Empire Flippers Podcast

"With stocks, you could be looking at a 10-12% ROI, whereas with websites you could be looking at 100% returns year-over-year." This is just one of the many golden nuggets you'll hear from this episode with Lucas Carlson, a programmer who managed to raise $10 million in VC funding for a business idea, sell it to a Fortune 150 company, and turned the windfall into a lifelong cashflow. This time, Joe and I check in with Sarah and Branden who spoke with Lucas who shares how he invested the capital into building an online business portfolio that could sustain him for many years. By tuning in, you'll hear some really smart tips on what you could do if you're thinking about selling or have recently sold your business for life-changing money and want to put the money into an investment vehicle that will keep generating income. Speaking of building life-changing money, our featured listing is a dropshipping business in the entertainment niche. A "business in a box", the business comes with a large social media following and it's easy to pick up to learn how to run.

The industry of online businesses is still a growing niche. We hear a lot of people who want a piece of this pie as well. Joe and I are joined by Mike Vranjkovic to explain what the EF Capital program is, how it works, and how you can participate. The program was born in 2014 over discussions about an age old problem where skilled entrepreneurs don't have the capital to buy bigger listings, and investors don't want to buy an entire business or learn a brand new skill set. In a nutshell, the program helps investors turn an active investment into a passive one by partnering them with operators who will help manage acquisitions. And the program helps operators gain leverage in buying online businesses that aren't available through traditional financing (like SBA loans) without having to learn new skills like investor relations and how to set up an investment fund. Instead, operators stick to what they know best - fixing and scaling digital assets. If you're looking to buy an online business to replace your job, check out our featured listing. It's an Amazon FBA business created in April 2017 that sells specialty shoe products. It's a job replacement for income (earning ~$10,000 each month in profit) and time as well, since the seller only needs 2 hours each week to run it.

Ever feel a deal's going south with every word that comes out of a buyer's mouth? Usually, your gut instinct is on the money. Bullshit buyers are a seller's worst nightmare. While you were entertaining a buyer who made all the right noises at first and turned out to be a dud, you might have missed out on speaking to an actually qualified buyer. Joe and I wanted to share common tips and tricks these types of shady characters use so you can avoid unnecessary heartache. Our featured listing in this episode is for an Amazon Associates and affiliate business that has a well-established domain, a good backlink profile, requires minimal effort to maintain, and has diversified earnings. It could be a really good purchase for someone who wants to focus on building just one brand instead of managing lots of different businesses.

It's been a good year for us at Empire Flippers, even in the midst of this pandemic. Our industry keeps growing and the proof is in the pudding—we have over $1 billion in verified proof of funds from buyers on our marketplace. That's why in this episode, Joe and I really wanted to shared some great negotiation tactics that all buyers can use when finding the right deal for them. We'll talk about why and how you should consider a seller's emotional equity in a deal, managing expectations so you can agree on a sales price everyone's happy with, and how to set your buying strategy depending on the types of deals you're going after. Our featured listing in this episode is for an Amazon FBA business that's had strong year-on-year growth and doesn't need much effort to maintain right now. It's ideal for a one-man band type of operation, and there's room for diversity outside of Amazon while having plenty of avenues to explore within Amazon too: a great option for someone who's looking for a hands-off business that pulls in a healthy amount of income while having lots of opportunity to grow. There are tons of helpful and exclusive tips, so tune in and take notes!

Who doesn't love a good deal? But for online businesses, a great deal doesn't always mean buying at the lowest price. In this episode, Joe and I talk about what a great deal looks like when you're shopping for a digital asset in 2020. We'll talk about what value looks like and discuss some of the practical things to look out for when you're doing your due diligence, like how many hours you actually need to manage the business, and why you shouldn't go into an uncomfortable niche even if it has loads of potential. Our featured listing in this episode is for an Amazon FBA business that ticks a lot of these boxes for value. It's not a business we normally list on our marketplace, but there's a lot of opportunity for the right buyer - it's well-balanced, has multi-channel revenue, and could be a great deal for you.

