1 - Probably Not What You Were Expecting: Sitepoint is an auction site where internet businesses are bought and sold. An auction site is an unusual choice as the winner but there are good reasons why it should be at #1.
By the way, this isn't the only site of it's kind by far. There are
many more. Digital Point, DNF, and BusinessesforSale get honorable mention,
but Sitepoint is a good representative for auction sites. It is probably the
most active for websites / web business selling for between $1 and $100,000.
Why list a listing site? First, the quickest way to get to 60 mph is ... to
start from 59 mph. Buying an established web business takes a huge chunk of risk
out of the equation. Provided you've done your research, or reached a
price-performance agreement with the seller, you're going to see returns much
quicker than with starting a business from scratch.
Secondly, ideas, ideas, ideas. Expose yourself to the rich stream of business
models, the ideas that people have made successful, the concepts that are tried
and tested and really do work... and you're bound to get both inspiration and
motivation. Most are tried and tested. And are proven business models. Note:
There is a certain amount of due diligence required when buying a business.
Thirdly, and this is what really swayed me, that place is a gold mine for the
canny business person. If you've run a big business and hired consultants you'll
appreciate just how expensive they are. Specialised knowledge, information that
can only be gleaned from years in a particular field, the clout of pure
experience ... comes at a high price. Know someone who's the top guy in his
specialist field? He'll charge you an arm and a leg for you to pick his brain.
Unless he's selling a site! He then becomes a free consultant! He'll be happy to
explain to you what he does and why he does it and what pitfalls to avoid. True,
he may not disclose everything as you're only a potential buyer but I took this
for a spin and was stunned at the amount people were willing to share in an
attempt to sell their sites.
And stunned at the really low prices that web businesses go for compared with
bricks and mortar ones that I'm more familiar with.
If you want to make money on the web, don't buy an ebook. Please. See what
actually works. Speak to the people who've made it work. Then buy them out. That
may be your quickest route.
Intro |
Page 1: How do they do it? |
Page 2: Entrepreneurs
and Ideas | Page
3: Not what you were expecting |
Page 4: Honorable
mentions