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Does this situation sound familiar to you?
You’ve been working at your current job for years and you’re probably over your 9-5. You consider working for yourself, maybe even starting an ecommerce business. But every time you look into it, the road to business success feels like an uphill battle.
Would it surprise you to know that this doesn’t have to be the case?
Ecommerce businesses are on the rise and have been for years. In fact, data suggests that ecommerce sales will account for 23.6% of total retail sales by 2025.
While the idea of starting your own ecommerce business can be intimidating, there are steps you can take to make the process easier.
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Research and Pick Your Niche Before Starting an Ecommerce Business
We know. You’re excited to start your business. But first, you need to narrow down your ideas.
Consider asking if there’s a question you can answer or a problem you can solve with your online business. How can your product or service help someone? Will you create a physical or digital product? If it’s a physical product, will it be easy to ship?
There’s a lot to consider, so take your time choosing something you’re really excited about.
Research Your Competition
Your competition doesn’t just have to be your rival company, but also a source of information.
Who are their target customers? What are their price points? Do they have any strengths or weaknesses that you can learn from? What do their reviews say? How is their social media engagement?
It’s a lot of questions to consider, but all of this is a part of your research. You can use this information to see where your business will fit in and what slack you can pick up from the competition.
Validate Your Ideas and Obtain Your Products
Now it’s time to consider how viable your ecommerce business really is.
You can go the market-based route of analyzing trends, competition, market size, and the real demand for your business.
And you can also go the product-based route of creating landing pages to make your first initial sales.
This will give you a good idea of how well your business may perform.
Then it’s time to move on to obtaining your product. Depending on what you’re selling, you can make it yourself, purchase your product wholesale, drop ship it, or make your product downloadable if it’s a digital product.
Write Your Business Plan
This is basically a document that outlines your business. Try to make sure it includes things like your company overview, market analysis and your business’ place in said market, and details of your product and where it’s sourced.
You may also want to include information on your ideal customer as well as your marketing and financial plans for your business.
It seems like a lot to think about, but try to tackle one area of your business plan at a time.
Choose Your Name and Business Structure
As easy as this step sounds, choosing a name can be a hard decision. You can either brainstorm an idea yourself or use a name generator if you really want to. Either way, make sure the name makes sense for your business.
Then it’s time for the legalities.
First, you’re going to want to check with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to make sure the name is available. Then you can figure out how you want to register your business and what permits or licenses you may need for it.
Create Your Online Store and Market Your Business
When it comes to creating your store, there are a lot of platforms to choose from, some requiring more technical skills than others. Sometimes, this can cause major headaches.
You could also hire professionals to oversee your ecommerce website development, which could save you time and money in the long run.
And finally, it’s time to market your ecommerce business! You can do this by using paid advertisements, social media marketing, doing influencer sponsorships, and developing email lists.
Don’t Wait to Start Your Ecommerce Business
While it may seem challenging, starting an ecommerce business doesn’t have to be. By taking one step at a time, you can create a product you’ll be proud to call your own. And be sure to check out Webcraft when you’re ready to develop your ecommerce website!
