Many Australians make a good living selling products online and if the idea appeals to you, you have come to the right place, as we offer useful information to help you navigate your way through the planning and implementation. Setting up any business involves an element of risk and writing a comprehensive business plan is the first important step.
Compiling a business plan
Your business plan is your guideline to success, therefore you should spend adequate time to make sure you cover everything.
A good business plan should contain the following:
- Overview of the business, including mission statement.
- Marketing plan
- Organisation flowchart
- Startup costs
- Running costs
- List of company assets
- Projected forecast (minimum 5 years)
When the plan is finished, ask a business guru to take a look and make any changes they recommend.
IT needs
You can find a single company that will provide all of your IT needs, which include the following:
- Domain name registration
- Web design & construction
- E-store management
- Payment gateway services
- Website hosting
- Cyber-security
If you are not IT-minded, you can outsource all your requirements to a single provider. The company can also administrate your e-store if you would prefer to focus on other aspects of the business; many e-store owners outsource their IT needs to a local company and that includes site administration.
Logistics
We recommend hooking up with a local 3PL warehouse; they have everything from a pallet wrapping machine to picking and packing. Order fulfilment is obviously a critical aspect of your business and rather than investing heavily in equipment, outsource to a third-party logistics warehouse and you are assured rapid delivery. You might be able to handle logistics in-house at the outset, when order numbers are low.
Digital marketing
Word of mouth won’t be enough to get your message out to the world; talk to a leading Australian digital marketing agency and let the experts put together an on-point marketing plan that incorporates SEO and social media marketing. Smart entrepreneurs set aside a monthly budget for online marketing that boosts their rankings on major search engines such as Google. Click here to learn about responsive web design.
Choosing a line of products
Most people choose something that they are knowledgeable about or have a passion for; while others go for health products made from natural ingredients; you need to do some market research to ensure there is, in fact, a demand for what you are offering. Think about what you can do to get ahead of your rivals; it might be price, or a service that is second to none, something that sets you apart from your competitors.
Minimum capital investment
The great thing about setting up an e-commerce business is that you can do it without having to invest large sums of money; you do not have to buy inventory at the outset, all you need are product images and descriptions; you simply buy products as and when you receive orders.
Don’t forget to register the business with the Australian government to make things legal and above board.
