Part 1…The death defying, world dominating plan, WHAAA WHAAA (Evil laugh)
Well done, so you are thinking like the other 2% of South Africa how do I start an online business or how do I extend my product range online.
The economy might be shaky right now, but e-commerce has what every business wants, its LOW RISK. More and more people are spending more and more money online every year.
You might be thinking well if it were that easy, everyone would start on online business. Well, you’re in for a surprise: Look at South Africa, yes we are slow on the uptake but when we get going there is no stopping us, look at the cell phone industry enough said.
The barriers to entry are low, a lot of online businesses can be run from home, it’s cheap and you don’t have to deal with staff, and unwanted expenses down the line.
In truth, it’s not so simple to succeed as an online merchant you can’t just set up shop and wait till the cows come home, you need to put the time in, market the site, how does the saying go “to make money, you need to spend money”.
But saying that don’t lose faith. There are loads of people making money online who don’t have degrees from MIT, moms and people with a lack of IT skills can still make money. This is where we get involved.
So, in summary to part one. You can be one of them, if you’ve got some cash to invest, are ready to work hard, and are willing to put some serious thought into it. Let’s get ready to rumble.
Part 2…The serious stuff!
Starting an online business is divided into two parts: the hard part and the easy part.
The easy part like any business is assembling your basic business plan. You’ll need to choose your software platform..there are loads out there so ask the right questions, here are a few:
1. Are you based locally? The reason for this is simple support!! To many people buy software platforms get started and then bobs you uncle something goes wrong, so now you have to call someone in the US or UK……money wasted!
2. Never buy a package that has a contract, always pay month to month, saves on start-up costs.
3. Get hold or look at clients the company has on board, this will give you a good idea of standards.
4. Make sure the platform is built with Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) in mind! Its one thing having an eStore, the next phase is marketing it, SEO is the most cost effective way.
Moving on, set up a credit card account, develop a marketing plan, and figure out a few more nuts and bolts things so in summary…do your research!
In many ways the hardest part is developing your e-business plan. That requires awareness and understanding of what it means to do business online. Developing a sound business plan is not only critical; it’s the do-or-die step in starting your online store.
You may think you have your online merchant plan, and you might. But more e-businesses have failed because of a faulty underlying concept than because of problems with software or hosting issues. Remember the Internet boom of the late ’90s…..CRASH BOOM BANG, brings a new meaning to Roxette.
Those businesses had full tech staffs and fat marketing budgets, but they missed one important factor, technology. South Africa is behind when it comes down to download speed, etc.. so make sure the site is kept simple and doesn’t have any flashy effects….Google hates Flash, I have warned you!
What can make you different? Find some way to set yourself apart so people come to you rather than your competition.
Online, all businesses are right next to each other. Click your mouse and you’re there Google shows you a list of results and people choose the one that catches there eye, “generally the first one on the list”. So simply setting up the exact same online business that looks like Joe’s, well you get my point.
Great tactics to use
Scope out potential competitors’ sites – look what they are doing well and how can you improve upon that.
Always keep the clients needs and wants in the forefront of any design or functionality division, the saying “the client is always right”, still applies.
Talk to people, get as much advice as you can. Call business owners. Pester people. Knowledge is POWER, use it!
Before making your final decisions about your e-business strategy, sit down with a calculator. Make a list of all your upfront one-time start-up costs, and all your fixed, monthly ongoing costs. Make sure you include a hefty line item for your marketing budget, and another hefty line for unexpected expenses, which will occur every month.
So take a good look at the initial investment amount.
Are you willing to risk it?
Boldly go where no one’s gone before…..but keep it simple let’s start the building process.
