If you’re new to the eCommerce space, it’s easy to assume that the only way to own a successful online store is to create one from scratch. But that is not true. Just like brick-and-mortar stores, online stores are bought and sold quite often. And it is quite easy to buy an eCommerce business, as the Store Coach website shows.
Given that you can buy an online store, the question then becomes: should you? Here are some of the arguments in favor of buying an eCommerce business today.
1. Hit the ground running
Creating a successful online business from scratch is quite difficult. It takes a long time for search engines and the public at large to start paying attention to a brand-new store. And new customers will be skittish about spending money on a store that hasn’t been around long enough to gather a reputation and positive reviews.
Thanks to these and other challenges, the first year of running an online store is often a grind. One that often ends up generating very little profit, especially when the store is being managed by someone inexperienced.
Buying an online store lets you skip all of that. You will be able to take over a store that already has loyal customers and an established reputation. That will allow you to spend less time focusing on proving to customers that your store is legitimate and more time expanding the business.
2. eCommerce is a growing market
Don’t fall for the rhetoric that the eCommerce market is too competitive or over-saturated. All predictions point to eCommerce sales growing over the next 5 and 10 years, and there are still plenty of underserved sections of the market out there. It’s all just a matter of putting together a good business plan and targeting the right crowd.
3. Start with confirmed profits
It doesn’t matter how talented you are as an entrepreneur; starting a new venture is always a risk. Even the best business plans can fail if you fail to take important factors into account. And that’s not even accounting for all the ways that simple bad luck can throw a wrench in your plans.
Buying a successful online store can help mitigate a lot of those risks. You don’t have to hope that your business plan will make a profit — instead, you can take over a profitable operation and just continue what the last owner was doing.
4. Spend less upfront
How much an online store will cost depends on a wide range of factors. But a small or midsize store will cost less than buying a similarly-sized brick-and-mortar store. And with no rent and few or no employees to worry about, the cost of upkeep for an online store is much lower than that of a traditional business as well.
These factors make it much easier to afford to buy and maintain an online store, even when sales take a downturn. It reduces how much financial stress you’ll need to deal with after making the buy.
5. You can sell it later
Online stores are relatively easy to sell, especially if you are willing to offer a competitive price. That makes it easier for you to recoup your losses if you decide to sell your online store later. And if you manage to grow the store after buying it, you may even be able to sell it for a profit.
