Online Store
Starting an online store: what you need to know
If you’re thinking about starting an online store, but don’t know where to begin, it’s important to be sure that you have the proper expectations in place so that you don’t get discouraged later on down the road. While it might seem like everyone and their mother can start an online store these days, that’s definitely not the case. Starting an online store takes a lot of time and effort, from creating your website to finding the right products to marketing your business properly.
There are three main ways of starting a business: independent, franchise and multi-level marketing. If you’re planning on opening your own store, however, then these other options don’t apply.
Which website do I choose?
Once you’ve decided on your niche, there are several e-commerce providers out there that can help you get set up. Some of them specialize in small businesses and will require some extra work for a large business (although it varies by provider), but many do have small-business options available. Here are just a few of your options
What services should I use?
It can be tempting to start a website from scratch, but there are plenty of services that can help make your life easier. For example, Shopify is a software-as-service platform for entrepreneurs looking to start an online store. The software provides basic tools for creating, managing and marketing a website. There’s also Shopify Themes—an integrated marketplace for buying and selling design templates for your Shopify site—which means that if you want to do some serious customization (perhaps even hiring a web designer), there’s plenty of support available. Other services might include Facebook Pixel (for behavioral targeting) or other ad management platforms like Google AdWords or Instagram Ads.
How much does it cost?
Creating your own website can cost as little as $10 per month. Once it’s set up, all you’ll have to pay for is hosting, which will cost roughly $10 - $15 per month, depending on how much storage space and bandwidth you need. There are also plenty of free options available if you don’t want to spend anything upfront. If you’re looking to sell physical products, there are even more costs involved.
What payment options should I consider?
Take some time when figuring out your payment options to consider security and convenience. For example, some payment gateways, like PayPal or Stripe, will give you protection against fraudulent transactions. If your site is ever hacked, these sites will work directly with you to make sure that your customer’s financial information is secure. That said, ease of use can be equally important; for example PayPal recently introduced a new checkout feature called Checkout by PayPal that allows users to purchase goods without leaving their eBay accounts or signing up for a separate account with PayPal. Think about both convenience and security when deciding which payments tools are right for your site.
Where do I find products to sell?
There are plenty of places to find products to sell. The easiest way is to buy them from a wholesale supplier or distributor and then mark them up for sale. If you’re looking for something specific, there are lots of marketplaces (both physical and virtual) that sell just about anything under the sun. You could also sell things that you already own (but don’t use anymore), or things that you create yourself—like art, crafts, etc. The possibilities are endless!
Picking a niche
Once you’ve decided that selling online is a route you want to take, and have figured out how much time and effort it will take to make your business work, it’s time to decide on a niche. This can seem like a daunting task at first; where do you even start? The key is deciding which category best fits your overall goals for your shop and brand. If your goal is maximizing profit per hour worked, pick a niche with low overhead and big profits. If providing high-quality products for a small base of customers sounds like more fun than growing into millions of dollars in sales overnight, try finding niches where there are plenty of competitors but little opportunity for them all—think about taking over when other stores go out of business.
Who will help me with my store?
You can turn to many sources for help with a store. You can use a platform like Shopify or Weebly that will allow you to build a site with very little technical knowledge, but will also have limitations, such as not being able to edit HTML code. If your store requires more customization than those options provide, there are numerous other companies who can help with your back-end programming needs. Many also offer free trials so you can test out what it’s like working with them before making any commitments. For example, Shopify and Bigcommerce both offer 14-day free trials. WordPress is another popular option if your store is going to be run off of your own website or a subdomain instead of one of these platforms.
Building trust with customers and influencers
One of your biggest hurdles as a new business is building trust with customers and influencers. Don’t be fooled into thinking trust will come overnight. It takes time and consistency to earn trust, but it’s well worth it for your bottom line. To get started building trust on social media and your website, start by answering any questions people have about your brand or industry—you may be surprised how quickly a post answering questions from potential customers can turn them into buyers.
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