Start an Online Ecommerce Business From Scratch

What is eCommerce?

eCommerce stands for “electronic commerce”, and refers to the buying and selling of products and services over the internet. It’s a broad term that encompasses both online retailing and online business-to-business (B2B) sales, and is often just referred to as online retail.

eCommerce is growing year on year, with currently online sales in the US expected to reach $664 billion by 2023. There are a number of different ways that an online business might be set up. These include online marketplaces, dropshipping, affiliate marketing, and subscription-based models.

For the purposes of this article, we’ll focus on the first two: setting up an independent ecommerce store, and wholesaling products to other retailers. There are many advantages to building an online ecommerce business, including low overhead costs, and being able to reach customers from all over the world.

Why Build an eCommerce Business?

There are many benefits to starting an ecommerce business, including low overhead costs, scalability, and being able to reach customers around the world. The internet is a great place to start a business, especially if you have a product that would appeal to a global audience.

There is a huge amount of competition in the ecommerce space, but with the right product, and a smart marketing strategy, you can build a successful business that can make a real positive impact on people’s lives. If you are passionate about creating a product and want to build a business that will last, then starting an ecommerce business could be a great option for you.

eCommerce businesses can be highly profitable, and it’s possible to earn a full-time living from just one store. Additionally, it is relatively easy to find suppliers for your product, and there is no difficult and expensive retail lease to sign!

Step 1: Find a Great Product to Sell

The first step to building an ecommerce business is finding a great product to sell. You should start by brainstorming a list of product ideas that you think will be appealing to customers. Some important questions to ask yourself when doing this are:

– What are my interests?

– What are my hobbies?

– What are my skills?

– What problems do people face that my product could solve?

– What products are currently trending? You might not love every product you brainstorm, but as long as there’s demand for it and it solves a real problem, it could make a great product to sell online. After you’ve created your initial list of product ideas, it’s time to narrow them down. For each product, you need to ask yourself:

– Are there customers who would buy this product?

– Is there enough demand for the product?

– Is there enough supply for the product?

– Is the product easy to source?

– Is the product scalable?

– Is the product sustainable? You don’t have to pick the product you love the most, you just have to pick the product that best fits this criteria. Remember, you can always change your product or business model in the future as your ecommerce business grows and you learn more.

Step 2: Decide on a Selling Platform

Now that you’ve found a product to sell, the next step is to decide which online platform you will use to sell it. There are a variety of selling platforms available, with Amazon and eBay being the two biggest. You could also decide to create your own website, but this comes with a much higher barrier to entry, and is therefore less common.

While some people might tell you that you should start your own online store, we generally recommend selling on existing platforms such as eBay and Amazon. Not only is this a lot easier, it also gives you access to their large and active customer base. Both of these platforms are also free to use, and you can set them up in under an hour.

The only disadvantage with selling on these platforms is that you don’t own the customer relationship, so you don’t have a direct line to them. However, the benefits far outweigh the cons, and when used correctly, selling on these platforms can be a great way to start your ecommerce journey.

Step 3: Build Out Your Online Store

Now that you have decided which platform to use to sell your product, it’s time to start building out your store. When building your store, keep the following elements in mind:

– Logo: The first step is to create a logo for your store. Not only will your logo be visible on your store, it will also be used in all of your marketing, so it’s important that it’s visually appealing.

– Product Images: The next step is to take product images. Be sure to pick a clean and visually appealing location.

– Product Title: The product title is the first thing that potential customers will see on eBay or Amazon, so make sure it’s compelling and descriptive.

– Product Description: The product description is another important element. Not only should it be compelling, it should also include all important details such as the product materials, size, color, etc.

Step 4: Grow Your Audience with Marketing

Now that your online store is up and running, it’s time to start bringing customers in! One of the most important aspects of growing your ecommerce business is marketing. For many businesses, marketing is the most challenging and time-consuming aspect of running a business, and it doesn’t get any easier just because you’re selling online.

As with any other business, marketing is a key element of building your online store. There are many different strategies that you can implement to grow your audience, such as SEO, social media, email marketing, paid advertising, etc. It’s important to track your progress and adapt your marketing strategies as you go, so you can make sure that your efforts are being put towards the strategies that are bringing you the best results.

Conclusion

Building an ecommerce business from scratch can be a difficult and challenging journey, but it’s also a very rewarding one. Not only will you be able to create a scalable business that can bring in consistent income, you’ll also be able to bring your product to market and bring value to people’s lives.

When building your ecommerce business, it’s important to stay focused on your end goal. Don’t get caught up in the day-to-day operations and lose sight of your vision. Remember, it’s okay to make mistakes along the way. Mistakes are how we learn and grow, and they make us better entrepreneurs.