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Step 1 - Research If you have made it to Step 1 - Research then I will assume that you
have decided to open your own Online Business. So let me be the first
to tell you Congratulations! Owning your own business (even if it's
online) can be a very frustrating, time-consuming, and rewarding all
at once. It will at times seem very overwhelming as well. Remember to
sit back, close your eyes, breathe deeply, and recall why you wanted
to start your own business in the first place. Sometimes that helps :)
So where do you start? I am not an expert but I do hope to help you
with some guidelines on where to begin. Research is always the first
place you will start and actually you will find that research is one
thing you will NEVER stop doing. If you want to stay on top, then
research research research!
First, you need to really consider what type of online business you
want to own. Do you want to have a consulting firm? Do you want to
resell your services? Do you want to resell products? What is out
there that you love? Pay close attention to that question. You will
find that you will be working on your new business more then you get
to spend with your family. So loving what you do and what you are
working with is a major bonus!
If you have decided to open a consulting firm or resell your services
in some way, then this part you can skip. This is for the people who
have decided to resell products. Have you considered what type of
products you want to sell? Who is the manufacturer of these products?
How much inventory will you need to start up? Now we said we would
help you find the affordable way to do this right? If you are short on
capitol but want to get started right away we want to recommend to you
DROP SHIPPING! This is a very simple and easy way to get started
immediately with very low start-up costs involved.
What is drop shipping? Drop Shipping is basically you being the middle-man. Let's say that
you have decided that you want to sell Dog Collars. So you find a
company that offers drop shipping on Dog Collars. They give you "your"
pricing for the collars, you set up a website that sells the collars
(at a mark-up), customer comes into your site and buys the collar,
then you buy the collar from your supplier and they ship the product
to your customer in your name. The customer never knows that you have
used an outside source for the product. You handle all the customer
service and you handle all the fees. You make a profit based upon the
price difference. You only pay for the products that you have already
sold. Some companies will charge you a small fee to ship the products
for you. You add this fee into your pricing however. The prices are a
little higher this way which will make your profit a little less but
your upfront costs will be MUCH lower. You will also not have to keep
inventory which may not sell. There are pro's and con's on each side.
Do your research and figure out which is best for you.
How do I find drop shippers?You can contact the manufacturer directly and ask them if they offer a
drop ship program. You can also find websites that specialize in
locating "Official Drop Shippers". I say "Official" because there are
many out there that are scams. Please be aware of this and be careful.
I have personally worked with two companies over the past 6 years and
have found them to be wonderful.
The first is the Drop Ship Source Directory. This website offers TONS
of information and wonderful resources for finding REAL Manufacturers.
This website has over 700,000 products available to choose from. You
can look up products based on the type or you can look up products
based upon the manufacturer. This website is in our opinion the
absolute best. Do not be fooled buying for less and ending up with a
scam. Take a look at this website and see for yourself.
The second company we have used for the last 3 years is a direct drop
shipper. They offer many different products to sell online and make it
very easy to get started. You can see quite a bit of their products at
our Gift Store. They will even let you try them out risk-free for 30
days! Nayco Merchandise
In order to get wholesale pricing from drop ship companies (and even
just to receive information on pricing) you will need to make your
business legal. This sounds a lot more complicated then what it
actually is. Its very easy to do and depending on the type of business
(sole proprietorship) can be very inexpensive.
You need a Name!Before you can start all the paperwork you are going to do in Step 2
Preparation, you need to figure out a name of your business. You will
need to give this some thought and perhaps might even want to enlist
the help of your family and friends. You will generally want to have
your name state what you will be selling. This will help you when it
comes to search engines. If you are unsure of what you will be
selling, then pick a general name. For instance, your last name. You
also want to check the domain name availability of the business name
that you want. You may come up with the best business name ever only
to find someone else on the web had it first.
Step 2 - Preparation
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