The itch of entrepreneurship is something that resides within all of us. Some just fearfully dream about owning a business while others can dive in head first! 

You are here because, 1. You want to start a eCommerce business or 2. You already own a eCommerce business and simply love to read the experience others have to offer. Regardless of what your reason is, I welcome you and I hope you can take some valuable knowledge away from this article. 

1. A Computer, Tablet or Phone

 

This is a no brainier and the most important part of your business, your HQ. We have customers who run multi-million dollar businesses from the comfort of their homes. 

The great thing about the eCommerce world these days is the fact that about 45% of online shopping is done through a mobile device. It makes things easier for the customer, which should be your sole focus running your business. Making it easier for a customer to check out of your store, fast, easy and without feeling worried. 

There are a huge variety of online shopping cart platforms that allow you to quickly and easily build and have a store online in a few minutes. Read about some platforms here. 

 

2. Product

 Hopefully this is something that you have already decided on! There are a billion different websites on the internet. More get added everyday. How will what you sell stand out from the crowd? Are you making your own private label product? Or are you simply reselling another manufacturers products? This is your choice and neither is easy. 

If you already know that you would like to make your own products, you need to gather your ideas, sit down and make plan. You need to decide on designs or prototyping for your market. You will want to do this quick but with detail at the same time. Something called rapid prototyping in the Tech World. If you have an idea, jump on it, source your cost of goods and manufacturing partner or equipment. 

On the other hand if you want to sell a product already made by a manufacturer, you should always reach out to them and find the distribution channels they use to get their products to re-sellers. This process is sometimes hard, but your overall marketing costs will go down because you don't have to explain to your customers what the item is, the maker takes care of that. 

 

3. Sales Marketplaces

If you want quick and easy sales, you will need to list your items for sale on some of the big sales channels. The big two are eBay and Amazon. These two marketplaces will allow you to list your items on their websites and have access to their millions of customers withing minutes of uploading. 

There are a lot of pros and cons when choosing to sell with these companies because they take a corporate approach to each new seller and will validate and sometimes put your account into review to check your suppliers and business practices. Generally these checks are done early in your sellers account life. Please plan accordingly. We will put out another blog post on how to protect yourself. The bottom line is, if you follow the rules and offer great customer support you will do just fine! 

 

4. Marketing Skillz

You don't need to be a marketing wiz to make the big $$$. You just need to understand some simple rules. The two main types of traffic you will receive on the internet are: 

Organic: Organic traffic is the best kind of traffic you can receive to your store. The reason being, you probably paid nothing for it. Your customer simply found your product or site simply through searching a engine like Google or Yahoo. Your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) will always play a big part in getting you organic traffic and sales. 

Inorganic: Is just the complete opposite of organic. You will most likely pay for this kind of traffic to your store. Paid traffic and sales are always a sure fire way to practice your marketing ads and rework them to maximize profits. Paid traffic is a very important part of the overall building of your business. You should always set aside a certain amount of funds each month to spend on getting new customers and sales. 

 

5. Vendors and Suppliers

Make sure you have the right team of people behind you. You will need a lot to keep your online running smoothly and with a steady profit. Make sure you pick the right tools to help you keep processes shorter and faster. 

One unavoidable part of the eCommerce business is the ability to pick and pack items fast for shipment. This is where the Shipping Supply Warehouse team come to your side, we specialize in all your needs from shipping supplies to technology products which make shipping stations more streamlined. Our unique approach is about helping make sure small to large businesses can afford their packing needs. Its why we sell our items in quantities that 99% of suppliers would never offer. We understand the need of only purchasing what you will use. 

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To end, we thank you for taking some time to read our article, and there will be many more!