturally rank well on key search terms, a competitor might be interested in buying your site and historical archives for the improved performance it will get on Google's natural search listings.

Your unsolicited leads

Though you may have found it difficult to make a go of your business, there are probably other companies that could serve your customers more profitably, given their infrastructure and cost base. Consider striking an agreement whereby you refer inbound unsolicited leads you get to a company you trust in return for a small percentage of the revenue generated.

Your domain name

I knew a woman with a retail store who could not make a decent living through her shop so decided to close its doors. She kept her catchy URL and ended up selling the domain through a broker. Her URL - unlike her shop - had real value, and she ended up getting a nice little payoff by selling it.

So before you shutter the doors and walk away, consider what could be worth something in someone else's hands.

Special to The Globe and Mail

John Warrillow is a writer, speaker and angel investor in a number of start-up companies. He is the author of Built To Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You, published by Portfolio Penguin.

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