If you have had enough of working for someone else and you would like to launch your own online shopping store, you certainly wouldn’t be alone, as many thousands of Australians earn a good living selling products on the Internet. Of course, it is never a given that you will be successful and everything needs to fall into place with a new business and with that in mind, here is out ultimate checklist for setting up an e-commerce store.
- Funding – Most business that fail in the first 6 months, do so because of a lack of funds and with affordable unsecured startup business loans in Australia from a reputable lender, you can make sure that you have the necessary funds to make the business work. You should crunch the numbers and find out the total startup cost and also have enough money to keep the business afloat for at least 6 months, without any income.
- Digital marketing plan – Without some form of digital marketing, you will probably be an also-ran; there’s no other way to create a strong online profile than seeking the services of a leading SEO agency. Some business owners make the mistake of thinking that digital marketing is an optional extra, which is certainly is not’ simply put, the SEO agency drives traffic to the client’s website and without that, you would not have a business. Once you make contact with such an agency, they would carry out a detailed online audit to determine the strength of your current online presence. This enables them to put together a comprehensive digital marketing plan that would include SEO and social media.
- Legality – You need to register your business and there are many ways to do that; you could set up a limited company, or you could partner up with a friend for a joint partnership. Take advice from a lawyer regarding the way you register the business, which will ensure that you are always compliant with the Australian government.
- Logistics – The ideal way to handle logistics is to outsource the picking, packing and delivery to a leading third-party logistics (3PL) company, as from the moment the customer clicks on ‘buy’, the clock is ticking. Late deliveries can be disastrous for an e-commerce business, which is why you should use a 3PL provider; send them your products and packaging, then you simply forward all orders to your logistics partner who handles everything.
- Insurance – All business vehicles should be insured, along with stock and your business premises. Owning a business means minimising risk and taking out the right insurance will protect the business.
Your business plan should be thorough and detailed, covering every aspect of the business and with adequate funding and an aggressive digital marketing plan in place, there’s every reason to expect success.
