Many entrepreneurs have debated the idea of buying an online business as opposed to buying a brick-and-mortar one – perhaps it’s because of the array of options they can choose from and the benefits that come from owning an online business. Of course, which business venture to buy is tricky, but usually boils down to your own priorities.
- What industry do you want to invest in?
- What are you hoping to ascertain from your investment money?
- What kind of experience do you want to come from the money you invest?
While it can be difficult to narrow your choices down, there are multiple reasons to buy an online business vs an “offline” one.
5 Reasons an Online Business Is The Better Choice For You and Your Investment Dollars
Lower Overhead Costs
Here’s the reality when it comes to buying an online business as opposed to an offline business – you save money. That’s right! If your online business has been set up right, you don’t have as many expenses to contend with.
With lower overhead costs to pay, it also means a higher profit margin for the owner. With so many ways to monetize your efforts, this is certainly one of the most appealing reasons to buy an online business.
Change Marketing Tactics Quickly
All businesses must market themselves to spread word about their products/services. The great thing about marketing online is that you can actually track the results you get using an array of tools and information at your disposal. With the information readily at your fingertips, you can find out what is and is not working. And, if something isn’t working, you can alter the approach and come up with new methods that may work much more quickly than an offline business.
Tools like Google Analytics will give you a look at the results in real time. If your conversion rates are not where you’d like them to be, you can make changes to the website to boost the conversion numbers.
You can also target certain demographics at little easier – more so thanks to the increase and popularity of social media advertising. You lay out the audience you’re trying to reach out to and market to those who would have an interest in your product/service.
Your website isn’t the only thing you can use to capture your target audience’s attention. Believe it or not, there are an array of marketing channels you can go with as well – blogs, social media, videos, e-book, white papers, podcasts, etc.
Each of these assets gives you some flexibility, and since you have real-time information as to what is and isn’t working, you can alter your method to work in your favor.
Access To A Worldwide Market
A good thing about an online business is that it runs all the time – day and night – 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. And, best of all, there are no boundaries. This means your business can generate money all day long even while you’re sleeping.
With great SEO, social media and paid marketing strategies in place, you can reach out to anywhere in the world. It’s just that easy.
Or, you can stick with certain areas of the world, but there is still the possibility of expanding your business to the whole world if you decide to.
Offers More Flexibility and Freedom
When you have a brick-and-mortar store, you’re tied to a physical location. This can hinder you from getting business done when you’re out of town (for whatever reason). While it can be advantageous to have a location in one place, the flexibility an online business provides is often appealing to investors and entrepreneurs.
An online business means you can work from home or in a hotel. The only thing you need is a stable, reliable Internet connection and a laptop. Consider for a moment the people in your local Starbucks or other coffee stores and are using their laptop. Did you know that some of them may be handling their online business in the store?
When you have an online business, there’s often no need for employees, and you don’t need to worry about maintaining a business infrastructure.
The freedom an online business affords you is another reason entrepreneurs decide to go this route. Yes, it’s true that some people are unable to handle the freedom, spending more time doing things not related to the business than they should. This will lead to ultimate failure unless they change their ways.
Real entrepreneurs know that the business needs more work than play and will give it the attention it needs, and still be able to spend time with their family and friends. You know, the kinds of things they couldn’t enjoy because they were working a nine-to-five job that never allowed them the opportunity to see their child’s soccer game or their high school play.
An online business provides you with invaluable flexibility, but don’t spend more time in play than you do on the business. You need to find a happy medium.
Reduced Risk
Online businesses don’t have as much risk as a brick-and-mortar store does. Since you can begin an online business with little money and change quickly when you see methods are not going in your favor, you can turn a not-so-profitable business around quickly. (This isn’t the same for a brick-and-mortar store).
Bear in mind that changing things quickly doesn’t always equate to success. Failure can still happen, and you may have to start from scratch once more. However, with so many ways in which to make money through the Internet, it’s not hard to find a fit for you.
If you want to purchase an online business and become your own boss and realize your dreams of becoming an entrepreneur, one of our online business brokers can help guide you through the process. Please contact us here and one of our online business brokers can help.
