Then what are you waiting for? Gone are the days when you would need hundreds of dollars to start up a business. Now, a computer and an internet connection are just what you need. It is really amazing how the internet, better still, technology has helped shape the world. You can now become wealthy or at least financially free at a very young age, compared to older times where most people made their fortunes after they had stepped into their 40s. Many people are afraid of starting an online business because they fear that it might crash someday, and it is often said that whatever the mind can conceive can be achieved. You just have to forget all the reasons why it won’t work and think about the reasons it could work. Some are already making money, while some are still skeptical about the whole idea of online business. But really, there is absolutely nothing to worry about – an online business is the easiest business you can ever run and be sure of minimizing risk. However, there is no business without ANY risk.
Why Starting Your Own Business Online Is A Smart Move
If you happen to be among the people who are doubtful about the idea of online business, there are several reasons why you should choose online over the traditional bricks and mortar format.
1. Easy and cheap to start
Regardless of what type of business you have in mind, one of the most important things to consider first is how much it would cost to start your dream business. To start an online business, all you need is a just a little cash to set-up the website and host it online. As long as you know what you want to do clearly, you are ready to go with just a few dollars. Even though the costs of starting an online business are minimal compared to starting a brick and mortar company, you should still do your research beforehand and calculate your costs. In fact, according to the Business portal of the Queensland government, not doing so is one of the basic reasons of start-up failure.
2. Easy to achieve exponential growth
Isn’t one of the goals of starting a business is to maximize profit and minimize loss? If that still remains the same, then one of the reasons you should consider an online business is to think of how fast and easy it can grow.
3. Open to a large group of people
An online business provides all the essential tools to better improve on your product sales while keeping it running smoothly at a low cost and reducing loss to the bare minimum. The internet is there to help display your products and services to over 3.2 billion costumers around the globe – that is huge. It also has the ability to help integrate your website with social media and gives access to the most sophisticated and user-friendly marketing platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and so many others on the internet.
4. Gives time to do things while still growing your business
Unlike the traditional offline business, an online business gives you time to attend to other issues of pressing need while you still grow your dollars online. It provides a much greater flexibility. I travel pretty often and when I do, it’s so damn amazing because I am still making money! While others have to take a leave from their jobs or close their brick and mortar operation temporarily to go for a trip, my online business gives me the freedom and flexibility to take it with me wherever I go.
5. Makes your business available round the clock
The internet is always up and running even when you are asleep. Once you have launched your website, only little additional time is required to maintain it in order to increase efficiency and automation. Essentially, you are bound to be making money 24/7 as opposed to having a conventional business that only operates a limited amount of time during the day.
Is Starting An Online Business Feasible For Everybody?
Generally yes, it is very attainable and achievable. As a matter of fact, putting up your own business online is a whole lot easier than you might think. Here, you’ll get to work at your own pace, space and time – unlike the bricks and mortar workplace, where you are limited to work to a specified time schedule, confined space and under interaction with less motivated and ambitious colleagues. So why subject yourself to unnecessary stress, when you can start making up to $2,500 or more in a month in the comfort of your own home? The good news is that you don’t necessarily have to be a tech guru to get started. With a budget of as low as $10 in a month, you will be able to get the ball rolling. There are tons of business opportunities out there on the internet, but the unfortunate thing is that not everyone can see them.
What Kind Of Online Business Should You Start?
Before starting an online business, you should perhaps find something that you are passionate or interested in and can turn into cash. What is more pleasurable than getting paid for what you love doing? Another thing to note is, when circumstances become tough, the passion is what keeps you going. As an aspiring online entrepreneur, you may need to consider the following ideas:
1. Professional Freelancing
If you have great skills in graphic design, search engine optimization, website design, résumé/cover letter writing, article writing and you don’t have a website of your own, you can get started offering these services to people who are literally ready to buy. And you can do that without even spending a dime to get started! Just sign up for some of the major freelancing platforms and you could literally start making money in a few hours. Freelancing on platforms like Elance, Upwork or Fiverr can be particularly lucrative and even replace a regular job. In fact, there are many people that are making a full time income or even six figures by working on Fiverr. Most people believe that Fiverr is not a lucrative platform because of most services being sold at just $5. However, the truth is that it offers you tons of opportunities to be a successful freelancer. Once you get the ball rolling and establish a customer base, it’s not that hard to start getting paid much more than that for each completed order, with sums possibly going up to $100-$500 per completed order.
