The short answer
Sophie Howard shares her approach to buying, building, and selling online businesses across Amazon, publishing, and newsletter models, including what makes each model attractive to different buyer types.
Key takeaways
- How to spot great Amazon businesses for sale
- Finding unique business niches that are highly profitable
- Recognising the value in smaller business deals
- How to be a good business buyer and get good terms
- The simple business models you need to succeed in this industry
Listen to the podcast
50 minWatch the full interview
About this episode
Have you ever thought about buying an Amazon business? What about turning e-books into a lifestyle business?
Sophie Howard is here to guide you through the ins and outs of playing this profit game. She got into Amazon-based businesses after the birth of her second child, reaching $2M in revenue for a company she worked on once a week. She has been generating passive income from the 20 businesses she’s started, bought, grown, and sold ever since.
She shares how to build a successful online business, what to look for if you want to acquire one, how to position it for sale, and how to integrate a portfolio of multiple to ensure you diversify your revenue over the long term.
Chapters
- 12:57The shift from buyer to seller can be a tough transition, but Sophie has gamified it. She loves buying for the instant cashflow, she loves growing because she gets to put on her creative hat and lean into her entrepreneurial skills, and she loves selling because of the rush it gives
- 15:45Sophie has a spreadsheet of everything she looks for when scouting an online business to buy. Here are some of her high-level insights
- 25:29While online businesses can be a breeze to set up and operate, if you want to buy one, you’ll need to do your research. There are a few big marketplaces for them including flippa.com, empireflippers.com, quietlight.com, and feinternational.com
- 32:38While there are a lot of perks to online businesses, one drawback is the access to capital to buy one. Banks often don’t offer loans, few have liquid assets to throw at a transaction, so the most common way of procuring one is through vendor financing
- 40:58Considering buying an online business, but not yet ready to pull the trigger? Sophie’s advice is to start small and get familiar with the process, learn the ropes, practice thinking like an investor, and working your way up. The returns on investment are worth it
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About Sophie Howard
Sophie Howard has started, scaled, and sold six and seven-figure online businesses. She knows what works when it comes to growing an online business.
Aspiring Entrepreneurs is her home. It’s a community designed to help aspiring entrepreneurs build a business and a life that serves them. There’s no fluff, jet planes or Lamborghinis – just powerful advice and inspiration on all things related to starting and growing a successful online business.
Sophie started online with an Amazon business in 2013, which she sold for over $1 million USD in 2015. As well as launching over 1000 products, she has built educational programs teaching thousands of students how to sell Amazon products and self-publish eBooks on Kindle.
Sophie has spoken on stages around the world, teaching and inspiring other aspiring entrepreneurs to achieve success.
As a big fan of passive income streams and smart business models, she stays engaged with the latest trends in online business.
Sophie lives in Wanaka, New Zealand, and juggles her business portfolio with two young children, a horse, and running in the mountains.
Connect with Sophie Howard
About the show
Buy Grow Sell is hosted by Simon Bedard, founder and managing director of Exit Advisory Group, a boutique mergers and acquisitions advisory firm that helps Australian business owners value, prepare for and navigate a sale. Every conversation draws on real deals and the patterns behind them.
