The biggest misconception when it comes to starting an eCommerce platform from scratch is that you need thousands of dollars in order to do so. That’s simply not true! There are many successful online stores out there that started from scratch with little more than $100 and the will to succeed, and we’re going to show you how you can start your own profitable eCommerce store today, with just $100 and a little bit of elbow grease!
Which Ecommerce Platform To Use
No matter what platform you choose to build your eCommerce platform website, make sure that it is flexible enough to support multiple payment processors. The easiest solution to start with is a shopping cart provided by a third-party eCommerce provider such as Shopify or BigCommerce. Both platforms have a number of applications that allow you to accept payments through popular payment processing gateways including Paypal, Stripe, and more. For example, if you’re starting out with an online store selling t-shirts, an option like Teespring could be useful for initially getting orders placed. Teespring will print your designs on various high-quality shirt types and then ship them directly to customers on your behalf once ordered.
How Much Money Will You Need
First, you need to know how much it will cost. You will not be able to start your eCommerce platform from home unless you have a certain amount of money. The cost of starting an eCommerce business depends on what type of products and services you want to sell, where it’s located, and whether or not there are any special licensing or permits required to operate. An estimate costs between $1,000 and $2,500 with $2,000 as a ballpark figure. At an average revenue per customer sale value of $50, if you attract 40 customers a month (you will get more) at a 100% profit margin (which is very possible), that’s a monthly income of approximately $4000 per month. Now do your math!
Choosing A Niche
One of the first steps to starting an eCommerce platform or store is choosing a niche, or product category, for your online business. While you might be tempted to sell everything under the sun, choosing a niche helps focus your energy and narrows down your market. An easy way to pick a niche is by surveying customers in stores and asking them what they would like from an online store. While many buyers will say they’re just browsing and won’t buy anything online at that moment, others will let slip some details about their daily life—like where they work or what sports team they follow—that reveal something about their interests.
Choose An Industry
There are lots of Best eCommerce platforms out there, but if you want to start a profitable store, you need to pick one in a growing market. Fortunately, there are plenty of opportunities for aspiring merchants—websites that sell everything from clothes and shoes to electronics and auto parts. One site I’d highly recommend checking out is Amazon—the world’s largest marketplace with over 200 million active buyers around the globe. Selecting an industry that already has millions of loyal customers can instantly double your chances of success by giving you access to hundreds or thousands of eager clients right off the bat. You also get free shipping on orders over $49 through Amazon Prime, which brings me to my next point.
Choose A Good Domain Name
Choosing a good domain name is one of, if not THE most important thing when starting an eCommerce store. It’s not just an identifier of your business; it’s your storefront, and therefore holds a very special place in your heart (literally).
Choose Shopify Theme
Shopify is the best eCommerce platform. There’s a reason why I say that. Shopify is where I started my first online store, and it’s how I managed to earn over $3,000 in three months (and keep earning money even today). And if you want to choose an e-commerce platform for your business, then you really can’t go wrong with Shopify. It is an easy-to-use system that has allowed me to make more money than I expected (more on that below) while still being very flexible so that my work wouldn’t feel too monotonous or boring. Best of all, it has made my life easier by having everything centralized on one website!
Choose Products
There are thousands of different products you can sell on your eCommerce store. If you’re looking to make a full-time income, choose a niche that is likely to be around for a while and doesn’t require frequent updating. Products that are in demand, but have a short lifespan (like electronics) are less than ideal for an online business because they require more frequent updates. Once you’ve found an industry with good long-term prospects, make sure your offerings match up with what other people in that market are selling—if not, someone else will swoop in and undercut you before you get started.
Shipping Methods
Whether you sell from a website or via social media, shipping is important. For an eCommerce website, you’ll want to explore each shipping option available to find out which is most cost-effective. If your business mainly sells products domestically (within one country), then simply choosing standard shipping and handling methods is likely sufficient. However, if you ship internationally, then it might be better to look into options such as Free Shipping on orders over $30 or providing tracking numbers in order to increase customer trust and reduce return requests because of items being lost during transit.
Marketing Strategies For Successful Online Shops
Starting an eCommerce business from scratch is one of those adventures that can pay off really well, but only if you’re able to market it effectively. From picking your niche to creating a killer website to finding suppliers, it can be a very long and tiring process. On top of that, e-commerce stores need a lot more attention than physical shops when it comes to marketing and advertising. That’s why we want to give you our three best tips for turning your e-shop into a thriving business.
Read our blog – 6 Ways To Start Your Own Online eCommerce Store And Make Money
