The Complete Guide to Buying an AI Business

This is the long-form reference for buyers. Read it once. Come back when you're about to close.

Part 1 — Before you browse

Know two things about yourself.

Your weekly time budget. Don't buy a 90-minute-a-day business if you have 20 minutes to spare. That's the most common regret post-transfer.

Your capital efficiency goal. Are you looking to replace income, compound a portfolio, or buy yourself out of a day job? Each strategy picks a different business.

Part 2 — The five metrics that matter

1. MRR. The headline, but not the whole story.
2. Owner time. Minutes per day. Measured honestly.
3. Churn. Keep the math simple: what percentage of last month's clients aren't paying this month?
4. Top-1 client concentration. Anything above 30% is a risk marker.
5. Months since launch. Younger than 6 months is speculation. 12+ months is real.

Part 3 — The offer

A clean offer includes three lines:

• Price
• Transfer date
• Support window

Everything else is negotiation theatre.

Part 4 — The transfer

Seven steps. Budget 7–10 days.

1. Kickoff call
2. Credentials handoff
3. Domain + payment transfer
4. Agent migration
5. Client comms
6. Live week
7. Escrow release

Part 5 — The first month

Change nothing for the first 30 days. Absorb the baseline. Keep a changelog of every decision.

After 30 days, you can start optimizing. Not before.

Closing

A good acquisition on BusellAI pays for itself in 12–18 months. A great one pays for itself in 6.