Selling Online - Five Tips To Success
Tired of the 9 to 5 routine? Want to travel and enjoy life
? Retired and looking for another source of income?Selling online is just one of many ways to support all those goals. It is also the most flexible and financially rewarding option available to the wandering soul, whether stuck in a house or out on the road.
There are certainly a few hurtles to overcome, like where do I store my products, how do I ship them, how do I find customers, how do I collect the money. There are a few more questions that pop up down the road, but these seem to be the major obstacles that most people ponder before making a decision about selling online.
The benefits of selling online are many. You can manage your online business from anywhere, arrange to have products drop-shipped from anywhere, and find customers by the thousands online.
Getting starting is the toughest part of selling online. Finding the right product(s) to sell, creating a business plan, setting goals, organizing yourself and planning for the startup costs are the five areas that need to be addressed first.
What Product To Sell
* The smartest choice for a product is one you already know. You are using a product you are enthusiastic about and want to share it with the rest of the world.
* You have an invention already created that you can fabricate if you just had a market for it.
* You have researched several products and know you can purchase them below market for resale.
Caution: Don't get sucked in to selling cheap, mass market products. There is not enough value there for the long haul. Inexpensive quality products, on the other hand, are big sellers.
Once you find a product, contact the manufacturer and arrange a drop-ship contract so you don't have to stock the product. There are also "fulfillment" companies that accept the manufacturer's delivery and ship it for you.
Spend some time brainstorming this issue until you find the right product. Successful business people indicate that, in general, there should be at least a 100% profit in each item you sell in order to stay in business.
Expensive items vary, of course, but generally keep this in mind when you pick a product. Volume sales can change that formula somewhat, but that can be dealt with later as your business expands.
Create A Business Plan
It is vital that you spend the time to prepare a business plan before you actually start purchasing a product or deciding which sales venue to explore. The basic things to include in your business plan are:
* How much money do you need to set aside for business expenses
* Do you need to borrow funds to get started
* Are you going to need assistance to make it work
* Do you have enough time to devote to make this project successful
* How much profit do you need from each product
* Do you have a short-term or long-term approach to this business
Set A Goal
We learn early in life that goals are important to keep us on the path to success. So...set realistic goals with timelines. Research the venue and get all the details, find a product by (date), get your website ready to go with photos and text by (date)...you get the idea.
Organize Yourself
Set aside a certain time during the day for business use. In the beginning it can be hectic getting organized, but once everything is in place less time needs to be devoted to it. As your business grows, staying organized is the key to handling the stress and time involved. Remember, the Internet is open 24 hours, 7 days a week.
Startup Costs
Selling online has amazingly low startup costs compared to any other type of sales strategy. There are reliable web hosting companies that charge as little as $8 a month and include plenty of data storage. The cost of credit card merchant services is probably the largest operating expense and you cannot be successful without this service. Some other expenditures include computer software, Internet promotion, and possibly product support.
Selling online is not a complicated business nor beyond most people's capabilities. It does take commitment and responsible action, but you are your own boss, working your own hours, and living your dream. Teenagers do it, senior citizens do it, you can do it. Start today planning for tomorrow, then just do it.
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