Starting an online business can be overwhelming, with many decisions, such as what to sell, who to sell to, and how to attract customers. On top of that, new business trends are emerging every other week, from chatbots to cryptocurrencies, Facebook ads, Instagram influencers, and more, making it difficult to determine what to focus on.
But fear not. If you're wondering how to start an online business in 2023, we have you covered. In this article, we'll provide a simple, step-by-step guide on creating a small business online, complete with plain language and actionable instructions, making it the perfect starting point for beginners.
Hold off on Building: Important Steps to Take Before Starting Your Project
When starting a business, it's easy to get excited and take action immediately. However, resisting the urge to jump into tasks like building a website, choosing a business name, or creating a logo is essential.
To ensure the success of your online business, you need to have a well-thought-out strategy in place. The next three steps in this article will guide you in developing your online business strategy, which is crucial before moving on to any other tasks.
Selecting a Business Model
If you're starting an online business from scratch, you must familiarize yourself with different online business models that have been proven successful.
Here are six online business models that you can consider:
- Affiliate Marketing: Earn a commission by promoting other businesses products or services online.
- Freelancing: Utilize your skills in writing, designing, programming, or advertising to provide services to both individuals and businesses.
- Coaching and Consulting: Sell your expertise, guidance, and advice as a coach or consultant.
- Information Products: Sell your knowledge by creating and selling ebooks, online courses, templates, and worksheets.
- Software as a Service (SaaS): Develop software or an application and charge a recurring subscription fee to users.
- E-commerce: Use platforms like Shopify to set up an online store and sell physical products.
Discover Your Ideal Customer: Identifying Your Target Market
To effectively market your product or service, it is crucial to identify your target market. This involves determining who you are going to serve and what their needs and desires are. According to marketer Philip Kotler, defining your target market is the winning strategy for success. One crucial aspect to consider is being part of your target audience.
For instance, if you have experience camping, it will be easier to understand other campers' language, problems, and desires, making it easier to sell camping products online. Your marketing efforts will be more successful because you will better understand how to communicate with other campers. Conversely, selling camping products online will be challenging if you have never been camping before.
Discover a Problem to Address
Understanding that all businesses solve a problem when starting an online business is essential. Plumbers fix leaking pipes, and clothing brands help people feel attractive. Additionally, Hollywood movies provide an escape from boredom and curiosity.
The bigger the problem you can solve, and the better you can solve it, the more money people are willing to pay. For instance, healthcare services solve a significant problem, so people are eager to spend a lot of money on them. Conversely, not many people would pay to stop their table from wobbling since it is not a significant problem.
In conclusion, identifying a good problem is crucial to starting an online business.
Analyzing Your Competitors
Tips for Analyzing Your Competition When Starting an Online Business
If you're learning how to start an online business, conducting a competitive analysis is essential. This helps you stay updated on what's working in your niche, identify successful tactics and new trends, and anticipate market shifts. Additionally, it helps define your messaging, positioning, and overall business strategy. Here are some tips for conducting a competitive analysis:
- Subscribe to your competitors' blog
- Buy a product they sell
- Abandon a product in their shopping cart
- Sign up for their newsletter
- Follow them on social media
As you take these measures, document your findings with notes on each approach. Analyze their customer experience and look at how they engage people through content. This helps you identify tactics that your competitors are using to drive sales.
Pro Tip: Consider doing a SWOT analysis to accompany the findings from your research. It's a blueprint that leans into your competitors' strengths and weaknesses to define areas of improvement.
Ensure Legal Compliance for Your Business
Any business you start must comply with the laws and regulations in your region. Therefore, it's important to online research business legal requirements before starting a new internet business. Some of the legal aspects to consider include the following:
- Business structure: Should you register as an LLC or sole proprietor for your online business? You can research and decide independently, but seeking input from a tax specialist is advisable.
- Licenses and permits: Depending on the type of business you start, you may require a license to operate it. This varies depending on your location, so it's best to contact your local state department for more information.
