The whole world has been affected by the COVID-19 crisis. The economy seemed to reach a standstill, crowded events were canceled, and unemployment reached a quick and ruthless all-time low.
During these trying times, many entrepreneurs are looking for ways to work from home, find another traditional job, or revamp their business.
Coming up with the right idea to create a thriving company in the middle of a national financial crisis is not the easiest thing to do. But buying a business might be the best option for many scrambling entrepreneurs.
Buying an already existing business does call for a heavy upfront investment, but it can be more profitable and hold less risk than beginning from scratch. Plus, there are business acquisition loans available from lenders that can help you to cover the upfront investment. These loans can then be paid back once the business starts to make a profit.
Instead of struggling with aspects like creating a new marketing strategy with templates from a great business templates site, finding kickstart funding, and building a clientele, you can focus on honing the resources at hand.
Simply follow the structure the previous owners stated and add the twists you trust will make the business grow even further.
If you choose well, the business is bound to have a successful performance history. This will facilitate the process once you approach banks for financing. The established business will bring immediate cash flow, allowing you to cover any financial needs that may come from acquiring it in the first place.
Combined with your previous business experience, the help of the established team of employees, and the seller’s perspective on what could be improved, your new venture is sure to be successful.
So where can you go to find the right business to purchase? Following traditional practices, you may look for advice from a business broker. But technology has allowed us to approach business acquisition in a different style.
1. BusinessForSale.com
With 59,790 businesses listed for sale, BusinessForSale.com serves as a great resource. It divides companies into eleven main categories: agriculture, engineering, food, franchise resales, leisure, manufacturing, real estate, retail, services, tech & media, and wholesale & distribution.
Each category is then fragmented into more specific subdivisions. These vary from tanning salons to oil & petrochemical to ranches. While some listings go in and out according to trend, you are sure to always find a few dozen options in every category.
Additionally, the site includes articles with advice and success stories related to the buying and selling of businesses in different industries.
2. Franchise Gator
Since 2002, Franchise Gator has offered a wide variety of business listings at both a local and international level. They offer thousands of franchise and business opportunities, in addition to hundreds of articles with the purpose of educating visitors about business buying and franchising.
The Franchise Gator team can help you find the right business according to industry, category, and level of investment you are willing to commit. They offer listings in 17 different industries and have classified them into special categories—including high capital, home-based business, low cost, and veterans, among others.
In the last 18 years, they delivered 1.5 million leads, all without re-selling a single client’s information.
3. BusinessBroker.net
BusinessBroker.net has been building its database since 1999. BBN works as an advertising service, helping connect thousands of owners every month with prospective buyers and sell their business and franchises.
The marketplace receives 150,000 visitors every month. With 28,000 for-sale listings—4,000 of them being franchises, there is an option for everyone. The site offers 24 categories varying from senior care to sports recreation to travel. Buyers can search alphabetically, by the trend, industry investment level, and location.
Visitors can also connect with one of the multiple business brokers that use the website for advertisement. These can be found all around the continental United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
4. Flippa
Founded in 2009, Flippa specializes in selling online businesses. For the last decade, their team has grown to four global locations, allowing them to sell 250,000 businesses world-wide. Selling everything online, from websites to apps and domains, Flippa has grown its community up to 1.5 million buyers, with 120,000 of them being registered buyers.
Their catalog of online businesses holds sizable industry diversity, offering options in automotive selling, insurance, photography, study guides, beauty blogs, and dozens more. During the search, you can find businesses by category, sale type (auction or classified), seller location, and business specs—like the number of monthly users, page views, downloads, and profit.
5. BizBuySell
BizBuySell is one of the most known business marketplaces online. Its 100,000+ successful sales, 45,000 active listings and over 1.4 million monthly help sustain the claim that Biz Buy Sell is “the Internet’s largest and most heavily trafficked business for sale marketplace.”
More than 90,000 people are registered BizBuySell buyers, receiving daily notifications regarding listings of their interest. The website offers both business and franchise options all across the United States and a few hundred international listings.
During searches, interested buyers can select four out of a group of 19 industries—which include beauty, education, agriculture, and financial services. Other advanced search options include the desired gross revenues, cash flow, year of business foundation, and more.
Additionally, BizBuySell helps its users find the best business broker for their needs. Brokers can be found according to location, license, and certification.
6. LoopNet
LoopNet is a real estate and business marketplace part of the CoStar Group. Around 1 million properties are marketed across all CoStar platforms—which include realtor.com and BiZBuySell.
LoopNet hosts thousands of those listings. These are divided into eight categories, and 10 different price ranges. With the help of the website tools, visitors can find a business according to their minimum cash flow and gross revenue, the date the listing was published, and the year the company was established.
Additionally, the LoopNet app allows users to locate businesses in their area which match their search, all from their phone or tablet.
