The growth and continued expansion of online business can be exciting, albeit a bit daunting. Luckily, there are companies aiming to make the process smoother and provide financial incentives for individuals to join.
Empire Flippers calls itself the leader when it comes to buying, selling or investing in online business. Deemed the biggest team in the industry when it comes to deal flow, their business provides the best processes for valuations, offering full brokerage services like negotiations and migrating a business once sold, as well as other high-level services for six-figure and seven-figure digital assets.
Gregory Elfrink, marketing manager for Empire Flippers, talked with RewardExpert about the company’s purpose in the digital business world.
How it Works
The business began when Justin Cooke and Joe Magnotti lost a large client in their outsourcing company. They already built a team and didn’t want to lose that acquired talent while waiting to land another client.
Hence, employees’ hours were filled with building tiny niche sites monetized through Google AdSense.
“We kept a running personal blog of the experience and started selling off these small sites on another marketplace,” Elfrink said. “Eventually, people who loved our blog started reaching out to us and asking us if we could sell their websites since we had built the audience. Soon, we were making way more revenue selling other peoples’ businesses than our niche sites.”
It became clear that being an M&A brokerage was a profitable venture, and one that was prospering. The entire company was rebranded as a full-service brokerage and they haven’t looked back since.
Helping Sellers
Empire Flippers’ process is appealing to sellers. Instead of using Letters of Intent, or LOIs, as other brokerages might do, Empire uses a deposit system to weed out fake and authentic buyers.
“Since LOIs are often exclusive, sellers that use other brokerages often have longer waiting times to sell their businesses. In our process, multiple buyers can all be doing their due diligence at the same time, which can speed up the sale of the business significantly.”
In addition, the company vets businesses to assure legitimacy before they go live on the marketplace. That lets buyers know the business cares about their wants and needs.
“In addition, we have the largest email list in the industry, one of the most trafficked sites and in general the biggest audience when it comes to people actively looking to buy and sell their businesses. This means we have one of the best deal flows where we have new listings every week.”
It shows in the financial footprint, where between marketing, audience size and process-oriented service, they believe they provide superior service for any sub-$10 million online business.
‘We Love our Customers’
“We love our customers,” Elfrink said. To show their appreciation, they offer perks to those who buy or sell a certain size business. That includes Empire Flippers “swag” in the form of gym bags, stickers and USB drives. If clients are in town, they get treated to dinner and cocktails. And if they experience any issues, the company will contact someone who can help them outside the realm of buying and selling businesses.
When deciding to sell a business, Elfrink said it’s more of an art than a science. “Honestly, it comes down to what your goals are,” he said. “We have people selling their businesses for all sorts of reasons, from personal to professional.”
When it comes to raking in the cash, it’s advised that clients look at their last 12 months of net profit. For online businesses, they can multiply that net profit number 23 times and see a realistic yet conservative number for financial growth.
“Are you happy with that number? Does it excite you? Would it change your life personally or professionally to help you do bigger and more important things?” he said. “If the answer is yes, then it is a good time to consider selling the business.”
Those looking for ballpark estimates can use the company’s automated valuation tool, which can be used for free. The numbers won’t be exact, but it offers a helpful glimpse into the future.
The company saw massive growth in 2017, and this year has already produced record months. The team has grown by eight new members in just the first quarter of 2018.
They have no intent to put the foot on the brake, aiming to break more records and become a bigger name in the mainstream media market.
“In 2018 we will likely cement our market leadership in selling content sites and e-commerce stores,” he said.