One of the option in my early retirement plan is to purchase a portfolio of websites that give me USD5k per month. I am happy to report that this has been going well. Since that post, I have purchase 1 blog about web development and is currently in the process of closing a design related site.  The web development site is currently giving me USD3k per month, which means I am already more than half way to meeting my target. If all goes to plan, I should recovered my investment next year and be ready to buy another website.

However, I need to make some changes to this plan as one part of it is not going very well. Initially, I wanted 10k from all my websites: 5k to come from sites that I developed and 5k to come from websites I purchased. Currently, the purchase part already covered 4k (the initial 1k that I already had and this new investment that gives me 3k) so that is good. The self developed sites are not doing well.  It is still around USD500 per month since the last update and has not growth much. So, I need to switch my plan and put everything into website purchase so that I still get 10k from my websites.

Given the rate of adding 3k per year, and with my current base of 4k, I can get to 10k by 2015. By then, I am only 37 so it is still well beyond my early retirement target of 40 years old.

Risks of buying websites

All these might seem good on paper but there are some risks involved in website purchase. I will cover the specifics of website buying in another blog but here are some of the main risks you need to be aware of:

• Website maintenance: You need to know some basic of website updating including repairing some technical problems, maintaining regular content updates through outsourcing and other general website housekeeping. For those who have websites or blogs, you know that problems do pop out now and then. They are not deal breaker but is something any website investor should be aware of and is capable of handling. If you don’t have any experience, at least have someone to ask for help.

• Traffic decline: The biggest asset of any website is the traffic. Without it, there is no revenue. Traffic decline can happen for many reasons but you want to avoid the case of suffering from a Google penalty. This happens when a website misbehaves such as trying to manipulate its search rankings or putting out spammy content.  Before buying a website, you have to make sure the site is in compliance with Google or other search engine guidelines so that you will not suffer later down the road after the purchase.

• Beware of scams: There are some sellers who try to buy traffic or revenue so that their website looks good before selling. Understand how to do due diligence on a site so that these tricks can be uncovered easily. If you are not sure, it is better to consult someone you trust who knows about SEO or online businesses.

Overall, my early retirement plan is proceeding well and I hope you are on your way as well.

Every journey starts with a single step