It seems the best way to take down fake gurus is by pulling the curtain down and revealing exactly what they're offering. That's why in this episode, Joe and I are really excited to speak with Mike Winnet from The Contrepreneur Formula where we discover how he got into the business of calling out contrepreneurs online - you might know some names like Grant Cardone, Dan Pena, and Gary Vee. We appreciate it's easier to criticize fake gurus instead of giving constructive criticism, which is why Mike's perspective is interesting given his entrepreneurial background that provides the foundation behind recognizing deals that seem too good to be true. Our featured listing in this episode is for an Amazon Associates business that provides electronic reviews and compares and contrasts products. Traffic is mostly organic, and it's worth noting that declining traffic could be a great opportunity for a buyer to pick up and grow the business.

While 2020 has been a rough year around the world, our industry has been booming. We're seeing a lot of activity from partners and groups looking to snap up 6-, 7-, and 8- figure digital assets. In this episode, Joe and I dive into what the selection criteria for these deep-pocketed groups look like, how they negotiate deals, and what are their ultimate long-term plays. We also cover why brokers are key in these types of deals and how sellers can benefit from listing on our marketplace. Stay tuned for two featured listings this week. Both are in the technology niche providing a special type of internet service in different geographic regions, and are potentially great deals for groups looking to buy a business providing a full-time income instead of a full-time job.

If you send me a few laptops I'll wire $50,000 to your account tomorrow..." By now we're all familiar with online scams that appeal to our emotions or a path to get rich with a "small" investment. What if Instead of ignoring or trolling scammers, there was a more wholesome way of dealing with these types of emails? In this episode, Joe and I talk with Ben Taylor, the man behind the Youtube channel Pleasant Green, who's mission is to identify scams and find ways to help online scammers financially without having to rely on these schemes. We'll cover what types of scams exist with online businesses, how Ben dealt with these, and how he saw that was a genuine deeper need behind these scams so he could turn these encounters into positive opportunities. We'll also talk about a solid business that's for sale with lots of diversification in traffic and revenue sources that makes just under $50k in monthly net profit and suits people looking for a really profitable online business without the need to grow one from scratch.

This is a departure from our regular episodes where we talk about buying and selling online businesses, the overall industry, and entrepreneurship in general. Today I talk with Michael Erickson from digital marketing agency Search Scientists about how political operatives use Facebook and other major online platforms to manipulate the vote. We cover what were some of the old school ways that elections could have been manipulated pre-Internet, how big data is used to drive voters towards your candidate (and away from the opposition), and how these tactics might be used in Small Town, USA. No featured listings or updates for this episode, we'll be back with that on the next one. I hope this serves as a warning to anyone who's missed the looming danger of these platforms being used as a tool to manipulate elections.

2020 remains a seller's market, but there's NO guarantee you'll be able to sell your online business, especially at your perceived value or on your terms.With that said, we can't wait to give you some actionable tips to help you bridge this gap between buyers' expectations and your expected sales price. In this episode, Joe and I talk about how you can step into a buyer's shoes to understand their wants and needs to give you a better chance to sell your asset. We'll cover what types of factors are attractive to buyers like how you've established a unique brand, how you've managed to lower risk through diversification, or different ways a buyer can expand your business. If you're looking for an asset to replace your main income, keep an ear out for when we talk about a SaaS business in the business niche that makes over $16k each month in net profit and has a large team to support with daily tasks.

After this yacht broker found out just how lucrative buying and selling online businesses was, it blew any doubts he had out of the water. In this episode, Joe and I talk with Zac Zorn who turned his hand to flipping online businesses for a profit. We'll cover how he came about founding MoneyNomad.com, and discuss how to get started with flipping online businesses with smart tactics based on Zac's personal experience. We're also excited to share about an Amazon FBA business that's for sale on our marketplace in the gifts niche that's making over $17,000 in monthly net profit and requires few hours a week to maintain (this might be a business to replace your main source of income!).

During the COVID-19 pandemic, traffic for porn increased by 10% worldwide. But are adult businesses increasing by the same amount across the board? In this episode, Joe and I talk with Bruce Friedman, a broker in the adult business industry. We'll compare the state of the adult industry between 2015 and now, which niches are growing or dying out, and issues that are becoming increasingly common among buyers and sellers. We also go into a bit more detail about a 6-figure advertising and digital product business in the diet niche and why declining traffic presents a potential great growth opportunity.

