Flipping websites for profit can be an incredibly lucrative side gig for people of any age and background to earn a living online.
The reason why it’s such a great side hustle to start now is that it requires only a small amount of money to get started (less than $100 to set up your first website to flip) and not a lot of people know about it yet so the market isn’t oversaturated like many other work from home jobs.
Today I have my friend Jenn Leach who makes 6-figures a year flipping websites for profit tell you more about website flipping and how you can get started with it!
So keep on reading to find out more about blog flipping!
This post contains affiliate links. Please read my disclosures policy for more info.
1. Can you tell us about yourself?
My name is Jenn Leach. I’m the wife to a Navy vet and mama to a 7-year old and we live in Texas.
In my free time, I love spending time with family and friends, enjoying movies, travel, and baking.
Growing up I always identified as a creative, being drawn to art, drawing, and fashion. I wanted to be a fashion designer, model, artist, or a CEO.
These dreams weren’t fully embraced by my parents who told me how difficult it was to become those things and fully support myself, or become those things at all.
So, my thinking changed and going into college I really didn’t know what I wanted to be.
I was interested in business and later realized that one of the things I loved about those “dream jobs” as a child was that those careers were all entrepreneurial in nature.
After college, I went into the banking field and worked as a banker for 10 years.
In my last year or two working in personal finance and banking, I decided to give this entrepreneurship thing a try, so I tried a bunch of different things, in hopes of becoming successful with one of them and then quitting my 9 to 5.
I was pretty unhappy in my 9 to 5.
Although the company I worked for was amazing and I was paid an excellent salary, living very comfortably on my own with a brand new car, enjoying vacations every year and more, I just wasn’t fulfilled.
I started a bunch of different side hustle projects.
Some were legit and some were scams.
What I wanted from my own business was a job that fulfilled me, gave me independence, flexibility and freedom. I wanted unlimited income potential and wanted to be the boss.
I was pretty clueless but was open to trying just about anything so I did gigs like:
- Writing for content mills
- Selling Twitter packages
- Selling used electronics
- Flipping items
I also opened a small women’s boutique.
I earned $25 the first week and a year later that income replaced my 9 to 5 so I quit.
After a few years of successfully running that online boutique, I was overworked and really struggled with work-life balance.
I LOVED running the boutique and so I spent all my time on it, neglecting myself and my family.
I had to let it go so I flipped it for a profit, near six figures!
And that is how my journey into website flipping started!
2. How did you start flipping websites for profit?
After flipping my first website, the women’s boutique, I decided to try my hand at building and flipping blogs.
I learned how lucrative blogging was, from Pinterest.
So, I started a blog about how to make money online.
I took all my knowledge and experience from my years of searching for a side hustle while working my 9 to 5, and put that into my blog.
Almost a year into blogging on that website, I flipped it, for five figures!
That was the second site I flipped.
I continued on, flipping site after site.
I was hooked on website flipping, in the best possible way.
It gave me all the perks that I enjoyed with my boutique business but it was even more flexible.
With an online store, orders come in 24/7 and so do customer inquiries, advertising inquiries, and more.
It feels like you always have to be on.
Or, hire a staff to help.
With website flipping, you control the pace and you aren’t serving the masses, like with e-commerce. It’s a much different business.
I found it super rewarding to build a site from scratch, grow it, and then flip it for a profit.
Since then, I have flipped dozens of websites (both e-commerce and content sites)
3. What is website flipping?
Website flipping is making money from buying and selling websites.
You buy or build a website low and sell it high.
For example, you can build a website for $50, spend 30 days growing the website, then flip it the next month for $600.
That would earn you a profit of $550!
This is just from one website, too.
Imagine if you scaled this business, working on 20 websites/month, which could earn you (based on the above example) $11,000.
Website flipping can be very lucrative.
You get to enjoy the perks of running your own business, like:
- Being the boss and making all the rules
- Design your dream schedule
- Flexibility
- Freedom
- Independence
- Unlimited income
- And, more!
The flipping industry is growing and it’s everywhere:
- Real estate flipping
- Retail flipping
- Electronics flipping
- Pawn shops
- Etc.
More and more people are pursuing it for full-time or side income.
4. How can someone become a website flipper?
It’s pretty easy to break into the website flipping industry.
You don’t need special skills or expertise. Basic computer skills, your time, and a small budget is all that’s required to get started.
Because of the low barrier to entry, website flipping can be done by just about anybody.
Requirements:
- Computer access (internet access via computer, smartphone or tablet)
- Your Time (around 1-3 hours/week)
- A budget of $50 to $100 (website startup costs)
There are two ways you can approach website flipping:
- Building a website
- Buying a website
Building a website means you will be creating a website from scratch. And, you will do tasks like:
- Choose your website niche
- Picking a website name
- Getting hosting and domain
This is perfect for creatives who feel rewarded by building something from the ground up, growing it, then selling it for a profit.
Building a website is super simple and you can do the setup in about 30 minutes.
Building a website is the approach I take with my website flips and since I’m creative, it’s perfect for me and I really enjoy it.
With creating the website, I have full control over everything in the process, like choosing the name and niche, adding content, design, and more.
The next option is buying a website.
This approach is for people who have more money in their startup budget and want to skip some steps by buying an already established website.
The advantage of buying a site is cutting out a lot of the startup work.
The disadvantage is a bigger investment.
Buying a website means you will do tasks like:
- Researching a website to purchase
- Investigating the history and looking at all the stats (traffic, income, etc.)
