Make money out of the most effective and powerful platform for communication today—the Internet. Start selling your products online!
Dying to have your online business so you can quit your job, stay at home, and do something you are passionate about? Creating an online business may look intimidating, but fear not. We have broken the process into five simple steps to help get you started
STEP 1: Find a Need
Every good business starts with a need. Without a need, you wouldn’t know who you’re selling a product or service to or why you’re even making one.
Every business is an attempt to solve a problem. List down all the problems you encounter every day – may it be big or small. Then focus on the problem that bothers you the most. Ask yourself what is the one thing you need to solve that problem. You may also conduct a survey to know what your market really needs. All of these, fortunately, can be done in the comfort of your own home or apartment in Cebu, so you don’t need to spend on your business just yet.
You don’t even have to start from scratch. You may have ideas on how to improve an already existing product or solution.
In this step, do not limit yourself. You may find some of your ideas impossible, but ignore that voice for a while and focus on letting your imagination get wild.
STEP 2: Define Your Brand
Now that you have an idea of what to offer people, it is time to define your brand.
What are you going to call your product? What are your mission and vision? What is your brand’s personality? Do you want a tagline?
Yes, you may start selling your products without this, but having a brand identity will give you the guidance you need when you feel lost in a sea of competition.
In order to succeed, your business has to stand out from the clutter. There are already a lot of existing online businesses in the market. How would you make yours different from the current products? How will your voice be different from the rest? What kind of artwork would you show people? Most importantly, who is your target market and what do they like?
Your brand identity will answer all these questions and more. You can search online for the guide questions you need to answer in order to create your brand guideline.
STEP 3: Do the Dirty Work
Now that you fully understand what you want and how you want it done, it is time to create your prototype. Find the right supplies, supplier, or whatever it is you need to make it happen. For services, we call it trial and error.
Having the actual product or the service will help you fully improve on it before launching. If you’re selling a new product, you can ask friends to try them for free in exchange for honest and helpful feedback.
It is important to be very hands-on in this stage. The experience will give you an idea of how long the product or service is made, how difficult it is to produce, and how much it should be valued.
STEP 4. Decide Where to Sell It
Another important thing to decide on is where you will sell your product or service. “Online” is a very wide platform. You have so many options.
You can start small and create your Instagram page or Facebook page. Or take it to the next step by selling through popular online sites like Shopee or Lazada. Another option is creating your own e-commerce or site.
You can focus on one or several platforms depending on your needs, budget, risks, and vision. Know and understand the requirements for each. Whatever it is you choose, make sure that you would give your equal attention to each.
STEP 5. Tell Everyone
When everything’s ready, it’s time to make some noise online!
This is a crucial part as well because if people don’t know about your business, you won’t be able to sell anything. Start with a teaser and create a big launch countdown. Create hype. Make it look big in order to get big.
Ask your friends to help you spread the word or invest in ads to have wider and targeted reach.
Make sure you have good product photos to use because visual has a big impact nowadays. This is important especially when you are selling big-ticket items, such as houses and lots on online platforms. Hire a good graphic designer to make your brand artworks clean and professional. You may also explore other ways to advertise your product, such as creating short video clips or stories as content.
Observe how today’s online businesses play their game and play with them.
We hope these steps help you in getting your business started. Congrats on this big leap and we hope the best for your business. And remember that hard work is the key to everything!
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