"You're going to lose a lot of trust in a buyer if you're overly greedy at the end of deals—don't do it." Not revealing the whole truth about your business can lead to an adversarial relationship between a buyer and seller. In this episode, Joe and I discuss some of the most common tricks sellers use to present their business as a sweetheart deal. We'll go over why honesty is the best policy when you want the sale to work out well for all parties, and how an online business broker helps you see through the smoke and mirrors. This week we'll also review two exciting 6-figure businesses on sale right now, as well as go over some excellent news and updates for this quarter—stick with us!

In this episode, Joe and I discuss what we learned were some of the most important values when you grow a company. This week we share what lessons stuck with us as we pivoted and changed companies, and how we made sure that company values played a huge role in our decision making as founders and CEOs to ensure the business grew from strength to strength. We discuss the benefits of not taking shortcuts, looking at long-term benefits over short-term, and the types of clients we want to do business with along with our other values.

In this episode, Joe and I discuss how to build a rock-solid content marketing game plan that you can use for your business. This week we bare all about how we started creating content, what are some of the lessons we learned along the way, and how we nailed content marketing by being honest in all of the content we produced, even though we were complete beginners in content marketing at the start. We also discuss how to identify your target audience, what type of content you should create to resonate with readers, and what are some of the more creative strategies to content marketing that we discovered.

In this episode, Justin and Joe sit down and talk with Mads Singers the owner of an outsourcing and managements business that fits business owners with VAs located in the Philippines. We discuss some of the benefits and cultural differences when it comes to outsourcing work to the Philippines compared to outsourced workers in the U.S. This episode is great if you're interested in utilizing outsourced VAs and some of the complications you may run into while doing so. For all of this, and a deep dive into the changing market conditions and how to adapt your team management operations to fit the current economic climate listen in below and don't forget to leave us a comment.

In this episode, Joe and I discuss how building a successful business can be difficult, however, it's all the more rewarding when you get to celebrate with someone who is both your business partner and your spouse. This week we sit down with Matt and Liz Raad from ebusinessinstitute.com.au to talk about their experiences in buying and selling businesses in Australia. We also discuss some of the challenges you may face deciding how to divide the work load living and working as a couple. For all of this, and a deep dive into the conference and courses business model for those interested in pursuing this as an investment opportunity, listen in below and don't forget to leave us a comment.

In this episode, Justin and Joe discuss the options you have when considering whether you should build a business from scratch, or purchase a keyword optimized niche site already generating revenue. That's the proposition over at Human Proof Designs, and we've invited the owner Bryon on the show to discuss his background, how he purchased Human Proof Designs, and even get into some industry gossip as well.

In this episode, Justin & Joe go into detail to describe the Empire Flippers hiring process. From the initial application through the onboarding process, get an inside look at how a scaling company hires. You'll find the show notes at empireflippers.com/hiringfunnel.

Justin and Joe discuss the similarities between Real Estate investing and investing in online businesses. They sit down with Roofstock's founder, Gary Beasley, for an in-depth interview that covers the founding and scaling of Roofstock, how Roofstock works for both sellers and investors, and the unique challenges that come with running a 2-sided marketplace.

Justin and Joe dig into the predictions they made in 2019 to discuss which panned out and which didn't. They also make some predictions for 2020 in the industry around buying, selling, and investing in online businesses.

In this episode, Justin talks with the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, Mark Manson. Mark went from being a relatively obscure blogger to a leading self-help author and bonafide public intellectual. Listen in as they discuss Mark's story, his framework on deciding what to value in life, and the business side of being a bestselling author.

In this episode of the podcast, Justin and Joe talk about the types of online businesses that are NOT selling well in 2019. They get into specific feedback from buyers and offer recommendations that'll help you make your business more sellable. If you're a buyer this is a great episode to learn more about less popular deals to gain more leverage.

