E-commerce Business: How To Build, Launch And Grow On A Low Budget

E-commerce is one of the fastest growing industries today. How fast, you ask?

Well, in 2016, the retail e-commerce sales around the world amounted to 1.86 trillion USD.

Furthermore, this amount is projected to hit 4.48 trillion USD by 2021, according to Statista.

Thanks to modern technology, online shopping has rapidly grown in the last few years and major brands have adjusted to the demands.

Most of the brands that ignored the rise of the internet shopping trends have since struggled to compete today. So, are you ready to put your store online and start making sales?

Building a successful eCommerce Business on a low budget

As long as people continue to have access to the internet, the popularity of eCommerce business will continue to grow. However, everyone knows that it’s not easy to build an eCommerce business online. It requires a lot of efforts if you really want to make it a successful venture.

Don’t get it all wrong, you can successfully make a career out of selling online. Did you ask me how? Check out our awesome article on 6 Proven Ways You Can Effectively Make A Career Out Of Selling Online.

If you are planning to set up your own online store, then you are not the only one. It’s a viable business idea that has shown to deliver satisfactory results. But like every other business, all you need is a clear set of plans and strategies to achieve your goals.

What’s more, you don’t even need a big budget to get started. If you are interested in establishing your own eCommerce business, then consider this article as a brief guide on how to set up, launch, and grow one with a shoestring budget.

STEP #1]: The Setup

The most important thing you need to set up an eCommerce business is, well, a product to sell. However, setting up an eCommerce business is not as easy as eating cake. A lot of things go into making your idea a reality.

It may not be the best idea to go with your guts and pick just any product(s) that you find interesting or profitable. This is because the success of your online store will actually depend on the following:

It’s critical that you do ample research on the product. There are many online market research tools that you can look into (many of these are free). Don’t forget to finalise the costs and expenses, and don’t make any decision until you have studied the market carefully. Once you have zeroed in on a product and the costs, you would have completed one the most difficult parts of the process.

STEP #2]: The Launch

Now that you have created your business on paper, it’s time to breathe life into it and materialise your idea. It’s somehow easy to have a big dream and anybody can actually do that. However, the launching stage is where you will actualise your dreams.

There are a variety of web publishing platforms and tools out there that are great for small businesses. But you will have to find the one that’s apt for your business in particular. To make your job easier, you can do the following:

The easiest, fastest and simplest way to set up an online store is to pick a SaaS solution like BigCommerce. This way you won’t have to worry about the technical aspects of setting up an online store. However, be sure to ask yourself the following questions before making a choice:

Of course, you can take the alternative option in which you can get your e-commerce store created by a private website builder (freelancer or a firm). However, this could cost you more and even lead to technical issues, poor customer support, etc. So, it’s better to go with the first option.

STEP #3]: The Upscaling

After you have launched your business, marketing automatically becomes one of your top priorities. However, depending on the products you are selling, it can be quite challenging.

It’s important to learn how to market your brand, although you must have a strong brand first to start with. It includes a creative company logo, excellent social media presence, and a well-thought-out strategy about how you want the public to look at your business. You can grow your online business in two ways:-

The first part is easy, so you need to focus on the second more. The Internet has become a massive arena for all the small businesses to compete at with their online stores. With neck to neck competition, it’s becoming harder and harder to drive traffic to your website. That said, if you are persistent enough, then you can find out the best ways to go about it. Some of these are:

E-commerce has a huge potential for every small business. The key is being undeterred by initial setbacks (which are common and can be overcome through trial and error) and revisiting the drawing board to apply your findings towards progress. Once you have found a system that works for you, you can focus on that and enjoy a stronger grasp on your business.

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