Starting an online business isn’t an easy venture. There are many important decisions to make, from what you should sell, who to sell to and how you will get the customers.
Apart from that, the emerging business trends online such as chatbots, Facebook ads, cryptocurrencies, and so much more, make it a lot harder to start an online business —especially if you don’t understand them.
If you’re hoping to begin an online business this year, we’ve got you covered. This quick and simple guide will take you through the essential steps you should consider to start an online business. Think of this as an online starting guide for dummies.
Find a Problem and Solve It
Every online business finds a problem and solves it. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be a viable business. So, the first step to beginning your online business is finding a problem to solve. For instance, clothing brands are a way for people to express their style and feel attractive, and plumbers fix leaks in pipes.
The bigger the problem you aim to solve, the better your chances of solving it, and the more people are willing to pay. And that’s why people are willing to spend a lot of money on services like healthcare— because they solve a big problem.
There are countless unique opportunities in the CBD space that may fund your online business. The CBD industry may be in its infancy stages, but you stand to make a lot of money through cbdMD stock, and that may be enough to fund your online business.
CbdMD is a CBD-infused product manufacturer that distributes its products through e-commerce and wholesale.
From its previous earning reports, its stock price has been on an uptrend of about 100% in 3 months.
You can play an options strategy or a buy and hold strategy with such stocks and make a potential profit between 20-30%. By using this funding method, your new online business will be able to avoid debt.
On the other hand, not many people will pay you to fix a wobbly table. It’s not a big problem, and most people can comfortably live with it.
If you want to start a prosperous online business, you need to find a significant problem to solve.
Determine Your Niche and Make Business Idea
A business niche is your area of focus; A market segment or target audience that you will exclusively cater to. This can be anyone from hobbyists, sports enthusiasts to professionals.
You need to have a niche for your new online business, but how do you find a good one? Well, there is a simple way to identify your target audience:
Are they experiencing a problem no one is solving well enough?
- Is there a willingness to pay for the solutions to the problem?
- Is there sufficient income for the target audience to afford the solution?
If a niche doesn’t meet all three criteria, avoid it at all costs. Building an online business is already hard, so don’t make it harder for yourself by going after people who don’t need your product or services, people who can’t afford them, or those who aren’t interested at all.
Fund Your Business Sustainably
Depending on your goals and the size of your venture, you may have to seek out financing. It can be from an angel investor, a venture capital firm, or your savings.
Most small online businesses begin with loans from family and friends or financing from credit firms. You have to know that starting a business— online or otherwise has a price.
So you need to know how you’re going to cover those expenses. If you plan to quit your current job and focus on your business, do you have enough money to support yourself? You have to find out how much the cost will be, then find a viable funding source.
Find a Sourcing Strategy
To start a successful online eCommerce business, you need to source reliable and trustworthy suppliers. There are several ways to do this:
- Find products wholesalers around your state.
- Use dropshipping suppliers.
- Use product manufactures on various websites.
The second option does not only give you a chance to start an online business without a substantial initial investment. It’s also highly accessible.
Dropshipping means the product supplier ships and fulfills the order only after the consumer has purchased. You handle the marketing and customer support, and they run the logistics.
Set Up Your Payment Methods
You have to decide how your online business will receive payments and how you will get payouts as the business proprietor. You could use a couple of online payment options, such as Apple pay, Google pay, PayPal, and credit cards.
If you offer a service-based online business such as content creation, you can also use platforms such as Payoneer, Stripe, Transferwise, and 2Checkout.
Regardless of the payment method you choose, you have to set a payout schedule. You can choose to get your money daily, weekly, or monthly depending on your preferences.
Conclusion
You’re just starting; it can take a while before your online business picks up, but don’t lose hope if you don’t see substantial growth in the first months. Many successful entrepreneurs failed a couple of times before achieving business success.