In this episode, Justin talks with successful startup founder Immad Akhund about his background and latest company — Mercury Bank. Mercury is a bank for startups with benefits that separate it from the competition. Listen in to learn more about how the business got started, its future plans, and what it takes to repeatedly launch successful businesses.

In this episode of the Empire Flippers Podcast, Justin and Joe highlight the serious advantages of running a team without an office — working from anywhere in the world. Whether you already have an opinion on offices or not, the hope is that this episode will encourage you to seriously consider running a distributed team in your company.

In this episode, Jaryd Krause from Buying Online Businesses joins the podcast to discuss his story of going from a Newbie Norm to a Portfolio Paul as an online business buyer. Jaryd is quickly becoming a player in the industry and shares a lot of valuable insights for those just starting out or those looking to continue growing their online empire.

Portfolio buyers take a professional approach to buying businesses, often owning several or even dozens of businesses. In this episode, Justin & Joe discuss some of the habits of their most successful portfolio buyers to see what they have in common. Listen in to catch all 7 secrets and set yourself up for success.

In this episode of the Empire Flippers Podcast, Justin and Joe discuss the biases buyers commonly hold when looking at potential businesses. Biases can stand in the way of great opportunities, so listen in as your hosts give alternative views that buyers might want to consider as they conduct due diligence and shop for deals.

In this episode, we sit down with Tommy Griffith who went from running SEO at PayPal and AirBnB to sitting in an AirBnb rental in Bali, completely unsure about his next steps. We review how he built ClickMinded from a small, local, in-person training course to an online training platform and uncover his successes and failures along the way.

Everything you've done has led to where you are today, but are there things in your entrepreneurial career you wish you could take back? In this episode, Justin & Joe dive into 4 issues and discuss how they might do things differently a second time around.

Some entrepreneurs flourish when they don't have a penny to their name, no income, and a looming deadline. Others need at least 12 months of expenses saved up to feel secure. What's the difference between the two? Who's more successful? These are the questions we attempt to unpack in this episode.

In this episode, we spoke with Matt Diggity about his path to becoming an SEO expert and dig into what's made him so successful.

In this episode, Justin interviews Greg Mercer about how he built Jungle Scout into the power-house company it is today and what makes him unique as an entrepreneur.

In this episode, Justin talks with Tim Soulo from ahrefs about how he landed at the company and the details behind how they've scaled the business over the last few years.

In this episode we provide a framework you can use to determine whether you should buy an online business or build one from scratch.

This week we unpack 7 reasons sellers give for wanting to sell their online business.

We are looking at trends in our industry and making 5 specific predictions for buying and selling online businesses in 2019.

In this episode, we sit down with Rand Fishkin from Moz.com to get his thoughts on SEO, scaling SaaS companies, and the value of transparency in business.

In this episode, we sit down with Jay Yap from Leadspring to discuss his journey from Virtual Assistant to Partner.

In this episode, we look at some of the pitfalls first time buyers fall into and how those newbie buyers can avoid them.

What would it take to get better at using intuition in your business? That's the topic with Michaela Light from Intuitive Leadership Mastery.

We sit down with Jeff Coyle from Market Muse to look at new and improving ways to provide content to your prospects and customers.

In this episode, we look at some of the industry highlights from 2017 and make some predictions about the market in 2018.

In this episode, we sit down with Peter Shankman, founder of HARO, to discuss how press and social media can be used to add value as entrepreneurs.

We sit down with Mark Faggiano to discuss how he scaled his SaaS business TaxJar to more than 9,000 customers.

We sit down with our friend Scott Voelker from theamazingseller.com to look at how to build, buy, and expand Amazon FBA businesses.

We sit down with Tim Urban from WaitButWhy.com to discuss his creative process, procrastination, his meeting with Elon Musk, and how he runs his business.

There are plenty of reasons partnerships can be a BAD idea. In this episode, we'll look at the benefits and the 6 types of partnerships that work.

In episode 165 we sit down with Simon Payne the co-founder of Lead Pages to discuss how they got started, their process for scaling, and his reasons for exiting the company.

In episode 164 we sit down with Kean from Monetize More to look at how his company came back from a $2.2M loss when their AdSense account was banned.