Today the technology has gone far enough that you can run a business with an iPad using a variety of specialized apps. In case there isn’t one that meets your needs perfectly, you can have any solution developed to your exact specifications at a reasonable price. In fact, if you have some ideas for that, you should consider this business opportunity. Otherwise, eCommerce would be a wonderful choice.
Not only is it possible to run an eCommerce store using nothing but an iPad and some specialized software. This industry itself is very promising for beginner entrepreneurs as online sales keep growing. At the moment, the predictions have them take up 17% of all retail sales globally by 2022.
How to Run an eCommerce Business with an iPad: Solutions and Tips
1. Create a website
The website creation process today is so simple, you can do it from your tablet with no prior knowledge of web design. You’ll need the help of specialized applications or a website builder imbued in the web browser to create website with an iPad.
You can also save yourself a lot of time and effort by simply using WordPress. This platform is the most popular and efficient for an online store. You can integrate all the best eCommerce solutions into WordPress websites and manage your store easily. This platform is also simple to use and has a huge library of website themes. This is a big benefit for those starting their eCommerce business with a limited budget. A high-quality theme developed by professionals will help your store, and you won’t have to pay for it to be custom-made for you.
2. Connect the iPad to your PC or Mac
To run an eCommerce business from an iPad you will need to have access to all your computer data anytime. You can do this using a solution like LogMeIn that will allow you to control your PC or Mac as if you are using it directly.
This solution will make your business truly mobile as you will be able to use the PC over mobile data from any place on the planet. You can also use some of the features offline.
3. Get some accounting software
To run any kind of business from anywhere you must keep your books in order. Today you can do this easily using cloud accounting software like FreshBooks or QuickBooks. These solutions are simple to understand and don’t require you to know any actual bookkeeping. This means that by using them you get to save on hiring an actual accountant.
For an eCommerce business that has lots of payments and invoices, this software is mandatory. Note that some of the solutions available today are also compatible with POS (point-of-sale) terminals, budgeting, and payroll software.
4. Promote your store online
Whether you choose to run an eCommerce business with an iPad or a computer, you will have to market it. Today major marketing solutions, like HootSuite are available for mobile devices. However, their functionality might be limited compared to ‘big size’ options, so use a demo to find what works best for you.
At the very least, you should have some automation software for your content marketing needs that will tie together your website and shop’s social media accounts. Email automation apps will also be needed.
5. Protect your passwords
When you try to run a business with an iPad you’ll have to access dozens of accounts every day. As each should have a unique and secure (20+ characters of varied registers and symbols) password, memorizing them would be hard.
1Password is one of the most trusted iPad password managers today, so consider using it or another similar solution.