Starting an e-commerce business
In November 2021, I embarked on a mission to create an e-commerce business. After discussions with a friend, we decided on a concept that we think we could create a successful business with. This took a couple of general discussions to identify the industry. Once we had determined the industry we started to research the type of product that we wanted to sell. The journey to becoming an entrepreneur is a long road that must be separated into smaller steps. I have outlined below the initial steps taken to start the business:
1. Identify your audience
Firstly, once we had narrowed down the industry we then turned our focus to the product and audience that we were going to sell the product to. This required some market research into identifying whether there was any demand for our product. You can do this by looking through social media pages such as Instagram or Facebook to get an understanding of the niche industry.
After searching Google and some of the top competitors, we had decided that there was a market with customers willing to buy the product. Even though there are already established businesses within the market we decided to differentiate our product. We chose an offering that not many competitors are doing thus providing a unique point of difference that we can build upon when marketing our product.
2. Create an e-commerce business account
Secondly, now that we had our business ideas set we then moved to create the e-commerce platform. To do this, we created a Shopify account that would be the platform to commence dropshipping our products. The Shopify account is there to make the payments and processing of transactions seamless. The ordering system and platform design make it an easy option to get your business up and running within a couple of hours.
3. Create a business plan
Thirdly, to get the business off the ground and establish a website we needed to have a business plan in place. This template from the Business Government website allows us the discussion points to set up the framework for what our business hopes to achieve. By going through the steps of identifying the audience, competitors and goals we could map out the direction we wanted to take the business. Given that we had set up a bank account we decided to also complete a rough budget for the first 3-month phase of the business. This would provide security in paying the bills as they fall due.
Summary
Now that the business online website is being created we are on our way to making our footprint within the chosen industry. To get to these points has been a couple of months of discussions and general planning. Deciding on what direction to take the business can often be some of the hardest steps. Therefore, it can pay to write down your goals so you are clear with the expectations and deadlines of what you want to achieve and by when. Starting any new business venture is a big task however it can be rewarding and embrace the entrepreneur journey along the way.
To learn more about growing your e-commerce business, have a read of the following sales tips to make sure your product sales are growing your business.
