Summary:
The most common
mistakes people make when starting their own business is trying to get too big
too fast and not properly organising their time between content (e.g. stock)
and marketing and promotion. Here are some tips to avoid the simple mistakes.
Keywords:
business,small
business,marketing,
Article Body:
Opening your own
business can be a real big gamble. If you do not do your research well, you
will wind up like most small businesses, and that is out of business soon after
you have started, realising that you are getting nowhere and making no profits,
worse still even trading at a loss because you did not fully prepare your
budget and be aware of your costs.
The most
important thing to remember when opening up new business is the location. Will
you have a physical or online business,
or indeed as most successful businesses do ...you have both.
When doing your research for your new business you want to make sure you are the only business of your type in the area. If you are opening a gift shop you do not want to open near another gift shop. Remember if you are exclusive to the area, you will automatically get the business of many of those living in that area, especially if they know you. Many websites for people starting a business will tell how it is known that we hate to sell to family and friends and that they hate being pestered and pressurised by a family member or friend with a home business too, but feel under pressure to buy from them. However, when starting a business, initially the problem is that most people will not know you, therefore they will not trust your business model. You do not have to try to force your family and friends to buy from you or use your services but do ask them for a bit of free advertising e.g. on their social media sites.
The next most important thing about opening a small business is your supplier. Do not have just one place to get supplies from, you should have several.
My suppliers are different in what they offer. I have two websites, one is for mainly gifts and some home essentials such as candles and lunch boxes, items that can be given as gifts, the other is a one stop shop for just about everything a home and family could need or that you may want to give as gifts. Most of my orders are fulfilled by drop ship and only one requires me to mail the items myself , as I have health and mobility issues this can be difficult for me and the nearest post offices are both bus rides away , so I tend to use this site to source item ideas , but supply them from sites that will mail them to my customers, even if they do not officially drop ship .
Remember when starting your home business that you are a small business and quite likely a sole trader. This will mean that marketing your stock or service must be a priority for you as you have a lot to compete with. As a small business / sole trader you are not likely to be able to compete with and match the prices of sites such as eBay and Amazon and established online stores. I know that my prices are higher than can be found on eBay and Amazon and some company websites , but I have to factor in that I am an older person with disabilities and this is my income, I have to pay for buying the items I sell, adding in VAT and mailing and that I have to pay for my websites and internet access , to compensate for this I offer a personal shopping service and will source any item on request that I am not already stocking on my sites .
Make sure that the products or services that you will be offering are desired, do not just decide to open up a store without doing any market research, it is like gambling. This is where the term Niche marketing comes in, and while I have chosen to offer a wider market of choice in the products that I sell, there are definitely markets that are most profitable ...phone cases and accessories being one….
When doing your research for your new business you want to make sure you are the only business of your type in the area. If you are opening a gift shop you do not want to open near another gift shop. Remember if you are exclusive to the area, you will automatically get the business of many of those living in that area, especially if they know you. Many websites for people starting a business will tell how it is known that we hate to sell to family and friends and that they hate being pestered and pressurised by a family member or friend with a home business too, but feel under pressure to buy from them. However, when starting a business, initially the problem is that most people will not know you, therefore they will not trust your business model. You do not have to try to force your family and friends to buy from you or use your services but do ask them for a bit of free advertising e.g. on their social media sites.
The next most important thing about opening a small business is your supplier. Do not have just one place to get supplies from, you should have several.
My suppliers are different in what they offer. I have two websites, one is for mainly gifts and some home essentials such as candles and lunch boxes, items that can be given as gifts, the other is a one stop shop for just about everything a home and family could need or that you may want to give as gifts. Most of my orders are fulfilled by drop ship and only one requires me to mail the items myself , as I have health and mobility issues this can be difficult for me and the nearest post offices are both bus rides away , so I tend to use this site to source item ideas , but supply them from sites that will mail them to my customers, even if they do not officially drop ship .
Remember when starting your home business that you are a small business and quite likely a sole trader. This will mean that marketing your stock or service must be a priority for you as you have a lot to compete with. As a small business / sole trader you are not likely to be able to compete with and match the prices of sites such as eBay and Amazon and established online stores. I know that my prices are higher than can be found on eBay and Amazon and some company websites , but I have to factor in that I am an older person with disabilities and this is my income, I have to pay for buying the items I sell, adding in VAT and mailing and that I have to pay for my websites and internet access , to compensate for this I offer a personal shopping service and will source any item on request that I am not already stocking on my sites .
Make sure that the products or services that you will be offering are desired, do not just decide to open up a store without doing any market research, it is like gambling. This is where the term Niche marketing comes in, and while I have chosen to offer a wider market of choice in the products that I sell, there are definitely markets that are most profitable ...phone cases and accessories being one….
Advertising is
important. Remember just like a casino you are trying to make money and not
lose it. By spending some money on advertising, you will increase your sales
from your opening day. It is best to have a professional help you with your
advertising rather than dong it yourself, there is no point in spending money
on advertising if no one in your target demographic is going to see it. However,
I am very aware that many reading this may be unable to even consider using
paid advertising and this is where social media and its rise as a vital tool in
business comes in. There are many social media groups and pages where you can
advertise your business and products for free …. explore Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest,
LinkedIn and the rapidly rising Instagram,
along with others.
When picking your stock, it is sometime better to have a bigger selection of items and maybe not so many of each item, this way you can see which items sell best and order more of those more popular items, and less of the less desired ones. This is why drop shipping as a business method works well as you do not have to actually buy the stock in advance, you only purchase it when a customer requests it and pays you for it
When picking your stock, it is sometime better to have a bigger selection of items and maybe not so many of each item, this way you can see which items sell best and order more of those more popular items, and less of the less desired ones. This is why drop shipping as a business method works well as you do not have to actually buy the stock in advance, you only purchase it when a customer requests it and pays you for it
Depending on the
type of business you are opening try keep your staff as small as possible, and
if it is possible try to get friends and family to help you out. This will
allow you to keep your costs low until you can really get a good idea of if you
are making money or not. Once you are making money you can go out and hire people,
e.g. to do the marketing for you while you concentrate on stock or providing
your service.
Valerie
