Starting an online business might seem like a relatively small task. However, the process might not be as easy as you expect it. With all companies, you have to be persistent, play to your strengths and work hard every day to ensure that your business picks up and takes a shine to your clientele. So how do you set up your online business? Let’s start with the basics.

#1stStep

Your first step is to find a niche that will help your business grow more naturally with a good product or service. Work out a Business Plan and see how viable the business is once you add in the shipping charges, storage (if any) and so on. Once you are satisfied with the figures, you need to conduct market research and validate your product using tactics such as keyword research, trending products evaluation and swot analysis for your product or service.

#2ndStep

Always do a competitive analysis.

Research your competitors, their strengths and weaknesses, and, most importantly, how you can turn their weakness to your advantage. Learn about the pitfalls that you can avoid from your biggest competitors. This will tell you more about defining your branding and positioning in the market and how you can differentiate it from your competitors. SEMrush is a great tool to do a competitive analysis on your competitors online using SEO and keywords.

#3rdStep

Analyze and study your target market.

Get into the mind of your ideal shopper. Who are they? What do they like? What are their likes and preferences? This information will help you target customers more precisely via social media platforms with communication that appeals to them. This will also help you tailor your product and your website experience to appeal to your perfect shopper.

#4thStep

Study online business laws.

It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that it would be ideal if you were abreast of shipping restrictions, zoning laws, and trademark considerations in all the locations you want to have your brand listed. These can all make or break your business. With this list, you can avoid the eCommerce platforms that derail your business before it gets off the ground.

#5thStep

Source your product.

You can buy products in bulk from stores or online platforms. Choose products that have good reviews. Remember, people will always buy good products. Scout your locality and find good quality products that you could sell on your e-store.

#6th step

Learn about small business shipping

Shipping is a big topic for brands and customers as it can severely impact profits. It would help to study the subject in detail and learn about the best approach your business can take to please your customers. You can learn about it in detail in The Beginner’s Guide to Ecommerce Shipping and Fulfillment by Shopify.

#7th step

Launch your store.

Once you have the product, you must focus your energies on getting the product in the eyes and minds of the customer. This can be done by creating a fully-integrated website, or a thriving social media presence or integration with existing online shopping platforms like Amazon or Shopify. You could use all of the above strategies based on your budget, bandwidth and most importantly, your consumer profile. It would be of assistance if you invested time in learning about driving organic traffic to your site from all your social media channels. A word of caution is to ensure that you use analytics to measure how every media channel is performing. You can use several tools for that, including google analytics that helps give you insights about your store. If you are unsure about how analytics work, you can take this free course by Google, Fundamentals Of Digital Marketing (includes certification), which will help you with the process.

#8th step

Scale your business.

Once you are confident about your business’s aspects, you can start using Facebook and Instagram ads and scale your business to more locations and appeal to more customers. You can master the art of perfecting your ads and reaching the right audience by completing these free courses offered by Facebook For Business.

Success, of course, never looks as neat or as linear as meticulously listed steps for success. There will be unseen challenges that may throw you off but a broader understanding of all aspects that you must look into will help you stay better prepared for the exciting journey of entrepreneurship! So dive in and swim the currents of business with bravery, enthusiasm and vision!