Building a Web Business: How to Tell if a Website is Worth Buying

If you’re considering starting a new web business, or, in my case, purchasing an existing one, you’re going to want to do a little research first. Buying an existing site (either the domain name or the business that goes with it) is an investment you don’t want to just jump into. A site may seem to have a lot of value, when it turns out it’s crap. Or it may turn out that the idea is good but there’s just no market for it right now. So how do you figure out what a site is worth? Full Story →

Building a Web Business: Introducing SnowConditions.com

Let me start with a little background info. My family has been vacationing in Eagle River, Wisconsin for four generations, since roughly the time of the Great Depression. It’s the most peaceful place I’ve ever been  (sorry Florida, Switzerland, New York City, it’s true), and if I ever get around to having kids I’ll be bringing a fifth generation up there with me. We do a lot of boating and skiing in the summer and recently started snowmobiling there in the winter (it’s the snowmobile capital of the world… true story).

It was through snowmobiling that I first stumbled across SnowConditions, a site that tracked the conditions of snowmobile trails in Eagle River, provided trail maps and had a few webcams. It also happened that the site was for sale. I thought it could be a fun hobby and would give me an excuse to snowmobile and write it off as a business expense (note to the IRS: just kidding… sorta). Someone’s gotta report the conditions of the trails, right?

To Buy or Not to Buy

I started doing a little research and decided the site might be worth more than just a hobby after all. The domain name was a good one, and I had been reading more and more about flipping websites for serious profits and snowconditions.com seemed like a good place to give this concept a try.

I’ve never been one to rush into things, and I’m definitely not one to throw my money around. I decided to take it slow, develop a plan, research the market, the competition, and set some goals. If I felt, after all the research, that I could make a good return on my money (without it consuming my life), I’d buy the site.

Building a Business

After doing the research, I decided the site was worth buying and moved on to negotiating a price and a contract.I started to draw up the makings of a business plan, a marketing plan, and various other plans.

At the same time I started thinking about the design: logo, website, business cards, and whatever else I thought I might need. With an internet business (or any business, really), particularly in marketing, you’re sellilng an image. If your image sucks, so will your sales.

There will be plenty more to come as I get deeper into this venture, so this is just the introduction to the Building a Web Business series. Here’s what’s coming up (links to these posts will be added as they’re completed:

• Researching the Business (How to Tell If a Business is Worth Buying)
• Developing a Plan (Deciding What Exactly You’re Doing)
• Designing Your Business (Looking Legit Even if You Don’t Feel Legit Yet)
• Marketing Your Site (Telling the World What You’re Doing)

A quick disclaimer: I don’t consider myself an expert on any of these topics. I’m just describing everything I do as it happens, and sharing the advice and resources I come across in the process. I’ll share the opinions of actual experts as I come across them. Then, if I make a boatload of money, I’ll call myself an expert and charge you for my advice. Until then, we’ll just have to wait and see…

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