Until quite recently, starting a business of almost any nature meant having to account for and arrange high-cost expenses and overheads which without, the business would simply not be able to take off in the first place. This was likely to include business premises, stationary, computers and office equipment and much more. More recently, the business owner may have had to remortgage a property or consider a second mortgage to fund these costs.
However, nowadays, it is entirely possible and feasible to start up a business purely online; massively reducing the overheads and start-up costs incurred from the outset. It is important though that the most important aspects of the business are accounted for and taken care of first as there are various considerations to be made when starting a business up purely online.
The Nature of the Business
The first thing you should consider is whether or not your business will be able to survive being totally based online. Some businesses, for example many retailers, need business premises in order to store their stock before purchase and delivery. Hence, whilst a business that sells goods online without retail premises will not need a ‘shop,’ it will need storage facilities to store the goods.
Therefore, the business owner will need to account for the renting or leasing of those premises that are needed. There will however, be savings made compared to a ‘traditional’ retail business as the running costs of a warehouse or other storage facility are likely to be considerably less than those required for retail premises.
Your Website
Being based online, by its very nature requires a website to enter the online world of business. When planning and creating a website there are a number of things to consider to make sure that your website reflects the values of the business and offers something appealing and useful to prospective customers. Therefore, consider the following:
Type of Website – You should consider whether the website going to be used as an e-commerce website, where customers can make purchases online and whether the website will securely accept payments. If this is the case, you will need to invest in a secure card payment provider such as PayPal or otherwise. Alternatively, the site may be used as brochure site that showcases your work and promotes contact by customers. In such cases, you may be able to design and build the website yourself.
Build of the Website – There are many different platforms upon which you may build the website. This includes the likes of Drupal, SquareSpace and WordPress, three of the most popular content management systems (CMS). When picking which CMS to use for your site, you should consider which is better for each type of website. WordPress very often works out as the most cost effective as well as the most customisable and functional.
Marketing your Website Online – You will need to market your website to the online world in order to be discovered and for the website to generate leads, interest and business. There are various different online marketing channels that incur different costs, but all of which are likely to drive traffic and customers to your website. These include:
- Pay-per-Click
- Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
- Social Media Marketing
- Email Marketing
It is important to note that some businesses, for example those targeting much older demographics, are likely to see only limited success via social media marketing, with older audiences possessing a lesser presence on social media channels than younger audiences.