We know two things: One, you have seen someone’s online business prosper, it may be a friend, a co-worker, or someone you saw on the internet. Two, you actually are dreaming of starting an online business of your own but some things are holding you back.
Is it because of the pandemic? While the danger brought about by CoVid 19 is still apparent worldwide, statistical data shows that people shifted from traditional shopping to online shopping. In our recent article entitled Top 7 Reasons Why Traditional Marketing is Not Enough, we mentioned that online sales in the US jumped 32% in the second quarter of 2020, reaching $211.5.
And so, if the pandemic is the only thing that’s stopping you, think again. Others looked at it as an opportunity rather than a mishap, and they are now building their own online empire.
Don’t get us wrong. We understand that there other things in your mind and reasons why you might delay starting an online business. At the end of the day, it is best to consider all the risks first before doing anything.
The majority of the time it’s because of a few things:
Time and Effort
You might be worried that you do not have enough time for managing and online marketing for small businesses. But ask yourself, don’t you really have time, or are you just not making time for it?
Yes, you cannot easily drop your full-time job, but if you have the opportunity to work from home, or have a flexible working schedule, you can always allow time for your products.
Knowledge and Experience
Having little to no exposure to entrepreneurship is understandably scary. It’s important to know that every huge business there is in this world, and every businessman and entrepreneur all started with zero experience.
It may be challenging at first and you can make some happy little accidents, but once you get a hang of it, you’ll be an online marketing for small business expert too.
Money
Capital is always needed in any business, even the smallest ones. Accumulating enough to start up a small online business can be a lot harder for others. But we hope that once you have enough money, you’ll also have enough motivation to try.
Why Start an Online Business Now?
Speaking of motivation, let us look at some of the reasons why is the best time to start an online business. Why do these opportunities outweigh the risks?
Customers are always looking for new things to try
You might be surprised how a new flavor of ice cream can hype thousands of people and get them excited. Will you offer an online service instead? A one-man art commissioning business? Something out of the ordinary?
You do not need to invent something to sell. Once you believe in your products or service, there will always be customers who are willing to pay. In this day and age, reaching your target audience is as important as having a sellable product (we’ll talk about this later) and with online marketing, it’s never been easier to find the right customers for you, or for them to find you!
Services are now cheaper than before
In addition to shipping services, which customers can opt to pay for, other services are now cheaper than before. Printing and packaging companies are much more affordable as well. Plus, we can see that manufacturing industries are becoming more and more open to working with start-ups and small online businesses, hence the increase in clothing brands and even cosmetic brands.
An online business requires less money and effort to launch
Let me paint you a picture: If you would put up a physical store for, let’s say, a T-shirt business, here are just a few things you need to spend capital on:
- Lease for store space
- Salesperson compensation
- Utilities
- Having a buffer stock of T-shirts to sustain the physical store
We cannot say that you do not have to spend a dime for any of these, as some expenses are critical to making an online business work. However, it is arguably more cost-efficient to start a business at home.
Location is not an issue anymore
Before the era of digital marketing, location is one of the major factors of why a business will fail or succeed. That is not the case anymore. With online business marketing, you have the whole world within your reach.
Online Marketing for Small Business
Small business online marketing can be both scary and exciting for some. If you sell online, then marketing online is crucial. We know that you already have an idea of how online marketing for small business works, but we do have some helpful tips to get you started.
Setting up a social media page
Social media is one of the best tools to reach out to customers. It is free, easy to manage and the possibilities are unlimited.
When it comes to social media platforms, you may opt to only choose one, but being present on some of the biggest (Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram) just increases the possibility of growth. We have a dedicated article that explains the best and worst practices you can do on social media, which we linked here.
Small online giveaways/promos
A tried and tested way to get the attention and curiosity of people is to give them something for free. Small giveaways and promos are like an investment that will quickly generate the return if done right. You do not need to spend too much on your giveaways but the following you gain is surely worth every penny. Also, promos are a great way to introduce your business to new customers, and will, later on, develop trust and loyalty.
Hiring virtual assistants for dropshipping or other services
We know that the word ‘hiring’ might scare a lot of people. Actually, hiring a V.A is much more efficient than hiring an employee. They are more efficient, get the job done much faster, and a lot of them are even more experienced than you (which is never a bad thing since they help the business grow).
Take for example a dropshipping business, you might be available to handle customer concerns and supplier deliveries for a certain time of the day. You can not get your business running 24/7 just by yourself! Simply, hiring a V.A will help you manage your online store when you can’t. You cannot have eager customers waiting, right?
Conclusion
There is no easy way to predict if a business will flourish or not. We can never know unless we try unless we start. In this day and age where everything happens digitally, the benefits of owning your own business and being your own boss really outweigh the risks.
