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Success Story – Buying and Selling Affiliate Sites

At first glance, Shabbir Nooruddin might not seem like the typical entrepreneur. He teaches Arabic literature full-time, but he has always had a passion for online business. He decided in 2013 to make it a side venture, and he’s learned some valuable lessons along the way.

His journey started in e-commerce. He reports, “In the first month, I must have made more than I made in the last six months combined.” After that first taste of success, Shabbir was hooked. He smiles as he adds, “the rest, as they say, is history.”

Two of Shabbir’s favorite aspects of the online world are conducting research and writing content for his online assets. He is a literature buff, after all! As he became more involved in creating and running websites, his interests turned to link-building and networking. Recognizing the tremendous effort required to create a site from scratch, he also appreciates the option to buy an existing one with a steady stream of revenue and profits.

Determining the best time to sell a site can be a guessing game, but Shabbir has a system he uses to evaluate options. He’ll grow a website to the point where he feels it’s gone as far as he can take it. He considers his limitations as a “solopreneur” working on the venture part-time while juggling a full-time teaching job. Once he’s passed that threshold, having done as much as he can do to keep the business profitable and self-sustaining, he will submit his website for sale with Empire Flippers. Each time Shabbir sells a site, he uses the proceeds to leverage a new opportunity. In turn, those who buy one of Shabbir’s sites have acquired something profitable and can give it the attention it needs to reach its potential.

Shabbir also enjoys the fact that he can now explore niches that he wouldn’t have been able to access without selling previous websites. With the infusion of capital from sales, he can buy an affiliate website that interests him but that he wouldn’t have had the time or energy to start from scratch. Because Shabbir knows firsthand the effort required to start something new, he places tremendous value on acquiring an asset that’s already built and a proven moneymaker.

Now that Shabbir has been at this for a few years, he’s seen what can be accomplished in a relatively short time—when one is willing to put in the work, that is. “You can work on something for a year and grow it from literally zero all the way up to where it’s a valuable asset that people are willing to spend good money for. That’s pretty satisfying.”

Shabbir does admit that it can be tough to stay on track, especially when juggling multiple properties and a full-time gig. When asked what the toughest part of running websites is, without hesitation, Shabbir answers that it’s accountability. “I work from home on my online businesses, so whenever you’re at home, there are always 100 different distractions.” Shabbir’s willpower, however, keeps him on track, and he’s managed to build a small empire. One of our most active marketplace participants, he has bought five websites from us over the years and sold three in our marketplace.

It can be tough to let go of a website after dedicating a year (or more) to building it, and Shabbir has gone through this process multiple times. He shares, “This is something that you’ve poured so many hours into over a long period of time. It’s your baby.” Fortunately, Shabbir is often in the process of acquiring something new to help ease the pain of letting go of his previous creation.

Because Shabbir has so much experience with buying and selling, he has a wealth of knowledge, especially about how to manage these transitions. His advice: “When you buy a business, make sure that you have some sort of a plan for the next six months to a year, at least, as to what you want to do with it.” He also suggests that buyers evaluate whether they’re personally equipped with the necessary skills to run the business or if they’ll need to bring on some help.

Fortunately, the migration system is not something buyers need to worry about. Shabbir notes that once a buyer decides to buy an affiliate website, our team handles all the heavy lifting. Within two to six weeks, we’ll wrap up the process, and the buyer will fully acquire the new site without having had to manage any of the nitty-gritty. In Shabbir’s words, “I have bought websites from other brokers before where I had to do most of the work myself for transferring all the assets, and that’s a bit of a pain. It’s a lot of hours and manual work that you could be spending doing something else like growing the business.”

Because Shabbir has worked with other brokers before, he recognizes how our process and service are unique and accessible for all skill levels and budgets. He notes that both the buying and selling processes are well-suited for everyone—from those just starting out all the way to serial entrepreneurs with multimillion-dollar assets and budgets. If you are wanting to find out how much your business is worth, make sure to use our free online business valuation tool.

Or maybe you’re wanting to get a jump start on the profits by acquiring an online business that is already making money. If that’s you, schedule a criteria discovery call with us today and we’ll help you find the perfect fit.