Buying an ecommerce business can look straightforward on the surface.
The revenue looks good. The brand looks decent. The seller talks about “huge potential”.
But this is where people get caught out.
What matters is not what the business looks like from the outside. It’s what is really going on underneath. The numbers. The margins. The customer behaviour. The cash flow. The operational risks you inherit the moment the deal is done.
In this podcast episode, Mark and Ian break down the biggest mistakes people make when buying an ecommerce business, the red flags that are easy to miss, and what you should actually be looking at before you hand over any money.
Because if you get this wrong, you’re not buying an opportunity. You’re buying a pile of problems.
In this podcast episode:
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Why the stated profit is often not the real profit
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The hidden costs that only show up once you take over
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How supplier risk can destroy your margins overnight
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Why are there no repeat customers? It is a massive warning sign
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The difference between having customers and just having orders
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How to tell whether a business is under-optimised or just weak
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Why margin and lifetime customer value matter far more than top-line revenue
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What actually creates a moat in ecommerce
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Why reselling other people’s products is often riskier than it looks
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The danger of trend-driven and fad products
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How stock, lead times, and cash flow quietly kill ecommerce businesses
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The key questions you should be asking before you buy
If you’re even considering buying an ecommerce business, watch this first.
P.S. Whenever you’re ready… here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:
1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let’s talk about accelerating your growth – https://go.hammersleybrothers.com/scheduleuk-ant
2. Grab a copy of our book – https://gohigh.hammersleybrothers.com/get-the-book
3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too – https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786
