How To Start An Online Business With No Money
Prospects of Online Business in India
In this day and era, the word ecommerce represents the success that the world has been able to enjoy due to the advancement in the computer as well as the technological world. Ecommerce refers to the process through which people exchange goods and services the internet using tech machines such as laptops, mobile phones, desktop etc.
Table of Contents:
1. Advantages of setting Up eCommerce Business in India
2. The Top Steps to Starting an Online Business in India
3. Choose the right business Model for you
4. Choosing a product or service to sell online
5. Do market research
6. Understanding the dynamics of the online business Model
7. Establish your eCommerce business legally
8. Set up your E-commerce Websit
9. Draft a marketing strategy
10. Test and Launch
The joy of eCommerce is that it eliminates business barriers brought about by either time or distance. With eCommerce, people can be able to buy goods and services at any time of the day or night at their convenience. The concept eCommerce is Increasingly becoming popular in India since most eCommerce businesses are easy to start and require little or at times no experience at all.
Advantages of setting Up eCommerce Business in India
24/7 Online Shopping
As mentioned earlier enables people to shop at their convenience during any time of the day or night. When you start an ecommerce website, you will make it easier for your customers to buy online. This accessibility is what gives you higher leverage over your competitors.
Purchase funnel Clarity
Purchase funnel Clarity means that when your business is online, you can gain more clarity of how many times consumers view your product on your store finally buying the product, which is not the case with other physical stores. You can measure the rate by which customers click on a particular product before its purchase.
Bigger scope for business
Physical stores, you have a limited number of clients who can walk in and buy from you. The beauty of eCommerce business is that you with your website you can access a broader scope of customers both in India as well as the rest of the world at ease, therefore, shooting up your sales.
Freedom
An online business allows you to be your boss. You are the one who manages your own time and can decide when you can work. For most entrepreneurs, this is usually a motivation for them to continue working hard as they do not have to go to eight to five jobs where your schedule is tight.
Low overheads and high-profit margins
Another benefit that comes with online business is the low costs of operation. You do not have to rent business space. You can further reduce the costs by partnering with your manufacturer when it comes to shipping costs to more also increase profit margins as you lower risks.
The Top Steps to Starting an Online Business in India
There are definitive steps that can guide you into opening the best online business for you and help you to achieve success in the ecommerce industry. The following guide has expert tips that have broken down the process into steps that are manageable and will help you set up your ecommerce business with ease
The first step of starting your own business online is choosing the right business model for you and will work for you in terms of money, time as well as your profits. The three types of online business models that exist are: Selling products online, selling services or selling digital information.
Selling Physical Products
Selling products is perhaps the most common business model. You sell physical products that are easy to ship to various locations. You can strategically achieve this by opening an ecommerce store where customers can view your products and buy the ones; they find most appealing, you can also do this through the use of auction stores. There is also an option of listing the product on third party websites such as eBay. With these strategies, ‘ customers can get your products for the convenience of their homes.
When you list your products on such platforms ensure that you incorporate the product features, review from other customers, frequently asked questions, podcasts or directions on the best ways to use the product so that customers can find all the information about a product so that they can clear any doubt they have about buying.
Selling a service
The second online business is selling an online service. You can develop a website and begin to market your skill online before going to deliver it in person. The other option that you can take is merely satisfying the needs of your clients directly through the computer. These services can be anything from travel to entertainment.
Selling digital information
Selling digital information is the easiest since it doesn’t have a lot of hustle, such as looking up space to set the business. It mostly involves content creation, and you can sell almost anything from eBooks, articles or photos online.
The next step is to decide on the product or service that you can sell online. Below are some of the ideas that will inspire you when you are choosing a product or service to sell online through market places such as Amazon or Shopclues
eBooks
If you are a creative content writer, you can start an online career selling eBooks online. The eBooks can be any topics ranging from cooking to travel or the topic that you find most interesting. There are platforms such as the Kindle store from Amazon that will even help you publish the eBook. With the increasing growth of online businesses, you will surely be able to reach a greater audience all over the world.
