In the wake of the recent pandemic, some may have been looking for ways to supplement their income or create their own remote business opportunities in lieu of the traditional 9-to-5. Arguably one of the most popular and promoted ways to accomplish this is by setting up your own eCommerce shop.
If you’re looking to sell certain items online, this can often be one of the easiest methods to make it happen. For those who may not be knowledgable about starting an online business, the question is, how do I get started? If you want to launch your own eCommerce store, here is a step-by-step guide that will help you get started when you want to take the next step in your business.
1. Design your website.
Every great business begins with a vision. In the case of an eCommerce store, this first step begins by not only thinking about which direction you want your business to go into but your website will look like and how these aesthetics will serve to draw in your target audience.
For those who may still be experimenting with the idea, there are many different web platforms that can help you stage your website and figure out what it may look like once you begin selling. For those who are more serious about their business, however, it is best to seek out the help of local Denver web design companies to make that your website looks professional and can function according to your needs. Otherwise, you can end up limited to what certain platforms allow you to design and create on your own.
2. Take care of your hosting needs and paperwork.
Once you have laid the groundwork for your future eCommerce site, it is time to begin taking care of the legal processes behind building a legitimate business. This may include basic things like registering your business, getting a vendor’s license, and figuring out how you are going to store and sell your inventory (if you are interested in this type of business model over alternative selling methods currently available).
You will also need to find the proper hosting for your new site and file a DBA to operate under the name of your small business. If you do not have a complete understanding of business law, reach out to a professional who can help you take care of each of these key items.
3. Figure out what products you want to sell.
Your brand will be built upon the type of products that you choose to sell. Some online shops may decide to experiment with a whole range of products (for example, fashion) while others may focus on only one type of product to deliver a more hyperfocused experience for their consumer base. Whatever comes to mind in terms of your ideal product, it is important that you conduct market research to make sure that there is a demand for it and to be able to compete with others in the same space.
The other thing to consider is how you will acquire the products that you will be selling later. For example, if you plan on selling consumer electronics, you may have already noticed just how much it would cost to obtain and resell brand new products. The solution? There are online liquidation auctions, such as those hosted by Direct Liquidation, that will allow you to get your hands on pallets of items for reduced prices, which you can then list and sell to your customers for a profit. If you want to make sure that you are getting the best deals, source your own products from the above!
4. Develop your marketing strategy.
Setting up a store is exciting, but if no one knows that you are open for business, you aren’t going to see any results for all of your hard work! It is important that you develop a marketing strategy that helps you tackle important aspects of marketing like content marketing, setting up and automating social media, creating email marketing campaigns, and finding other creative ways to get your business out into the world. As you grow, you will need to return to these strategies in order to maintain them over time.
5. Launch when you are ready!
Once you have taken care of setting up your business, creating a roadmap, and making sure that your website and product are in place, you are ready to launch! Remember, while setting up an eCommerce business can seem daunting, it is more than achievable when you put in the work. To get started, use the step-by-step provided above to work through the process and set up your business with ease.
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