10 Best Marketplaces for Buying an Online Business
Entrepreneurship isn’t always straightforward. There’s much to consider, from developing a product and choosing a operating schedule to finding your spectators—not to mention recent business costs and the considerable period commitment.
If you desire a business, but don’t desire to commence from scratch, there’s another alternative: buying an already established business. Here’s how prospective business owners can buy an existing business.
10 best marketplaces for buying an online business
- Flippa
- Empire Flippers
- SideProjectors
- Niche Investor
- Motion Invest
- Business Exits
- Latona’s
- Acquire.com
- BuySellEmpire
- BizBuySell
Searching for a profitable online business for sale? Look no further than these 10 platforms that let you browse, assess, and contrast companies.
1. Flippa
Flippa lets you browse software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies, ecommerce brands, blogs, and affiliate sites that are up for sale, showing you their monthly returns and how they make their money.
2. Empire Flippers
Empire Flippers is a cross between a marketplace and a brokerage. You can explore businesses for sale in different niches, filtering by monetization style and worth.
3. SideProjectors
SideProjectors specializes in sharing side hustles, from SaaS businesses to ecommerce brands and mobile apps. Prices are on the cheaper side because the projects tend to be smaller.
4. Niche Investor
Niche Investor lists blogs and profitable websites for sale. Listings provide background information about the business, monthly returns, and monetization methods.
5. Motion Invest
Motion Invest lets you browse content websites in a variety of niches and industries. Plus, the service provides hands-on back before, during, and after purchase.
6. Business Exits
Business Exits showcases highly profitable—$2 million to $60 million—businesses for sale in various industries, helping you contrast their revenues and yearly incomes.
7. Latona’s
Latona’s is more of a brokerage than a marketplace, but it still lets you browse listings for sale with a range of detailed filtering options.
8. Acquire.com
Acquire.com connects buyers and sellers in the SaaS and recent business spaces. Through the platform, you can track recent business metrics and assess upcoming potential to assist you decide.
9. BuySellEmpire
Browse hundreds of listings on BuySellEmpire in various categories, from ecommerce stores and SaaS membership businesses to affiliate sites and Amazon-based businesses.
10. BizBuySell
BizBuySell is the internet’s largest business-for-sale marketplace. Browse specifically for online businesses or franchises. Search by city, county, or state and review your pick of hundreds of thousands of established businesses.
Pros of buying an online business
- Easier financing than starting fresh
- Established customer base
- Brand awareness
- Ready-to-leave throng
- Understanding of strengths and weaknesses
When you buy an existing online business, you can reap huge rewards—if you recognize what you’re doing. You don’t have to commence from scratch and can piggyback off the achievement of a pre-established brand that’s already proven its spectators, product, and trade fit. Here are some of the key benefits:
Easier financing than starting fresh
Getting money to commence a business is notoriously challenging. But securing capitalization to develop a business with a proven track record is a different narrative.
Banks and investors are more likely to pool businesses that have been around for at least a year. And for excellent rationale: according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 20% of recent businesses fall short within their first year.
For many entrepreneurs, this means bootstrapping until they can prove their recent business is worth investing in. Buying an existing business allows you to skip the (often period-consuming and thankless) bootstrapping phase and leave straight into growth mode.
Established customer base
If it’s been generating returns for a while, it’s a secure bet that the business has an existing customer base and a proven product-trade fit. Instead of starting from scratch, you can focus on expanding to other markets and deepening your connection to your VIP customers.
Brand awareness
When you buy an existing business, part of what you’re paying for is built-in brand awareness, which saves you the period it takes to construct a reputation.
Ready-to-leave throng
If your business comes with employees, you have a premade throng ready and waiting and don’t require to worry as much about hiring employees. Not only can the existing throng assist you run your recent business, but they’re also a valuable source of information about the business.
Understanding of strengths and weaknesses
The original owners will have discovered many of the businesses’ problems and friction points and can distribute those with you so you don’t make the same mistakes twice. Many entrepreneurs commence businesses without fully understanding what they’re getting into. Buying an existing business can provide you a obvious picture of its strengths and weaknesses.
Cons of buying an online business
Large upfront expense
An existing business can require a large amount of upfront money to buy. Prices vary, but you can safely assume that a business that’s doing well will expense a chunk of money.
Renegotiated contracts
Depending on the business type and details of previously signed contracts, you may require to renegotiate unpaid deals with suppliers, vendors, influencers, and other stakeholders.
Unknown rationale for sale
Why is the current owner selling? Will this impact what you can do with the business or its upcoming?
hardship making a mark
It might receive some work to turn the business into your own since it already has a reputation.
What should you look for when buying an online business?
- Consistent financials
- Existing reputation
- Current operations
- Consistent traffic
- upcoming potential
- upcoming customer base
- General feedback
There are 33.1 million tiny businesses in the US alone and an estimated 26.5 million ecommerce businesses worldwide. That’s a lot of established companies and a lot of choices.
