Owning and operating your own online business doesn’t necessarily mean you have to build it from the ground-up, deal with all the accounting software from the beginning and work hard for it to grow. Whilst many entrepreneurs build their own business because they have the time and energy to, there are other options.
If you are interested in running your very own business but want to skip past the first few formative years of early growth, marketing, building customers and earning a profit, then you may want to consider buying one which is already established and has been put up for sale.
Why Buying an Online Business is a Good Investment
When you purchase an online business, you are putting yourself in an investment position. View it like purchasing a physical property—it has the same potential for valuable returns.
Online businesses are a virtual version of real property, and just like physical real estate, the value of an online business can grow rapidly over time. The online space which digital assets take up is valuable, and by buying this digital property you can get a huge return on investment further down the line.
In addition to the investment potential, there are other reasons to buy an online business. For example, they can generate income passively meaning that you can get a decent return for a low input, and they can also be run in addition to a typical 9 to 5 meaning that you can earn additional income on top of what you’re already making!
Buying a business online is a straightforward process which nets you a very valuable asset, and the best part of all this is that you don’t need to dedicate yourself to running its day-to-day as you are purchasing something which is already live and running.
Pros and Cons of Buying an Online Business
There are several pros and cons which need to be considered before you go ahead and buy a business.
Pro #1: All the hard work is done for you
You can forget about all the late nights, stress and hours of work which need to be put into a new business venture—somebody else has done all this for you.
Pro #2: Systems have already been established
One of the main advantages of buying an established business is that many systems have already been sorted out. Supplier sourcing, logistics, return policies and fulfillment have already been established. Other aspects such as investing in accounting software may still need to be done, however.
Pro #3: You can focus on growth
Since all the beginning stages have already been completed, you can dive straight into growing and scaling up your new business instead of spending time and energy on the earlier stages which are slow and drawn out.
Con #1: It requires a sizeable upfront investment
There’s usually quite a sizeable initial upfront investment required when you want to acquire an existing and operating online business. When compared to the costs of starting your own business, there is usually a huge gap.
Con #2: Established systems can be hard to change
A company which is doing well whilst operating under established systems can be resistant to change. This makes it hard to implement new systems such as accounting software and changing up logistics, but it’s not impossible. This may take time, though.
Con #3: It can be quite a big risk
There’s no ignoring the fact that there’s a huge risk factor associated with purchasing a business as opposed to starting your own. After all, it’s not guaranteed to succeed even if it is doing well already, and depending on your risk tolerance this could be a big problem.
It All Depends on You
Buying an existing business from specialist platforms can be a great decision, and it is something which largely rests on the type of person you are and what your personal circumstances are.
If you are somebody who likes a challenge and has plenty of spare time and energy to spend on a business venture, then why not start your own from scratch? Whilst it’ll be more work, there’s far less risk. If, on the other hand, you don’t want to put in the initial legwork and want to hit the ground running, purchasing an existing business could be the right thing to do.