2. Specialized Retailing
These companies are online and from there, their owners make enough money from every second of every day. You too can join in the league of online entrepreneurs and start your own e-commerce store.
3. Blog Publishing
Blogging is one of the easiest and fastest growing online businesses around. You can get started easily with just a few bucks for hosting and a domain name. There are dozens of free themes available for your website, so you don’t even have to hire a web designer. What’s more, WordPress which is the main content management system for blogs is actually free and available to anyone to use. If you are not that good with technology, you don’t have to worry because there are tons of tutorials on YouTube to get you started. Most people can make money blogging. There are tons of bloggers out there who don’t need to look for any other job elsewhere – they make good money from their blogs. Of course, you really need to be knowledgeable and unique regarding what you blog about if you want to succeed in doing so. Either way, blogging can be as lucrative as any other online business, if you are serious about it. For instance, there have been case studies of bloggers who make over $100,000 a month from their websites, which is a sum most people don’t earn from their regular jobs in an entire year.
4. Website Design
There are many other companies out there looking for how to improve their websites. If you are good at the art of web design, you are sure to be able to rake in some serious money. If you are not already good at it, learning is easier than you think as there are tons of free tutorials on Google and YouTube. Everything you need to know is available at the reach of your fingertips.
Practical steps To Starting Your Own Online Business
Your ideas alone are not enough before you can dive into the pool of online business. There are certain steps to take to make this happen.
1. Clearly Define What Products/ Services You Are Going To Sell
The truth is, you are not the only entrepreneur offering that product or service. To be able to convince your potential customers to choose your products or services over the ones offered by others, you have to possess essential knowledge about your product or service, understand the business environment and know who your competitors are. You don’t have to know everything from the get-go, but you have to have a plan at least regarding how you are going to get started.
2. Set Up A Professional and Functional Website
Once you have clearly defined your products and services, the next step to take is to buy a domain and make it come alive. When choosing a name for your website (which, of course, should carry the name of the business), it is important you go for something likely to catch the attention of the public – make it short, creative and simple. The essence of creating a website is to allow a lot people across the globe to have access to your work. It is one thing to create a website, however, it is another thing to keep it alive, relevant and exciting. Endeavour to generate as much traffic as possible on your site, as this will increase your chances of making good sales.
3. Know Your Target Audience
Before getting to know your potential clients, first you need to know that not everyone needs your products and services. Getting the products and services across to interested audience is the driving force behind every business. When people get the goods and services they want from you, they will be more likely to come back for more.They might even bring their family and friends along. Hence, they become your ideal and loyal clients. When you know your target audience, you can solve the problems of who to sell to, how to get them interested and how to get customers to keep coming back.
4. Identify And Focus On ONE Social Media Platform
In the previous point, it was mentioned that getting your goods and services to an interested audience goes a long way in the success of your business. It is very important to direct your objectives towards where your target audience hangs out on social media. For instance, if your potential clients fall within the age groups of 18 – 29, you might want to consider opening an account for your business on Snapchat and Instagram. If you are interested in career-oriented professionals, LinkedIn might be the right platform to focus on. To make your products and services known to your family members and friends, Facebook may be the best option. Other useful platforms to market your business include Google+, YouTube and Pinterest, among others. What matters is that you focus on the one that can give you the biggest bang for your buck. Most people spread themselves too thin trying to grow all their social media platforms at once. In the end, they don’t grow any of them and lose valuable time they could have invested elsewhere.
A Last Word Of Inspiration
The likes of Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs all started from somewhere. Hopefully, this will emphasize that there is absolutely no limit to how much you can make with an online business. All you have to do for now is to simply get started. Even if that means starting your online business from your kitchen or dorm room.
