What You Can Buy
- Content/affiliate sites ($5K-$200K): Blogs earning through ads and affiliate links. Priced at 30-40x monthly profit. A site earning $2K/mo sells for $60K-$80K.
- SaaS businesses ($20K-$500K+): Software with monthly recurring revenue. Priced at 3-6x annual revenue. A SaaS earning $5K MRR might sell for $180K-$360K.
- E-commerce stores ($10K-$300K): Shopify/Amazon stores with established products. Priced at 2-4x annual profit.
- Service businesses ($5K-$100K): Agencies, freelance practices with client bases. Priced at 1-3x annual profit. Often the best deals.
- Apps and plugins ($5K-$200K): Mobile apps, browser extensions, WordPress plugins with existing user bases.
Where to Find Businesses for Sale
- Acquire.com: SaaS-focused marketplace. Startups list for free. Buyers pay subscription. Largest SaaS acquisition marketplace.
- Empire Flippers: Vetted businesses $100K+. Content sites, e-commerce, SaaS. They verify revenue claims before listing.
- Flippa: Largest marketplace by volume. Lower price range ($1K-$100K). Less vetting - do thorough due diligence.
- Motion Invest: Content sites only. $10K-$100K range. Good for first-time buyers. They operate the sites during transition.
- MicroAcquire (now Acquire.com): Primarily SaaS and tech startups. Direct buyer-seller communication.
Due Diligence Checklist
Before buying any online business, verify:
- Revenue proof: Stripe/PayPal statements, ad network dashboards, bank statements. Not screenshots - actual access.
- Traffic sources: Google Analytics access. Is traffic organic (sustainable) or paid (stops when ads stop)?
- Trend direction: Is revenue growing, flat, or declining? Declining businesses sell at discounts for a reason.
- Owner dependency: How many hours does the owner work? Can it run without them? What happens during transition?
- Competition and moat: What prevents someone from copying this? Brand, SEO rankings, relationships, proprietary tech?
- Customer concentration: Does 50%+ of revenue come from one client or one traffic source? That's high risk.
Financing Options
- Cash: Simplest. Full ownership, no debt. But ties up capital.
- Seller financing (60-80% of deals): Pay 50-70% upfront, remainder over 12-24 months. Seller stays motivated during transition.
- SBA loans (US): Government-backed loans for business acquisitions. 10-20% down, 10-year terms. Requires revenue history and collateral.
- Revenue-based financing: Platforms like Clearco advance capital repaid from future revenue.
The Math
Buy a content site earning $3K/mo for $100K (33x multiple). If you maintain it, you recoup your investment in 33 months. If you grow it 50%, recoup drops to 22 months. Then sell for $150K+ and repeat.
The acquisition model: buy, improve, hold (or sell). It's real estate investing applied to digital assets.
Sources: Empire Flippers marketplace data, Acquire.com deal reports, FE International acquisition benchmarks 2025-2026