How to start your online business as a beginner
It would seem that social networks and websites appeared not so long ago, but have already captured the attention of a huge number of audiences. It is difficult to imagine a person from a large city who is not on Instagram or Odnoklassniki. At the same time, there are those who are thinking about how a beginner can start his own business on the Internet. There are several options.
Most of those who nevertheless decided to open their own business doubt the algorithm of actions. Some do not imagine a travel map at all. Some people ask themselves questions about which actions are more likely to lead to success and which are more likely to fail. In other words, most don't know where to start.
First, decide which direction to choose for business. Consider competition, profitability, investment opportunities. First of all, try to choose what you enjoy doing. Also, think about what kind of team you need. Here are some examples:
- Online store and dropshipping: if the first one needs a warehouse, then the second one doesn't even need it. However, it will be difficult to develop: you will have to talk about your advantages over network mass markets. Your advantage will be a high-quality unique product or your own production.
- Blog Development. You can open a marketing agency or develop your site, in the long run receiving money for ad impressions. Such a business will be able to generate passive income, but, unfortunately, it will take at least a year to develop.
- Infobusiness and online coaching. Forms can be different: individual lessons, webinars, schools, online courses, books, and more. To start, you need a minimum investment and a maximum of motivation. Demand for training is growing now, so if you provide quality information, you don't have to worry about income.
- Development and testing of applications, creation, purchase and sale of sites.
How to start and not close your Internet business: a startup guide
1 Business plan
Start by creating a business plan. It is needed both if you plan to invest your money in the project, and if you will attract investors. Without a good business plan, it is impossible to arrive at results without making serious mistakes. It is a clear knowledge of the goals and steps to achieve it that helps save the budget and reduce the likelihood of bankruptcy.
So, the business plan is the foundation. The structure of a business plan looks like this:
Title page, that is, a brief description of the project. You need to talk about the type of business, purpose, target audience, benefits. In addition, you need to calculate how much money you need to start, how quickly the investment will pay off and what profit can be expected in the future.
Detailed description of business objectives. Describe the main technologies, advantages and benefits of customers, prove the relevance of the project.
Market analysis: what is the state of the macro market and your area, is there a demand for what you offer, how the situation may change in the future.
Information about ways to earn money, that is, about products or services. It is necessary to identify the advantages of each of them. For example, if you are doing courses, you can make several access options, additionally write a training manual or create a notebook with exercises.
Promotion plan, that is, a marketing plan. Describe what promotion tools you plan to use, how you will position yourself, what advertising budget you expect, what the sales system will be.
Organizational and financial plans with information about the timing of the implementation of ideas, costs and income. Provide details about the amount of investment, the distribution of money, payback periods, financial risks. To attract third-party investment, this is one of the main points.
Analysis of competitors, that is, a list of similar established businesses. Describe their main features, advantages and disadvantages. Think about what could be done better, create competitive strategies.
Operational plan, where you need to describe the details and main resources for organizing activities.
2 Decide on the product and legal status
Present your product or service in every detail. If it is, for example, a book or a webinar, you can create them yourself. A team is needed to work on a website or an online school.
To start an Internet business, you need a certain legal status: it allows you to legally carry out commercial activities, regulates the rights and obligations of an entrepreneur. The simplest form is sole proprietorship, where you manage the business yourself and are responsible for all decisions. For larger projects, collective ownership is suitable. In this case, all partners invest money in the business and make decisions jointly. Finally, one of the most profitable ways is partnership, that is, legally confirmed cooperation.
3 Decide on venues and tools
At the previous stage, you examined the assortment in more detail, and in the business plan you found out the main features of your target audience. This means that you can decide on a platform for promotion. For example, if you open an online store, also use marketplaces and Avito, if your audience can be there. If you decide to monetize your blog, find additional sources of traffic.
As soon as we have decided on the sites, we prescribe the main business processes. How can they be optimized? What services are needed for this? For example, auto-posting tools, such as an SMM manager, are suitable for social networks.
4 Create a personal brand
On the Internet, everyone needs a personal brand: in a highly competitive environment, it is important to be recognizable. Create a logo, slogan, unique design elements. Write texts that would immediately draw attention to your advantages. Also, make post templates. Finally, develop a brand book and think about what features will tell about you and appeal to the audience.
5 Develop a product and launch a marketing campaign
When creating any product on the Internet, be guided by what your audience needs and what you can give them. For example, if you decide to do copywriting courses, tell us about:
- main types of texts;
- give basic knowledge of writing and editing;
- about ways to earn;
- share free tools that speed up work, etc.
Most importantly, if the product is of poor quality, no amount of advertising will help. Therefore, conduct in-depth interviews with the audience, test the project before a full start. Therefore, if everything is in order after the tests, run ads.
Traffic sources can include social networks, a website, outdoor advertising, e-mail newsletters, TV stories, etc. Create a sales funnel for each source and adjust the results. Constantly think about how to promote and develop your business, and then it will bring a stable income for a long time.