Have you ever thought about starting your own business, but weren’t sure how? Have you ever felt like you were too young or too inexperienced to start your own business? If so, I have some tips for you. During quarantine, I actually had the chance to start two businesses of my own. Over the past few months, I’ve gone through many trials and tribulations that have led me to where I am now. Through all of my ups and downs, I’ve discovered, what I believe to be, the top three factors in starting an online business. These three factors include product, design, and promotion.
Product:
Product is the most important factor you have to consider when starting your own online business, because if you have no product you have no business. I would definitely recommend specializing in one specific product at first, so your brand can be known for it. For example, when I first launched my site, I only sold stickers which is how I was able to build my sales. After a while of only selling stickers, I branched out to include earrings and collages. These items were similar and made sense to sell together. Selling many different products is not the best idea, because people would prefer to purchase from a shop that specializes in specific items rather than a shop that sells everything. Since product is such an important part of starting your business, you need to spend a significant amount of time making a great quality product. It is more important to have really great quality products than to have a pretty website. Although having an aesthetic website may get you more clicks, it is the product that will get people to repurchase and share your products.
Design:
Design is also a key factor when it comes to starting an online business because it helps your product stand out from the competition. You want to make sure that you come up with your own unique design when you begin creating your logo and website. For my shop, I decided to go with a watermelon theme since my brand’s name is WatermelonCreationsCo. When designing your logo, it is important to make it simple but also an attention grabber. That way when people see your logo they want to buy from your shop. Another tip for when you are designing your website, is to include your logo throughout the site. For example, all of the jewelry that I have listed on my site has my logo on the backing. This way customers match your product to your brand. This is also important in cases of copyright, because many times people will steal product photos without logos to use for their own shop. This can be devastating to many shops, especially if they are selling your product for a lower price.
Promotion:
Promotion is another key factor when it comes to starting your business. Once you have designed your product, and started your website it is time to begin promoting your brand. There are many ways to go about doing this, but one of my favorites is Instagram. It’s a good idea to create an instagram account for your business and post all about your products and what you sell. One of my biggest tips when it comes to Instagram is to reach out and follow other small businesses like yours, and then follow their followers. This means you will have a bigger follow back ratio since those people already follow accounts similar to yours. I would also recommend reaching out and messaging bigger brands for a shoutout for a shoutout or for a trade. This can help get your brand out there and reach a bigger audience. This is important because your website only gets so many views on its own. Another great platform I use to promote my business is Pinterest because it allows you to link your products in the pictures to your website. The biggest way to grow on Pinterest is to take high quality aesthetic photos that will catch peoples’ eye.
Hopefully these tips help you better understand how to start a successful online business. Having your own business is definitely a challenge. However, if it’s something that you are truly passionate about, then it is definitely worth it. You may not see results in the beginning, but as long as you stay consistent and work hard, you will succeed.
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Photo Credit: Abigail Van Hoak for watermeloncreations.com
