Many people dream of owning and running their own business, rather than having a 9-5. However, it is not fun and games, and if you want to take this route, be prepared for hard work and long hours as you travel along the somewhat bumpy road to financial freedom.
Unless you are thinking about offering a service to your customers to make money with your business, it is more than likely that you will be at some sort of eCommerce setup. It is wise to choose something that you have some knowledge of, or better still, are passionate about. For instance, if you have a background or a strong interest in electronics, devices, and gadgets, then this is probably the best way forward for you. However, before diving in, there are some important things you need to bear in mind.
Stock Storage Options
Unless you are specifically looking to dropship items (which is where you don’t handle any merchandise at all and the manufacturer does it all) and act as a middleman between customer and supplier, you are going to require some sort of storage to put your stock in. If you happen to have a large home, garage, or workshop that you can utilize, then this is all fine.
However, chances are you don’t, so you may have to look at renting a storage unit to keep your stock safe, secure, and protected from the elements. You’ll need to decide between keeping a unit on your premises to having one on a designated site. You need to remember that some sites may not be accessible to you 24/7, and some will even specify a particular day and time that you will be able to access your stock. So, you need to plan and have stock on hand at home to allow for this.
Getting Your Business Known
Even with a business on the internet, you are going to need to do some legwork to get it ‘known’. Having a website is a bare minimum, but you are also going to have to have a web hosting service, as well as an SEO team working to get your website found on search engines.
Although you could probably have a go at your SEO, you will very quickly find that it is an area best left to the professionals. It is an area where a lot of money could be spent without seeing any financial gain very quickly. Whereas, investing the money in an SEO specialist can have you seeing positive results and reaping the rewards for your actions.
Shipping Options
You are also going to have to invest some time and effort in checking out viable shipping options for your business. This is another area where you could feel that you can do it yourself, especially when dealing with orders on your doorstep. However, this could be a fool’s errand and you are likely to be much better off using the services of a professional shipping business.
To get the best shipping rates for your customers, you would be wise to seek the help of an established shipping broker somewhere, like Shiply, that is used to dealing with all kinds of electrical devices from refrigerators to TV shipping.
This will mean that your customers will have a professional shipping experience and you can concentrate on the areas of the business that suit your knowledge and expertise the best.
