I'm currently in the process of starting on online store so I spend a lot of time online researching looking for tips, advice and just some experience and success stories. So I figured why not make a post on the forum and this share tips here.
Some of the things I want to discuss are:
Legal paperwork
Webhosting
Shipping solutions
Shipping carriers
Business supplies
bookkeeping
custom packaging
drop shipping
product photography
Wholesale vendors
Online marketing
PPC advertising
Tradeshows
customer service
etc.
just any and everything you can think of and share about starting and running an online retail business.
So with that said I'm going to share some of the information I've learned during my researching process prior to launching my online business so my post is just mainly about all the things I needed just to start out.
Getting a web designer was never really an option for me. With my start up budget being $10,000.00 it would seem to eat out a pretty large chuck of it and I felt with so many web hosting options available I'd be better off taking that route. And the idea of having to contact a web designer anytime I needed to change something just seemed like it'd be a pain in the butt. The thing I love about web hosts are that you can do editing on your own. They are relativity easier to use once you get the hang of it and come with great features!! I plan on using Big Commerce it seems to have features that would go well with my business good prices and GREAT add on options. They even have their own shopping cart solution that combines a payment gateway and a merchant account. Which I love because it save me a lot of time and frustration trying to find both and then integrate them. I like the idea of having everything I need in one place.
So once I figured out the web host I would use. Now I had to figure out the shipping process. AT first I didn't think shipping would be such a task but the more I read the more I realized its a lot of work! You have to decide what postal service you want to use and how you effectively mail them. AT first I thought well I'd get an order write the name and address on the package being it to the post office get the necessary stamps pay and that would be that. But I started to see that a lot of people complained about the process. Not wanting to use hand written labeling for a more professional look, the surprise payments once you reached the post office because that didn't know before hand how much it'd cost, not to mention the LONG LINES at the post office which even without being on online retailer yet I already hate post office lines so I could only imagine going there on a regular bases would be a nightmare. And so I started the hunt of how people create labels and estimate prices etc. I found out there was a lot more to mailing than I thought! After a bunch of research I'm deciding to use ShipStation its a shipping solution that seems to completely take the headache out of the process. It integrates with my big commerce store to automatically retrieve the customer and mailing information (no human error),send out tracking and conformation to your customers, prints packing slips, labels (all which can be customized), fills out customs forms for international orders along with so many other great benefits. I'm purchasing a mailing scale to weigh my own packages so I can enter the info in my shipping solution and get my estimate and pay right then and there, I'm buying a labelwriter to print shipping labels (no more post office lines)! By the end of this process all I have to do is drop off my packages or if you have a pick up agreement wait for the mail man to come!
As for bookkeeping I decided I just wanted something simple in the beginning to get my feet wet. I'm already a little overwhelmed by the thought of quarterly and sales taxes etc. For awhile I never even really thought about bookkeeping I was just focused on getting my store up and running that I wasn't even thinking about the aftermath of tracking the money and making sure the government gets their cut. Hiring an accountant didn't seem like something I wanted to do right away. Starting out I really want to keep my overhead as low and possible and do as many things myself as I can so I don't have to hire anyone. After some research I decided to go with a cloud bookkeeping solution named Outright. It has all the basic needs I wanted and it gives estimated quarterly taxes and allows you to pay right from there. SCORE! That's all I really wanted. I looked into QuickBooks for awhile but it just seemed a little to much for me especially for just starting out I didn't really need all those features and having to deal with the huge learning curve.
As for customer service I'm deciding to just go with contact my email as of now. I'm considering using my other line as a business line but I'm going to wait and see how many people actually need to contact me before I do that. I plan on having an in-depth FAQ page to possibly help cut back on that need. But for some people that have that demand I've been hearing a lot about Virtual Assistants. I haven't done to much research on them seeing as how its not something I'm interested in right now but if anyone uses VAs please do share your experience.
Ok so I know that was kind of long but I jus wanted to share a little bit of my planning and start up research I think this thread can be really helpful having more information directed to just online retailers in one place and talking with people that are already living it to share their advice and experiences. I will continue to write and discuss my experience and research on this post hope you all join in!
