The options to make money online are nearly unlimited whether you want to sell a service or products. Technology has made online business global as customers can visit a website from anywhere in the world. For this reason more people than ever before are trying their hand at starting an online business.
Drop shipping is also a popular way for many people to start as they do not need an inventory or shipping process. The wholesaler takes care of these things but picking the right wholesaler could be the difference between being profitable and wasting time.
Regardless of how you plan to make money online there are plenty of things that you need to think about before launching the business.
What Type Of Business To File As
Understanding the different business entities is important as each entity has its advantages and disadvantages. Forming an LLC can help a person that is running a business alone by protecting their personal assets in the case of a lawsuit. An S Corp is perfect for those running a small family business as it eliminated the double taxation that was imposed on C Corps or larger corporations.
Most individual entrepreneurs and bloggers tend to go with an LLC for their business, because of the following benefits:
- LLCs are fast and easy to setup.
- LLCs have a simple business structure.
- Forming an LLC is generally inexpensive.
- Running an LLC is easier than running a C Corp or S Corp.
- There are fewer rules, regulations and legal compliance issues for LLCs.
- LLCs are formed and regulated on a state level.
Take a look at the processes to form each of these entities as they are different as are the things that they offer and don’t offer. Your online business is most likely not going to file as a nonprofit which has quite a few tax benefits but can be difficult to qualify for.
Getting Your Website Up To Par
The website is going to be the first impression that most customers get of your online business. A website that looks like it was built as a senior project in the early 2000’s is not going to cut it. This can make a business look low quality or even fake if it is an ecommerce based site.
For ecommerce sites, picking the right website builder is important as inputting hundreds or thousands of products can be quite tedious with some builders. The checkout process is also incredibly important as it can maximize sales closed by making it as easy as possible. The one thing that cannot be sacrificed for convenience is that of security as customer data leaking can cripple even huge ecommerce companies. A star product copywriter will help as well as the product description including all features in a concise fashion can help close a sale.
Just like with all ad copy, a poorly written description can leave a customer wondering if they are purchasing the right thing and might lead them to go to another site that better explain the product.
Future Sales Strategies
There is going to come a time where sales have dipped or hit a plateau in volume. Breaking through this plateau will take new sales strategies as well as marketing strategies. Search engine ranking impact all online businesses as ranking on the first page can be a huge advantage over competitors.
Content marketing is the perfect way to drum up leads but make sure the content being produced is as high of quality as possible. Clickbait type articles frustrate plenty of consumers as they have a promising title only to under deliver when it comes to the body of the content. If you are not great at sales it might be wise to enlist the help of a seasoned sales professional that will work on commission. This can help an online business reach new heights as attracting more clients allows a business to be more selective about what clients that work with long term.
Utilizing Freelancers To Save Time And Reduce Costs
Freelancers can be a great way to save time as well as reduce costs versus hiring an employee full-time. Projects like writing product descriptions mentioned above is the perfect example of saving time by hiring a freelancer. For those that are not great copywriters it also helps increase the quality of the descriptions. Give freelancers small projects to test them out as missing a deadline on a small project is a warning of things to come. Once you find a group of freelancers that can be relied on for various tasks it will help business run a bit smoother.
Scaling up your online business will also incorporate freelancers whether you are writing content for a digital marketing company or providing customer service for a client. The amount of talent available in the freelancer industry is immense with professionals in nearly every field participating. The last thing you want to do is to miss a deadline for a client due to not having enough resources as far as freelancers go.
Starting an online business is easier than ever but this does not guarantee it will be profitable quickly. Luckily most online businesses have low overhead costs so generating a profit will not be as difficult as it would if forming a traditional business. Start an online business and consider the above to make it as successful as possible from its launch.
