Baby Business Ideas: A Step by Step Miniguide for Selling More Stuff on the Web

With the rise of the internet, people from all walks of life have gotten more opportunities to sell their products online. Whether you’re a writer, craft maker, pet supplier or any number of niches, the internet lets you reach millions of potential customers every day, giving you the opportunity to make more money than if you just used a brick-and-mortar store or selling out of your own home.

While opening an eCommerce site can be fairly straightforward, there are some things you need to think about before launching your own internet business. Ass with any business, if you don’t start by doing the right things, you run the risk of failure. Here’s a quick guide to getting your own eCommerce business started.

Get the Basics Out of the Way

The basics include all of the things you need to do in order to call yourself an online business.

The first thing you need to do is register your website domain. If you can, you want your domain to match your company’s name, so keep thinking about different possibilities until you find one that matches. This will make it easier for customers to find you.

Next, you need to decide what kind of company you want to be for tax purposes. There are plenty of resources out there that will tell you whether you should be a Sole Proprietor, an LLC or a Corporation. Do a little research and see which one sounds right for you.

Finally, you will need to get your Employer Identification Number (EIN)and register for any permits you may need. The EIN makes it easier to do your taxes and the permits will be required if you conduct business outside of your home.

Start Marketing

Once you have the preliminary needs out of the way, it’s time to start marketing your business and products so people will know about you.

Marketing is an art as much as it is a science: there are certain things that you should do, but you also need to get a feel for the feedback of your marketing and adjust accordingly. For instance, social media marketing is a necessity to stay competitive in today’s world, but how often you post and what you post about are things you will learn for yourself over time.

It’s okay to use traditional advertising tactics as well, especially if you want to get local customers in the beginning. While space can be expensive, finding the right television or radio advertisements can go a long way in building a local customer base that will help you get off to a good start.

Stay on Top of Inventory

Whatever your business niche is, you never want to run out of products that your customers want to buy. This means that you need to plan weeks or even months ahead and adjust accordingly as your business grows. It may take a few tries to get your inventory correct, but once you do, it’ll ensure that you are always making money.

If you use vendors to buy things, make sure you choose reliable ones that are close to you so you can get rushed materials if you need them. If you make your products yourself, give yourself (and your team if you have one) enough time to be able to fill any orders that have or may come through.

Not having product available when a customer wants or needs it can have serious repercussions: they can leave a bad review, tell their friends what happened or, worst of all, stop using your altogether. Staying on top of inventory will prevent this.

Find Third-Party Websites

If you want to branch out and find more customers, you can use websites like Amazon to sell your products.

The best part about using Amazon is that it comes with millions of potential customers. All you have to do is make sure your products descriptions are accurate and you fill orders promptly and accurately, and you should have no problem seeing your sales rise after a little time.

Amazon also offers sellers a chance to “win” the Amazon buybox, which puts your product on the very first page, giving it preferential treatment over all of your competitors. If you can win that box, you’re sure to see your sales soar.

Building an eCommerce business takes time and effort, but if you do everything correctly, you should be making money in no time.