Some of the things I want to discuss are:
Legal paperwork
Webhosting
Shipping solutions
Shipping carriers
Business supplies
bookkeeping
custom packaging
drop shipping
product photography
Wholesale vendors
Online marketing
PPC advertising
Tradeshows
customer service
etc.
just any and everything you can think of and share about starting and running an online retail business.
So with that said I'm going to share some of the information I've learned during my researching process prior to launching my online business so my post is just mainly about all the things I needed just to start out.
Getting a web designer was never really an option for me. With my start up budget being $10,000.00 it would seem to eat out a pretty large chuck of it and I felt with so many web hosting options available I'd be better off taking that route. And the idea of having to contact a web designer anytime I needed to change something just seemed like it'd be a pain in the butt. The thing I love about web hosts are that you can do editing on your own. They are relativity easier to use once you get the hang of it and come with great features!! I plan on using Big Commerce it seems to have features that would go well with my business good prices and GREAT add on options. They even have their own shopping cart solution that combines a payment gateway and a merchant account. Which I love because it save me a lot of time and frustration trying to find both and then integrate them. I like the idea of having everything I need in one place.
So once I figured out the web host I would use. Now I had to figure out the shipping process. AT first I didn't think shipping would be such a task but the more I read the more I realized its a lot of work! You have to decide what postal service you want to use and how you effectively mail them. AT first I thought well I'd get an order write the name and address on the package being it to the post office get the necessary stamps pay and that would be that. But I started to see that a lot of people complained about the process. Not wanting to use hand written labeling for a more professional look, the surprise payments once you reached the post office because that didn't know before hand how much it'd cost, not to mention the LONG LINES at the post office which even without being on online retailer yet I already hate post office lines so I could only imagine going there on a regular bases would be a nightmare. And so I started the hunt of how people create labels and estimate prices etc. I found out there was a lot more to mailing than I thought! After a bunch of research I'm deciding to use ShipStation its a shipping solution that seems to completely take the headache out of the process. It integrates with my big commerce store to automatically retrieve the customer and mailing information (no human error),send out tracking and conformation to your customers, prints packing slips, labels (all which can be customized), fills out customs forms for international orders along with so many other great benefits. I'm purchasing a mailing scale to weigh my own packages so I can enter the info in my shipping solution and get my estimate and pay right then and there, I'm buying a labelwriter to print shipping labels (no more post office lines)! By the end of this process all I have to do is drop off my packages or if you have a pick up agreement wait for the mail man to come!
As for bookkeeping I decided I just wanted something simple in the beginning to get my feet wet. I'm already a little overwhelmed by the thought of quarterly and sales taxes etc. For awhile I never even really thought about bookkeeping I was just focused on getting my store up and running that I wasn't even thinking about the aftermath of tracking the money and making sure the government gets their cut. Hiring an accountant didn't seem like something I wanted to do right away. Starting out I really want to keep my overhead as low and possible and do as many things myself as I can so I don't have to hire anyone. After some research I decided to go with a cloud bookkeeping solution named Outright. It has all the basic needs I wanted and it gives estimated quarterly taxes and allows you to pay right from there. SCORE! That's all I really wanted. I looked into QuickBooks for awhile but it just seemed a little to much for me especially for just starting out I didn't really need all those features and having to deal with the huge learning curve.
As for customer service I'm deciding to just go with contact my email as of now. I'm considering using my other line as a business line but I'm going to wait and see how many people actually need to contact me before I do that. I plan on having an in-depth FAQ page to possibly help cut back on that need. But for some people that have that demand I've been hearing a lot about Virtual Assistants. I haven't done to much research on them seeing as how its not something I'm interested in right now but if anyone uses VAs please do share your experience.
Ok so I know that was kind of long but I jus wanted to share a little bit of my planning and start up research I think this thread can be really helpful having more information directed to just online retailers in one place and talking with people that are already living it to share their advice and experiences. I will continue to write and discuss my experience and research on this post hope you all join in!
via Small-Business-Forum.net http://www.small-business-forum.net/managing-your-business/9298-tips-advice-online-retailers.html
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