Are you thinking about launching an online business? Do you run a blog that you believe could translate well into a more full-fledged e-commerce venture, complete with an online store? Do you have an idea for a website or an online community that you think could be a successful business and a full-time job for you?
Thanks to the internet, a traditional job is far from the only option you have to make money or bring your dreams to fruition. The web provides a slew of opportunities to carve out your niche, obtain customers, and start monetizing your idea. Of course, the path to success won’t be easy, but with some hard work, a great idea or two, and smart strategies for funding your business and making it profitable, you might just be able to pave your way online.
Getting Started
The hardest part of any online business is getting started. Unless you have a built-in following, you can probably expect things to be fairly slow going for a few months while you get underway. If your plan is to build an online store, you might even consider starting small with something like an Etsy shop, so you can gain a few customers and get a few months of receipts under your belt. If your goal is to expand, you will probably need some small business funding to do it, and when it comes to securing funding, the longer you’ve been in business, the better.
Of course, every online business—whether it find success or not—starts with an idea. If you are reading these words, there’s a good chance you already have an idea for what you want to do. Assuming you already have your idea, here are a few other boxes to check as you launch your small business venture.
● Register your business: To officially start your business, you need to register it in the state where you live. There are a lot of resources you can find online about how to create a business plan, structure your business, and get it registered. It’s a good idea to read up on these processes, though you might not go through all of the traditional steps if you are a sole proprietor. When it comes to actually registering your business, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is a good place to start.
● Build a website with a blog, an online store, and a slick user interface: No online business (and these days, frankly, no business period) is complete without a professional website. What your site looks like and the features it offers will vary depending on what you are trying to build. If you want to be an online retailer, you want to focus on the online store (though make sure to have a blog too, for SEO and content marketing purposes). It is also highly important to build a site that looks great and offers up a stellar user experience and to host your own site instead of keeping it on a service like Wix or Blogger.
● Don’t be afraid to invest in professional assistance: Particularly for a web store, you need striking visuals, a responsive design that loads quickly on mobile and desktop platforms, and a system that can accept payments securely—among other things. Rather than try to do all of this yourself, consider hiring a professional to build the site based on your specs. A professional will be able to capture the look, feel, and flow that you want and that will wow your customers when they visit.
Look into Small Business Funding Options
Whether you are building a site, stocking up on inventory, buying new equipment so that you can produce your products faster, or paying for advertising, you will spend oodles of money to get your business off the ground. If you have the money to invest in yourself, more power to you. However, know that there are small business funding options out there that you can try.
First, skip the bank loan: small businesses generally have trouble getting help from the bank, and new small businesses can almost never get a loan. Instead, think about a working capital loan or a merchant cash advance. A working capital loan will give you cash on a short-term loan basis, allowing you to cover operating expenses and build your business before you turn around and pay it back. A merchant cash advance, meanwhile, is a lump sum that your credit card processing company gives you. You can use this money for any expenses, and it will be paid back automatically as you make sales from your online store. Essentially, your card processor will take a set percentage of your sales each day until the advance (plus interest) is paid off.
Both of these small business funding options tend to be more accessible to small businesses than traditional bank loans. They also provide more flexibility, which is great for new business owners. With smart funding options in place, you will hopefully be able to realize your dream of launching an online business without running out of cash or hitting a wall of debt. Success may be more within your reach than you think.