178: The Due Diligence Checklist with Tom Shieh

Owning a portfolio of over 100 revenue-generating websites may sound impressive, but it can be more pain than it’s worth, especially if you put your trust in the wrong partners. There are so many details, financing options, manageability, scalability, performance metrics, valuation, negotiation and due diligence. Googling for the answers is not going to cut it. Doing adequate or even deep due diligence is the linchpin. My guest for this episode knows that better than anyone. At one point, Tom Shieh owned a portfolio of over 100 websites. He was making bank so much in fact that he was able to travel the world in Tony Robbins Elite Platinum Partnership, which is a six-figure investment per year. That’s where I first met Tom, by the way. Since then, Tom has lost nearly all of those 100 websites in an elaborate swindle.

These days, Tom owns and operates Crimcheck, a company that does criminal background checks of potential hires and potential business partners. If you ever plan on building a portfolio of multiple websites, buying a business or website, going into business with anyone or selling your business for that matter, this episode is a must read. If all you get out of this episode is Tom’s due diligence checklist, you will save yourself a fortune. Also, make sure you check out my interview with Ken Courtright, cofounder of Income Store for more amazing tips on building up a portfolio of revenue generating websites to the tune of eight figures.