ecommerce-buy-a-site-entrepreneurs

More people are working from home now than ever. Many are looking to supplement their income with side gigs, and selling products online is a great way to accomplish this. Sure, you can start up a store on Amazon or Etsy. Or you could do what many other entrepreneurs have been doing over the last few years: Buy an existing site.

According to BizBuySell, a site that tracks and facilitates the purchase and sale of businesses, mergers and acquisitions activity increased 14% over the last year.

Experts project that e-commerce sales will account for more than a fifth of overall retail shopping purchases and will surpass $7 trillion by 2025. Which is why buying an existing site with a track record of selling products online has created a significant opportunity for entrepreneurs looking to be their own boss.

“Think about all of the buyers and sellers that are on Amazon and all of the business owners that use Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, WordPress, the list goes on,” said Blake Hutchison, the CEO of online marketplace Flippa. “You’ve got this massive network of small-business owners all over the world. Small profitable businesses, from sub $500K to $10M annual revenue that are still hot property. Savvy digital acquirers taking a long-term view, see the obvious. Digital isn’t going anywhere.”

One such savvy acquirer is Josey Orr, a Berks County entrepreneur who recently bought two online businesses — Body for Golf and Easier Golfing. Orr, with a partner, bought the two sites because he was “bored” and looking for opportunities. Orr loves golf but that wasn’t his prime motivation. He was looking to sell online products and leverage the growing trend of paid newsletter subscription services. Both acquisitions served those needs.

“We formed a little holding company and looked to acquire some small businesses that are complementary to one another,” he said. “I had no experience buying a business before this.”

Phoenixville’s Martin Bispels tells a similar story. After running small businesses and a stint in consulting, Bispels, during the summer of 2020, found himself ready to launch into a new online career. So he set off to “find” that new venture.

“The opportunity to buy a company and operate it myself was really exciting,” he said. He and a partner “looked at all kinds of different businesses until we found the one that we loved.” That business was Upper Park Disc Golf, a disc golf backpack e-commerce retailer. “I’ve…