- Price negotiation
- Migrating the website to your host and then developing the site from there
How to buy an existing website?
There are many online brokerages that you can use to buy an existing website. The most commonly used is Flippa.com which sells websites that are brand new and also more established sites that are already making an income.
Another great place to buy an existing website from is Empire Flippers. They only sell websites and blogs that are already established and making and income and all sites listed on Empire Flippers have to pass a thorough validation process, meaning they are safer to buy.
Regardless of the approach you take, you can still have a successful outcome with both options and build a profitable, flourishing website flipping business for yourself.
5. What’s your favorite part about flipping websites for profit?
My favorite part about website flipping is common among many home businesses.
Freedom, independence, and flexibility are what I love most.
I get to run my own business, call the shots, and there’s unlimited income potential.
I absolutely love working for myself.
6. What’s your least favorite part about website flipping?
I mentioned the struggle with work-life balance, up above. That’s still something I’m working through every day in my business.
This isn’t necessarily a disadvantage of website flipping itself, it can really be for any job, self-employed or not.
It’s really incredible to find a job you love because it doesn’t feel like work. But, on the other end of this is, you can really get wrapped up in work and that’s where finding a good balance between work and life, comes into play.
Overall, I am super happy in this business I’ve created for myself and I wouldn’t trade it for a 9 to 5, any day.
7. How much money can you make website flipping?
With website flipping, there is unlimited income potential.
I have earned over six figures flipping websites and others in this industry have made even more money.
The amount you earn is based on a number of factors, including:
- Startup costs
- Number of websites you work on
- Time and availability
- And, more
Website flipping can be a great fit for you, whether you are looking for a little extra side income or you want to start your own profitable full-time business.
8. How does someone get started with website flipping?
To get started with website flipping, it’s recommended you begin by getting training from an expert.
For the purposes of gaining a better understanding of the industry and the process and receiving step-by-step training and instruction, learning from a seasoned professional is the path you should take to start your own website flipping venture.
You will get support from the instructor and other students so you don’t have to go through the process alone, improve your skills and gain all the knowledge needed to start this successful business.
9. Tell us about your website flipping course, The Art of the Microflip.
The Art of the Microflip has been taken by hundreds of students who have learned how to create, grow, and flip starter websites for profit.
In my course, I will teach students how to create successful profitable businesses, earning up to $2,500 per month with website flipping.
We focus on starter websites, under 6 months old because they are easy to flip and require far less work than a more established site.
If students want to pursue established sites, that is encouraged and the skills and techniques learned can definitely be applied to more seasoned websites.
Once students learn my process, they can easily scale the business to increase your income potential.
10. Is website flipping beginner-friendly?
Yes, website flipping is for beginners.
Here are some of the perks:
- Low barrier to entry
- Beginner-friendly
- Easy to learn
- Low startup cost
The process of website flipping works like this:
- Pick a website niche
- Pick a website name
- Get Domain and hosting
- Connect WordPress
- Launch the website
First, a website niche will be chosen.
Your website niche is your site topic, like baking, homeschooling, DIY crafts, frugality, minimalism, and more, just to name some examples.
Success story: A student from the course just flipped her first website for $300 in the healthy living niche and the next site she’s tackling is the keto diet!
There are many profitable niches you can choose from and they are all revealed in the course.
Next, you pick the name of your site, which is one of my favorite parts. You can get really inventive with the name and I show you some best practices to consider when picking a winning website name.
You connect domain, hosting and WordPress (super easy) and then launch the site.
The course provides you with:
- The support of the instructor
- Access to the student community
- Winning success strategies for website operation, promotion, monetization
- Plus more!
11. Can this be done on the side, if I still have a 9 to 5 job?
Yes, totally. You can do website flipping on the side and work after your 9 to 5, weekends, evenings, etc.
This is a great side gig to do on the side in your spare time for extra money.
12. How do you make money flipping websites?
There are many ways you can earn money website flipping, beyond the actual website sale (the flip).
The three ways you can earn money with website flipping:
- During the flip process
- Selling the website
- After the website sale
First, during the website operation/maintenance phase, one of the things I’ll teach you is how to monetize your website. So while you are growing the site, it can also be producing you income, which you can keep.
Brand new websites do earn money and I’ve personally earned thousands of dollars on starter sites, in the first 1 to 3 months the site was live.
You’ll learn how, in the course.
Next, you make money with the flip (the website sale).
Lastly, there are opportunities to make money after the sale.
This happens with the connections and networking you do which can produce income opportunities.
This has happened to me often.
You see, when you sell a website, you are seen as an expert.
Others will follow your sale and watch your work. It’s not unusual to get approached after your flip, and be presented with freelance opportunities like these:
- Building a website for them
- Consulting
- Social media management
- Digital marketing
- Website promotion
- Website operation
- Copywriting
These are just a few. You can get a chance to work with clients and make money, all from your website flip!
My first website flip made me nearly six figures.
My second website flip project made me $12,000.
I ran the second site for under a year and flipped it for a profit, gaining the attention of many clients, in the process.
After the successful flip, I was approached by several people and was afforded the opportunity to book an addition $8,000 in business, following that flip!
These opportunities are abundant and it’s a neat way to earn even more money.
Final Word
The Art of the Microflip is a 25+ text-based and video lesson course has an active student community, tons of resources and more.
I will be offering OhClary readers 20% off my course, The Art of the Microflip using coupon code OHCLARY at checkout.
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