Freelance Skills
You can sell your skills online and make huge profits. You can sell any skill online from the creation of websites, writing, blogging vlogging as well as creating logos for companies. A long as you have a steady internet connection, you can even make the business home based. There are platforms such as Upwork, fivver and Elance where you can do transcription jobs, translation jobs, freelance writing jobs, proofreading and much more.
Clothes and jewellery
The fashion world is very popular with many Indians and other people all over the world. Additionally, people will always need new sets of clothes and jewellery such as earrings, necklaces and bracelets. You can set up a small eCommerce store for a start.
Strategic Market research is an important step that will make you decide whether to proceed into venturing the business or not. Here’s how you can do the market research;
Do a Keyword Search
Looking up the information on your product is super easy and will give you an idea of how much demand for your product is. With the help of an online tool such as Google keyword planner, you can be able to visualise the number of people that are looking up your idea over a given period.
Find out trends
Another great online tool is google trend. After doing the keyword search, the google trend can help you determine the directional pattern of that specific keyword over the past few years. You can also be able to measure how some vents affect the popularity of your business within a given location.
Research On Social Media
Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter can be able to give your insight on the conversational volumes about your idea. It can also help you find out the demographics of your target market as well as inform your advertisement strategies for later.
Expert Advice
You can also get expert advice from friends, family or an expert before you start the businesses. A person who is successful in the business idea that you want to start would also be helpful. It would also be wise to look up what other similar companies are doing by checking out their websites to help you know what it takes to be successful.
Another step towards starting an online business is finding out what works best for that particular idea and what you can be done to make it much better. You can do this by analysing your most significant competitors. This way, you will get to know the best way to do your branding as well as how to position yourself in the market.
You could also research the costs that are involved in starting up the online business such as web hosting charges, logistic charges, rent, business taxes, labour charges, among other expenses. This step will give you a clear overview of exactly how much money you need to invest in getting the business running without disruptions.
To start an eCommerce business in India, you have to follow the following procedure for it to be legally recognised.
Company/LLP registration
It is vital to ensure that you take limited liability Protection so that you can do business seamlessly. This way you will find it much easier to open bank accounts for the business or even obtain fast service tax registration
VAT registration
You must do VAT registration for your business from the SSTD (States Sales Tax Dept.). India Filings is one of the places that you can find help for this.
Bank Account
After the first two steps, you can proceed in the opening of a bank account so that you can be able to receive payments from clients.
Legal Documents
You must get the sellers agreement so that you can start the business. India Filings can also help you in the creation of the seller’s approval.
The next step is to set up your eCommerce website. Make sure that the site is as simple as possible so that you can captivate the minds of clients. The navigation should be secure, and you can choose a plain background. Make sure that the website is as customer friendly as possible and the products are fast to buy with just a few clicks. The next step would now be to upload your products as well as details of your service.
Alternatively, instead of building the website, you can outsource it. This is where you buy web hosting services from a reputable firm to ensure the website is working at its best.
Marketing is now where most of the work is. Developing a marketing strategy for your online business so that you can reach a broader target audience for your idea. Below are three elements of a great marketing strategy for your ecommerce store.
Social Media Marketing
SMM is a compelling marketing strategy for most online businesses Nowadays. Through generating meaningful social media interactions, you can be able to dive lots of traffic to your eCommerce website. With the help of social media platforms such as Instagram Facebook and Linked In, you can be able to gain a substantial online presence, thus reaching a broader market.
Search engine Optimization
Search engine refers to the process of using the manual method to ensure your website is ranked top on search engines such as Google and Yahoo. You can do this by providing that your eCommerce by ensuring that you create content that your users find useful.
You can use googles online advertising platform called AdWords, which display your ads on Google as well as its advertising networks to assist you in marketing your online company.
The last step of this guide is the test and launch process. This now where you launch your website and see the way it works in terms of the look and feels. At this stage, you will be able to notice any problems with the site and have them fixed to avoid any inconveniences with your operations.
The process of starting an online business isn’t so hard, and the principles of doing it do not change much. If you are on the verge of starting an eCommerce business, it would be wise of you to stick with this guide. You can always review your business with time and see areas where you can improve on to make your business more seamless and profitable. It would also be wise to reward your most loyal customers with gifts from time to time with discounts free shipments or even free product to ensure that they keep buying from your online store.
Borzo Team
For Business with ❤️