If you want to get involved in a new online business, there are typically two options. You can either build the business from the ground up or buy a pre-existing online business.
While both options are good, many people find several benefits to buying a pre-existing online business.
I’ve been in online business for nearly a decade, so I like to think I’m up to speed and can speak about buying and selling online businesses with credibility. In this blog post, I’ll explain some of the perks of purchasing an online business, compared to starting one from scratch.
Benefits of Buying a Pre-Existing Online Business
Are you on the fence about buying a pre-existing online business? Here are four benefits of buying a pre-existing online business:
1. Online Businesses Generate Profits from Day 1
Unlike new businesses that take time to build a consistent cash flow, buying an online businesses means you’ll be generating profits from day 1. Since the business will be profitable from the day you purchase the business, you don’t have to worry about not breaking even.
You don’t need to work hard to build up a clientele and promote your business. Instead, you can work on bettering the business and improving the existing foundation right from the start.
2. Avoid Starting a Business from Scratch
Although starting a business from scratch is exciting for some, it’s generally a stressful process full of unknowns. Will the customers like the product? What type of advertisements will convert? Am I appealing to the right target audience? Are the business processes streamlined?
It takes time and money to get the answers to these questions. Business owners may feel overwhelmed and throw in the towel altogether when they start spending too much time and money without turning a profit. When you buy an existing business, you have the answers to all these questions, from day 1. Even if you notice areas where you could improve, it’s much easier with fewer unknowns. If you can improve several areas of the business you are buying, you can potentially grow the business beyond what the previous owner was capable of. Plus, then you’d have a business worth even more than you bought it for!
3. Existing Processes and Procedures
Creating business procedures and processes is often a time-consuming process full of trial and error. New business owners can spend years fine-tuning the systems and strategies that keep their business running smoothly.
With an existing business, these procedures are already in place for you. You can use them as-is or spend some time tweaking them to your liking. Whatever the case is for you, you won’t have to spend hours testing new ways to do everything like the previous owner did.
4. Worldwide Availability
Opening a brick-and-mortar business in your local neighborhood seems nice at first. You get to know your neighbors, it’s close to home, and you’re familiar with the area. However, being limited to a location can slow the growth of your business, and even cap it at a certain level.
With an online business, you have the opportunity to attract customers from around the world. Instead of attracting buyers from the surrounding zip codes, you’re bringing in people from the surrounding countries. Buying a pre-existing online business means the business is already connecting with buyers online, and you can continue building off that foundation.
Buy Through a Reputable Business Broker
If you’ve read these benefits and you want to have a look at online businesses currently for sale, you’ll need to know where to look.
You can find online businesses for sale in several places on the internet, but not all places should be treated equally. Speaking from experience, using an online business broker is the best route because they are best at connecting buyers and sellers.
My recommendation is an online business broker called Empire Flippers. They started in 2012 when the founders were selling their own online business and realized there were no trustworthy brokers who understood, and specialized in, online businesses.
Now, a decade later, they have a team of full-time employees dedicated to helping buyers and sellers with their online businesses. They even have a full migration department that handles payment and start-to-finish business migration!
Empire Flippers understands that buying an online business can be daunting, especially if it’s your first time. That’s why they require all sellers to go through a vetting process to make sure that they only offer the best online businesses to their buyers.
To find out more about buying an online business with Empire Flippers, you can schedule a free call today.
