Did you buy a business with no ecommerce presence?

October 18, 2022

by a searcher in Oakville, ON, Canada

Having trouble building my target statement. Want to buy a traditionally business to compete locally, but also want to have an ecommerce presence and target North America (for growth). Having trouble choosing the type of business to start with? Do I buy any product business and add ecommerce or do I buy an ecommerce business.

Did anyone buy a business with the intention to add ecommerce? What was the product and which ecommerce channels did you start with? Did you choose the industry to target?

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Reply by a searcher
from New York University in Larchmont, NY, USA

Unless you are buying a business that only uses e-commerce then you can think of this as just another way to complete a sale. It may be more efficient than phone or fax (they still exist) orders, but it is just another channel to make a sale. It is worth noting that e-commerce does not allow the seller to have as much knowledge about what a customer might need as compared to engaging in a dialogue (phone or email), and therefore makes it harder to provide a bespoke offering. However, it usually will require fewer resources once set up, and any order discrepancies can be quickly discovered and provided to the customer if there are issues.

Reply by a professional
from Boston University in İstanbul, Türkiye

I think you should primarily focus on buying a business with stable and recurring cash flows as opposed to a ''product'' business. At the end of the day, when you buy a business, you are buying streams of cash flow. The healthier these streams of cash flow are, the easier managing the company as a first-time CEO is going to be. Having a growth thesis and a plan is a must, but being able to service the debt you acquire is and should be a priority.

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