Opening a business on the Internet: step by step instructions

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Not only a Zuckerberg-level genius can make money online, but virtually any of us can. To be a successful businessman, it is enough to have a strong motivation, a clear idea of the goal and know what tools to achieve it.

Determining your worth

You need to start your business with a clear motivational setting. And this is by no means a desire to quickly earn as much money as possible. You need to understand what you are doing better than others than you will attract customers. Write on a piece of paper several directions for your future business: what you are interested in, what you are good at, what is possible to implement. Of the several options, leave 3-4 workers who will be tested for viability in the second step. And even if the idea that came to your mind at first glance seems irrelevant, you should not immediately write it off. At the start of today's successful networks, LinkedIn predicted an unenviable fate: a social network for 30-40-year-olds who would look there once every five years to look for work. And the Amazon business model seemed completely unviable: well, who will order books online, and then wait a week until they are brought, and the cost of delivery will block userspossible savings. Time has put everything in its place. Consult with the environment, if it is hand-made, is it good? Evaluate financial opportunities if you want to start trading: collect recommendations if you are a tutor. If someone other than you and your grandmother believes in you, you can try.

Analyzing the market and looking for competitive advantages

Look at the capabilities of competitors: what are their strengths and weaknesses. How to beat their offers? You can set a price for services below the market, you can give a certificate with a 20% discount on the next product / service, or organize an excellent service, etc. Future customers should be immediately clear what exactly you offer them and what makes you unique. For example, not so few people are engaged in reselling things from Aliexpress - how will you differ from them, what will interest you? You can bet on an interesting selection of assortment: the cutest things with cats, the most unusual goods for home and summer cottages, everything for fans of the series - in a word, what is enough imagination! But you need to keep in mind the volume of the potential consumer audience: if it is too narrow, there is a chance of “not taking off”. How often will you buy sugar bowls in the form of Jason Statham's torso?

Developing an action plan

The principles of building a plan are similar for different categories of online business: to create an online store, you need to choose a niche, provide for all expenses, findsuppliers, create a website and launch advertising, organize technical support, delivery of goods and acceptance of payments. There are two options: you can create your own website, or you can place products on services for the sale of goods and services - this will significantly reduce the cost of developing the site, its support and hosting. Marketplaces allow you to place on the service, accept payment for goods and search for customers. The most popular online store aggregator is Yandex. Market, but it is almost impossible for a small store to break through among giant companies there. For small businesses, Robo.market may be the most suitable option, providing full functionality for trading on the Internet.

Promote ourselves and find the first customers

Traditional advertising for online business will not work: reminding yourself through outdoor banners or TV will benefit big brands, but a small startup may not reach the target audience by spending a lot of money.

It is better to pay all attention to the possibilities of promotion on the Internet: contextual and targeting advertising, maintaining accounts in social networks, search engine optimization. Create viral posts on your social networks, be sure to follow the latest news and beat them in your accounts. You can monitor the results of your work using analytics tools in social networks: where do your customers come from and which social network works better. In addition, you can create video reviews of your products: they will increase the credibility of your online store and allow you to reachYoutube users.

The business does not stop at earning the first money. It is important to sit down and critically analyze the previous steps: what is the weak point, what should be abandoned now in favor of success in the future. How important it is now to acquire an increasing number of new customers, maybe it’s worth stopping for a while and thinking about retaining an already attracted audience.