Launching an eCommerce business is perhaps the hottest trend among entrepreneurs. However, exciting as it may seem, launching an eCommerce startup is a complicated process and includes more than just reading about TCS under GST or the latest announcements of the GST council. This is because there are multiple preparatory steps that you need to take in order to successfully launch it. So to help you out we have a made a quick list of some of the most crucial steps you need to follow in order to successfully launch your ecommerce business:
Market Research for eCommerce business
Market research involves studying the market and the competitors. This will help you understand the market better and make better decisions. You can find out about popular products, niches, what people are looking for, competition and how much demand there is for a particular product or service.
Target Customer
You must know who your target audience is. It can be students, young professionals, homemakers or even corporates. Understanding your target customer is important because you will design your website and marketing plan accordingly.
Choose your Product
You must choose a niche that is profitable and has sufficient demand. There are several factors to keep in mind before choosing your product line. It has to be of good quality, at a fair price and should be relevant to your target audience. You can either manufacture the products yourself or sell other people’s products. To find out which products are profitable, you can check them out on Amazon or eBay or Google Trends.
How to Sell?
Now that you have identified your product and target customers, you must figure out how to sell it. There are different ways of selling online- direct sales or drop shipping. Direct sales involve buying the products in bulk beforehand while drop shipping allows you to sell products without actually owning them but only after receiving orders from customers. You can also choose to sell through drop shipping by allowing various sellers to buy from you and then sell to their target customers.
Once you have decided on your product line, the next step is formulating a business plan. A business plan is your roadmap to success that helps you in making better decisions regarding development, marketing and financing strategies. It also shows investors how serious you are about the business and where you want it to go within a given period.
- Legal Processing
With the few steps needed to start an eCommerce Business online, one might think that it is easy to set up and run a business online. Well, that’s not true! You still need to legally process your business and make sure it abides by all the rules and regulations of the country, state, and city. This can be done by registering your business with various government agencies. Other legal processes include getting a bank account for your business and other legal documents like indemnity insurance, etc. With the few steps needed to start an eCommerce Business online, you might want to get a legal entity like LLC or Corporation set up so that your business is legally protected. Consider approaching a seasoned business formation firm to take you through the entire registration process without any hiccups. You should also try to get an understanding of things like composite supply or the latest government announcements that may help your business. See more.
- Getting Funded
Cash is the king for running a business, especially an eCommerce business. But when it comes to funding your small eCommerce venture, many entrepreneurs do not understand what it takes to raise capital for their eCommerce businesses. While getting funding from angels and VCs is a good option, not all businesses make it through that route. You can also look for crowdsourcing platforms like Kickstarter for raising funds.
You will need a considerable amount of money for an initial investment and for running your operations smoothly. Apart from this, you also need funds for marketing your products and services, securing a warehouse, etc. The better option here would be to look for grants from the government or other private organizations.
