Over time, a business may change ownership for a wide variety of reasons. You might decide you need a new challenge, or have to let your startup go due to increased personal responsibilities. Alternatively, perhaps you’re on the lookout for an established brand you can grow.
Regardless of which end of the transaction you’re on, buying or selling a WordPress business, website, or side-gig can be tricky. You’ll want to maximize your returns or get the best value for your money. Using the right intermediary can make the process more transparent and hassle-free.
In this article, we’ll discuss where you can subscribe and keep up with happenings related to the buying and selling of WordPress businesses, websites, and side-gigs. Let’s dive in!
Why You Might Want to Buy or Sell a WordPress Business, Website, or Side-Gig
I spoke with John Turner, the founder of SeedProd, about his experience building his company and selling 10,000 downloads of his plugin in its first two months. Like John, you might come to realize that a traditional nine-to-five job doesn’t work for you. Launching your own business can be a better path.
However, over time you might find that you don’t have the resources to continue supporting your business. Other responsibilities may come up, or you might simply lack the skills necessary to keep expanding your company.
Alternatively, your project may no longer feel as satisfying as it used to be. Perhaps you’re ready to seek a change and move on to new challenges. These and many other reasons may lead you to hand over the reins of your business to a buyer.
On the other hand, you might consider buying an existing business instead of starting a new one. In some cases, this can save you the time and effort required to grow your audience entirely from scratch.
I’ve had more than a few conversations with folks on both sides of acquisitions, and understand the importance of keeping the process as smooth as possible. Choosing the right platform for buying or selling a WordPress business or website is a key part of that, as the intermediary you use determines the resources available to you.
Where to Buy or Sell a WordPress Business, Website, or Side-Gig (9 Must-Know Sites)
The good news is that there are several quality online marketplaces where you can buy and sell websites and companies. Let’s take a look at nine platforms to be aware of if you’re considering the possibility of acquiring or selling a WordPress business.
1. WP Buffs Acquisitions
Sell
First on our list is the WP Buffs business acquisitions unit. Our team buys WordPress businesses of all types, as long as they have monthly revenues of four to five-figures. You can sell us a blog filled with high-quality tutorials and guides or a company that provides clients with website care plans.
To begin the process of selling your business to WP Buffs, you’ll need to fill out a form with its details. This will include your monthly revenue, what type of company you have, how fast you’re looking to sell, why you’re doing so, and more.
2. SideProjectors
Buy or sell
Next up is SideProjectors, a site where users can submit programming gigs. Some are showcased as portfolio entries, while others are either for sale or in need of co-founders. You can create an account for free, and add an unlimited number of projects to your profile at no cost.
When listing your project, you’ll need to include details such as whether or not your business is for sale, how much revenue it rakes in, and screenshots of the progress to date. Note that since SideProjectors does not act as a middle-man between buying and selling parties, it’s important to consider using an escrow to reduce the risk of losing money.
3. IndieMaker
Buy or sell
IndieMaker enables its users to sell side-gigs, unused domains, social media accounts, and online businesses. Some examples of projects that can be found on the site include App9, a tool for creating professional screenshots of the App Store and Google Store. There’s also ImageResize, a tool for resizing images in Slack.
You can add as many businesses as you want and promote your listings to more than 12,000 buyers. However, this requires an ‘unlock fee’. The wait time for getting your listing approved is about 24 hours.
4. Flippa
Buy or sell
Flippa enables users to buy and sell websites, businesses, apps, and domains. You’ll find e-commerce sites, web and mobile apps, established content publishing sites, and more. You can sell your business at auction or through a classified listing.
In an auction, you’ll set a starting price and a potential selling price to close the sale. On the other hand, classified listings contain either a list price or contact information for reaching out to the seller to negotiate.
5. FE International
Sell
The next website on our list is FE International, a brokerage firm for selling successful businesses with five to seven-figure revenues. An advantage of this platform is that it offers direct access to a network of investors.
Unfortunately, FE International is no longer involved in selling WordPress plugins due to a lack of demand from buyers. That said, it has a very professional approach and is still a solid choice if you have a non-plugin-based business.
6. Empire Flippers
Buy or sell
Empire Flippers is arguably an excellent choice for getting a successful plugin in front of a large audience of buyers. You’ll need to have your business vetted before you can list it, and you’ll also need to pay a fee. However, this will be refunded if your project is rejected.
Empire Flippers takes a 15 percent cut of the final price when your plugin is sold. You’ll also be required to list your product exclusively on this site for six months. Although this can limit your selling opportunities, it is a solid option for businesses already generating a decent revenue.
7. Latona’s Business Brokers
Sell
Latona’s enables users to sell content websites, e-commerce stores, domains with high traffic, membership sites, Software as a Service (SaaS), and more. It offers free business evaluations and provides a hands-on approach to the process.
Note that you can’t view existing listings without creating an account. Although this can be a pain since it effectively limits the number of eyes that can view your project if it’s for sale, it is handy if you want to preselect serious buyers.
If you’re unable to list your project with FE International, Latona’s Business Brokers can be a solid alternative.
8. Transferslot
Buy or sell
Unlike most of the sites we’ve mentioned here, Transferslot is focused on side-gigs and is targeted toward buyers with low budgets. You’ll need to keep that in mind when listing your website or project for sale.
You’ll find projects such as a Coronavirus tracker and curve visualizer, a theme shop, User Experience (UX) tools for designers, and much more. If you want to sell a business with some value to buyers beyond the WordPress community, this platform may be a useful place to list it.
9. WPBeginner Growth Accelerator
Sell
WPBeginner Growth Accelerator is a growth fund focused entirely on WordPress businesses. Its first round was announced on 5 November, 2018, on the WPBeginner blog. The mission of this platform is to build up small businesses and enable them to compete with bigger brands.
During the second round, between $100,000 and $2 million was promised for investment into small WordPress businesses. If you’re thinking about selling your company or plugin because you lack the resources to continue maintaining or expanding it, this may be an excellent alternative solution.
Note that although you could potentially sell with this option, it’s more apt to say you’ll be exchanging a part of your business for help growing it. If you’d like to apply, you’ll need to wait until the third round of funding. Consider subscribing to WPBeginner for updates so you don’t miss the announcement.
Conclusion
If you intend to buy or sell a WordPress business, website, or side-gig, knowing where to find the other party can take much of the work out of the process. Although you’ll still need to do your due diligence, the best intermediaries will ensure that you have most of the information you need from the get-go.
In this article, we discussed a few places where you can buy or sell a business, website, or side-gig. For WordPress-specific projects, check out WP Buffs Acquisitions. Otherwise, FE International might be best for you. Alternatively, if you’d like to keep your brand but need help expanding it, consider WPBeginner Growth Accelerator.
Do you have any questions about buying or selling a WordPress website or business? Let us know in the comments section below!
The post Where to Buy or Sell a WordPress Business, Website, or Side-Gig appeared first on Torque.
