For entrepreneurs, the internet has been a nice leveller. You don’t need to be a land-owning, noble person or aristocrat to start a business anymore.
Today, a good, well-executed idea can become a flourishing, sustainable online business from home.
Online businesses are great because of the flexibility they offer. You can live wherever you want, set your own schedule, work at your own pace. You don’t need a lot of startup capital. Plus, there’s a lot of room for growth.
Here at Signet, we work with so many start-ups and eCommerce businesses. Along the way we’ve gleaned a few insights, so we thought we’d compile this bite sized guide about how to start and run an online business.
Come up with an online business idea
If you’re keen to start an online business but don’t have an idea yet, never fear. To boost your chances of success, start with a market. The trick is to find a group of people who are searching for a solution to a problem.
By scouring the web, visiting some online forums and social media groups, undertaking some keyword research perhaps, you’ll hopefully identify products that will fill a gap in the market and form the foundation for your eCommerce business.
Research the viability of your online business
Whether you’re selling physical goods, digital goods or a service, it’s important you assess the viability before charging in. It’s no good having a great idea if you can’t source the product, or if your target audience isn’t willing to pay.
While online businesses have fewer regulations than brick-and-mortar operations, you still need to understand basic online business laws. Work out if you’re able to sell your products, as well as the registrations and licenses you’ll need to operate.
Then carry out market research, a key step when it comes to starting your online business. This will give you a good understanding of your competitor landscape, pricing strategy, marketing strategy and potential profitability.
This should also help you define key demographics like the age, gender, ethnicity, income, values, interests etc. of your target market. Finally, ensure that you’re actually able to source your products, and at a price that will allow you to compete.
Build and optimise your online presence
The next step to starting an online business from home is to establish your brand, decide on a sales and eCommerce platform, and create your website. When it comes to branding, take your time to find the right logo, colours, fonts, tone of voice and style that express you and your new business.
If you’re just starting out, an all-encompassing eCommerce platform like Shopify or Wix may be the way to go. They provide a host of features, such as product catalogues, website creation, payment processing, marketing extensions and much more. Choose a platform that suits your needs and follow their instructions to get up and running.
So you’re live. Congratulations! Your site might be teeming with buyers, your products flying out the door. However, it’s very likely you’ll have to do some marketing and optimising to drive visitors to your site.
When you run an online business from home, there are a number of ways to do this, such as email marketing, social media marketing, paid online marketing, SEO, sponsorships, good old billboards. Research the best marketing tools for you.
Boost efficiency with top packaging and shipping solutions
No matter the scale of your online business, having the right packaging and shipping tools will stand you in good stead, and is another key to effectively starting an online business from home.
For over 50 years, Signet has helped over 60,000 Aussie businesses run efficiently with quality packaging supplies, including specialty eCommerce packaging and everything required to wrap, pack and ship eCommerce products. Whenever you’re ready, we’d love to help your business thrive.
To find the right eCommerce solution for your online business, talk to our sales team by calling 13 7446, email sales@signet.net.au , or Live Chat with us by visiting www.signet.net.au.