- Tax obligations: Most online business owners are required to pay income tax. Additionally, you may have sales tax obligations if you sell products to consumers in certain countries. Before starting your business, it's recommended that you consult an attorney to learn about the applicable taxes and the necessary online business documents to file them.
- Copyright, patent, and trademarks: Covering these legal elements can help you avoid trouble in the future. For instance, registering your trademark can prevent others from using your brand name, saving you the hassle and expense of rebranding.
Choosing Your Sourcing Strategy
If you plan to launch an online e-commerce business, it's crucial to identify trustworthy and reliable inventory sources.
You can explore these options:
- Look for product manufacturers on platforms like Alibaba or directories like Kompass, Sourcify, and ThomasNet.
- Find product wholesalers in or near your area using Handshake.
- Find dropshipping suppliers on platforms like DSers.
The last option is a great way to start your business without a significant upfront investment.
With dropshipping, your supplier handles the storage and logistics of the business and only ships and fulfills orders once a customer has made a purchase. You'll be responsible for marketing and customer support.
To find reputable partners for order fulfillment, consult this list of the best dropshipping suppliers.
Establish Your Payment Options
Congratulations, you're almost ready to launch your business! Now it's time to determine how you'll accept payments and how you'll receive payouts as the business owner.
Fortunately, various online payment options are available, including credit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. Suppose you're using Shopify to start your e-commerce business. In that case, you can activate Shopify Payments, an integrated payment solution that accepts all primary payment methods without additional transaction fees.
For a service-based business like freelance writing, Transferwise, Payoneer, Stripe, and 2Checkout are some payment providers worth checking out.
Regardless of the payment method, you can choose your payout schedule to receive daily, weekly, or monthly money based on your cash flow preferences.
Creating Your Sales Platform
Once you have finalized your business idea and sorted out the legal requirements, it's time to establish your sales platform.
How do you do that?
To start an e-commerce business, create a website using Shopify and look for products to sell on DSers.
Suppose you intend to freelance, coach, or offer consultancy services. In that case, Shopify provides the option of integrating with popular tools like Digital Downloads for selling digital products online, ReCharge for selling subscriptions online, and SendOwl for selling videos online.
Remember to keep things simple.
At this stage, your business is still in the idea phase. So, instead of investing too much money, time, or energy into creating a perfect website, test your business idea and ensure it works before investing further.
As Eric Ries, the author of The Lean Startup, said, “We must learn what customers want, not what they say they want or what we think they should want.”
Select Your Marketing Strategy
When it's time to promote your online business, selecting an effective marketing method is crucial.
Numerous online marketing methods exist, but not all are equally effective when starting an online business. Here are four strategies you can use to generate sales quickly:
- Social Media Marketing: Use social media platforms to create and share content, interact with your target audience, and drive traffic to your website.
- Direct Outreach: Pitch your services to individuals at relevant companies.
- Paid Advertising: Advertise on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Google, and YouTube to increase brand awareness and drive sales.
- Influencer Marketing: Partner with influencers to promote your products directly to their followers.
Starting an Online Business: A Summary
Looking to start an online business in 2023? Follow these ten steps:
- Develop a solid business strategy before building anything.
- Choose a business model that matches your skills, interests, and preferences.
- Define your target audience and ensure you're a part of it.
- Find a solution to a problem your target market is facing.
- Analyze your competitors and look for ways to improve.
- Comply with legal requirements and obtain a business license.
- Choose a sourcing strategy that streamlines order fulfillment.
- Set up payment gateway and payout options to collect and receive payments.
- Create a primary sales platform to test your business idea.
- Choose a marketing method and start promoting your business.
Remember that success doesn't happen overnight, and learning how to start an online business may take time. Many successful entrepreneurs failed multiple times before achieving their goals. As Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, once said, “I'm convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.”
Readers Disclosure: Our content is supported by our reader, that means some of the link from this article and within this website are affiliate links. If you click any of these links, then we may earn a commission with no extra cost to you.