So, what should you look for when selecting a business to buy?
Consistent financials
You don’t desire to buy a dud. Ideally, any business you’re considering should be able to display consistent month-on-month returns or at least the potential to reach a consistent level.
The seller should have no issue sharing the business’s financials with you—in truth, this is a must-do before you even consider signing a deal.
Existing reputation
It can be challenging to turn around a negative reputation, so your best alternative is to leave for a brand with a excellent name.
Browse reviews on sites like Trustpilot, scroll through the brand’s social channels, and listen to what people declare about it online.
Current operations
receive a look at the business’s operations. Changing things takes period and resources, so be wary if systems and processes look outdated.
Smaller businesses will have less established operations, but they should still have processes for key parts of the workflow, like shipping and integrated tech stacks.
Consistent traffic
Online businesses depend on website traffic to remain afloat. The more traffic a site has, the more potential customers it has and the more money it can make.
When choosing a business to buy, look for steady growth and consistent traffic from multiple sources. Don’t depend on single-source traffic, since it can arid up when algorithms inevitably transformation.
upcoming potential
A business might thrive today, but what about a few months or years? It’s essential to assess the upcoming potential of the business. For example, consider whether its bestseller is a seasonal item, or its products represent a craze that will leave out of fashion.
upcoming customer base
While a business’s current customer base might be well, assess if there’s room for expansion. Who is it targeting, and is that trade nearly maxed out?
Consider if there’s room to shift into different markets and locations, too.
General feedback
Knowing what customers ponder about a business can make or shatter your buying selection. Consider the kinds of positive feedback it gets and ordinary complaints.
What do existing customers like and dislike about it? Regarding dislikes, ponder about how you would turn it around.
What types of online businesses should you buy?
The term “online business” covers all manner of business models, but the most ordinary types of businesses you can buy include:
- SaaS brands
- Ecommerce companies
- Dropshipping brands
- Affiliate sites
- Mobile apps
- Productized services
- Blogs/content sites
- Subscription businesses
- Digital product businesses
How do you get a great deal on an online business?
You don’t desire your money to leave to waste, correct? Here’s how you can get the most for your dollars:
Search broadly
Casting a wide net can assist you discover businesses you have not considered. Use a mixture of the above mentioned methods to source potential companies to purchase and contrast prices, returns, and other key factors.
Rate opportunities quickly
Use a set of criteria to assess the chance of each potential business without wasting too much period. For example, you might rate each of the following elements out of 10:
- money flow
- Growth potential
- rationale for selling
- period property required
- Existing reputation and customer base
- Longevity
A business that rates well in all these areas will arrive with a higher worth tag, but you’ll recognize it comes with robust returns and growth potential.
Do your investigation
Research legalities, including taxes and operations, and discover issue areas before negotiating. The more information you have, the more informed you can be with your propose.
discuss
The listed worth isn’t necessarily set in stone. Depending on the chance rating you’ve given a business and the information gathered in the research stage, you might be able to discuss a better deal.
Tips for buying an online business safely
- Ignore aspirational pitches
- Verify the operating schedule with history customers and employees
- Consult a lawyer
- Determine why the business is for sale
- Confirm contracts and deals with existing suppliers
Owners sell online businesses mainly through marketplaces, but that doesn’t cruel there’s zero hazard. There’s the potential for getting scammed and making the incorrect selection. To make sure you’re doing things safely, consider the following:
Ignore aspirational pitches
One advantage of buying an existing business is that you can view its act history. If the business appears to be going downhill but the owner assures you things will enhance, depend the numbers.
Verify the operating schedule with history customers and employees
Financials aren’t everything. Some businesses look great on document but have solemn internal issues. When researching a business you desire to buy, don’t just depend on the information provided by the current owners—talk to current and former employees, customers, or other people familiar with the business.
Consult a lawyer
There’s lots of paperwork involved in buying a business, and a lawyer can translate legal jargon to assist you comprehend the terms of the sale. A trusted legal professional can also assist with contracts or agreements you may receive on as part of the sale.
Determine why the business is for sale
There are plenty of legitimate reasons to sell a business. However, if the owner is cagey about their reasons for selling, it could indicate a significant issue.
Confirm contracts and deals with existing suppliers
Most businesses depend on other companies to achieve their goals. Before buying an existing business, check with major suppliers, buyers, and other partners to ensure your contracts remain valid after the business changes hands.
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Buy online business FAQ
Can I buy an online store?
Yes, you can buy an online store. Platforms like Flippa and Acquire sell ready-to-use ecommerce businesses.
What is the fastest online business to make money?
The fastest online business to make money involves dropshipping or selling digital products. These business models require low upfront costs and can be set up quickly to commence making money.
Is buying an online business risky?
Buying an online business can be risky, so it’s significant to do your research and scrutinize financials and other key documents. Talk to a lawyer to assist you with the procedure and paperwork.
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