Many young millennials stop pursuing their dream of becoming entrepreneurs because they don’t have a loaded bank account yet. But if you look around, you will see hundreds and thousands of young entrepreneurs making it big out there, and guess what – most of them started with little to no money! And let’s also add in the fact that most of them don’t even have a graduate degree in business, yet they generate thousands in revenue. So do we call it pure luck or risk?
You don’t need a business degree or a loaded bank account to start an online business. Even with a few hundred to thousand bucks, you can become an online entrepreneur, and you’re here to learn how. All you need is a good internet connection. Spectrum offers high-speed internet at affordable rates. You can bundle it with Spectrum Gold to save a few more bucks too. That’s one way to tone down expenses while getting everything you want.
This article will help you understand how to start an online business in a few easy steps. So without further ado, let’s get started.
- Decide the Kind of Business You Want to Start
Now that you’ve finally thought about taking the reins and starting your own business, the first step is to finalize the type of business you want to start. The market is booming with several options, ranging from eCommerce stores and selling services to Software as a Service, niche blogs, and digital websites. There are more, but these are the most popular ones.
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You can think about selling products directly to customers through your own website or an eCommerce store. If you have a product in mind and want people to know about it, starting an eCommerce store is one of the best options you have in today’s time. When considering how to choose an eCommerce platform for your online store, it’s essential to weigh factors like ease of use, customization options, payment gateways, and scalability to ensure your business thrives in the competitive online marketplace. You can also start affiliate marketing or advertising revenue to make money through multiple platforms. The possibilities are endless.
- Identify Your Niche
Now that you know the kind of businesses popular among entrepreneurs, it’s time to find your niche. A niche refers to the idea you want to turn into reality. And finding that idea isn’t easy. It’s the most uncertain and confusing decision for a young entrepreneur to make, but this is what business is all about – taking risks regardless of the outcome. It shouldn’t hold you back.
Take this time to figure out what you really want. Find your niche by researching what the market needs (gaps and discrepancies in the market), identifying what you’re good at (skills, problem-solving), and learning what you’re passionate about (a hobby, activity, product, topic). Your niche lies in the middle of these 3 aspects.
- Validate Your Idea
Once you find your niche, evaluate the potential of your idea in the current market. Will it generate enough revenue? How much competition is it against? How many people want this to happen? You can evaluate and validate your idea by doing a simple Google search online. Skim through the many pages of Google to understand how many websites are selling the idea already. Learn about customer feedback and content creation from social media platforms like Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram and conduct keyword research and affiliate marketing search to know the competition in the market.
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Once you’ve used the techniques above to validate your idea, it’s time to analyze your competitors. Anyone selling a similar product or service as yours is your competitor. Use online tools like Facebook Ads Library, SEMRUSH, etc. to know how much your competitors spend on online advertising and what platforms they use to sell their products.
- Identify Your Target Audience
Knowing your audience is beyond important. To create buyer personas, you need data. You want to know who will visit your website, potentially purchase your products, which social media platforms they’re most active on, the groups and forums they use, the influencers of your target audience, etc. You can gather data through surveys, online polls, and various social media tools.
- Decide the Name of Your Business and Register a Domain
Choosing a name for your brand is nothing short of exciting. Make sure the name you decide on is short, catchy, easy to read and remember. Once you’ve decided, check for the availability of a domain name via online tools. Make sure no other business shares the same name on another domain, and all variations of the domain are available (preferably .com). Also, make sure the handle is available on all social media networks.
Register a domain name by creating an account with a domain name provider.
- Finally, Set Up a Website for Your Brand
You’re finally setting up your brand’s business website. You can either go for an online website builder like BigCommerce or Shopify, or customization-friendly options like WordPress. It all depends on how scalable, customizable and flexible you want your website to be.
Once your website is set up, learn a few digital marketing skills to build brand awareness, optimize the site’s SEO, create content and optimize web conversions.
Wrapping It Up
To wrap it up, starting any kind of business will require you to come up with a valid solid business idea, a brand name, a website, and an excellent marketing plan in the pipeline. So what are you waiting for? Start brainstorming ideas and get to work!
