Are you ready to ditch the nine-to-five and become your own boss? Do you have the passion and commitment required? If the answer to both questions is yes then you are on the right track.
Online business is a great idea, but, before you take the leap you will have to be clear on what it takes to set up an online business. It is estimated that up to 75% of online start-ups end up in failure because of lack of planning and wrong selection of the business to be pursued.
So what do you need to consider when choosing an online business?
1. What are you selling
Are you selling a physical product or a service?
· Physical products
Look at businesses like Amazon and e-bay which have built their success by selling physical products through their online portals. However, this can be very involving since you will need to factor in things like the range of products, storage, inventory, shipping to final destination, damaged goods, and insurance amongst other things.
· Digital products
The potential for digital products is unlimited. You can sell music, books, software, just to name a few. However, be careful about piracy and piracy laws to avoid getting into trouble. The best thing about such products is that you do not have to worry about issues like storage and shipping. Digital products can also be sold over and over again thus better profit margins.
· Services
Do you have something you are very good at for instance affiliate marketing, providing online courses, research, writing, transcription or even web design? Then sell your services online and make some money doing something you love. There are many freelance service providers like freelancer.com and upwork who can open up unlimited client bases for you.
2. Who is your target market
You have two options when segmenting your target market:-
· B2B or Business to Business
As the name suggests this would be one business selling to another business. It is a great business avenue because you will be able to move volumes. However, competition is very high and pricing is a huge determinant of whether you will get the business or not.
· B2C or Business to Consumer
This model targets the end user and is the most common for most start-ups.
3. What makes your product or service unique?
The online business streets are very busy and highly competitive. You therefore, need to stand out. How can you achieve this?
- How does your pricing compare with the others offering similar products or services?
- Is your quality up to par? Work towards surpassing what is out there so that you stand out. If there is value you can add, outside of what you are being paid for, then offer it and reap the rewards of repeat customers further down the line.
- Variety – as a start-up do not take on too much, stick with a few products or services that you can satisfactorily supply then slowly build up. After all, even huge e-commerce companies started somewhere and diversified along the way.
Conclusion
Building an online business just like a physical business requires investment in time and resources. Be patient, do your research and most of all make sure your plans are in place because in the famous words of Ben Franklin, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”
