As you guys know, I love side hustling and making extra money. I’m always looking for new avenues of income and one such way of doing that is by starting an online store. Managing an online store can allow you to have the income of your dreams without ever leaving the house.
The issue that many people run into when starting an online business is a lack of understanding about the rules they have to abide by and the tools available to assist in managing an online store.
The good news? You can learn from the professionals to understand exactly what you need to do to have the most effective and profitable online store possible. Here are a few suggestions to help you in managing your online store and to start making more money right now.
Have the Right License
All businesses need to be licensed as legal entities. If you run an unlicensed business, you can get in trouble with the government, and this includes online businesses. I’m still doing research on all this, as I’m fairly new to making money online.
License’s should be attained before you create online store components of any kind. The licenses differ from one location to another, so you need to get in touch with your local government to learn what the laws are that govern your business. Remember that because you’re establishing a store online, the rules that apply to you will be slightly different from the rules that apply to a traditional brick and mortar store. Make sure to specify in detail the kind of business you have so you’re getting the most accurate information; this will help prevent any problems down the line. Stay organized and on top of paperwork! Thanks to the Internet, you can generally handle the license registration online, in a short time!
Let Someone Else Handle the Shipping
You’ve got enough to handle without worrying about shipping as well. However, your products need to get out to the clients once they have been ordered, so shipping is something you need to consider.
One of the best ways you can handle shipping, after you create online store pages for all of your products, is to work with a drop shipper. The great thing about drop shippers is that they will literally handle every aspect of the shipping process. The only thing that is required of you is to transmit each order to the drop shipper for them to handle. As soon as the drop shipper receives the order, they’ll start packaging the products immediately and ship them out to your customers. The customer will have the impression the box is coming from you because it will be marked with your branding and address. Drop shippers handle warehousing, so send along a bulk shipment of products that can be shipped out as soon as an order comes in. This way, you can concentrate on managing your online store.
Make it Easy for Customers
Online shoppers, after selecting their purchases, always have that moment when they have to decide whether to cancel the sale entirely or enter the information needed to pay for the purchases. To avoid this, make it easy on your customers! This is why you should have easy-to-use sales features available to them. Have a better shopping cart, provide lots of information and have good references.
Make sure that the solutions in place provide ample information to your customers as they go through the process of ordering their products, to ensure they follow through.
Use Open Source Tools
Starting an online store doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Just because you manage an online store this doesn’t mean you want to spend all your money on the tools that will bring you success. One of the great ways to get the tools you need without breaking the budget, is to use open source tools. These are created by the public, and shared with the public. They are generally created by a community of programming professionals to help those in need of better technology, but without the ability to purchase expensive software from the big companies.
These companies generally accept donations to help fund their processes. If you can afford to give something to the people who developed the software, it’s a good idea to do so to pay it forward. It’s not required, but it’s one of the best ways to make sure these kinds of tools will continue to be available for years to come. Shop around, as you can find many tools to help you manage your online store in creative ways you only dreamed were possible.
Do you have an online store? What tips do you have to get started?
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2 comments
Great tips Melanie, especially to let someone else handle the shipping. The most I do in terms of stores is sell stuff on eBay, but the shipping is seriously the worst. It takes up most of my time, and is always more of a hassle than I anticipated.
Making it easy for the customers is a must. I tried online shopping before and I got so lost as to what to do next or how to pay for my purchases that I decided not to push through with the transaction. Also providing a customer support is accessible and that responds timely will always be a plus. With so many online stores right now, you have to stay on top by providing the best service there is, better than your competitors, so you will have an edge.