Starting a Successful Online Business

Start a business that fills a need.

Most people who are just starting out make the mistake of looking for a product first, and then market as second. There are so many important decisions to make. What should you sell? Who should you sell to? How will you get customers?

To boost your chances of success, start with searching for market. The trick is to find a group of people who are searching for a solution to a problem, but not finding many results/ solutions. The internet makes this kind of market research easy:

• Visit online forums to see what questions people ask and what problems they’re trying to solve.
• Do keyword research to find keywords that a lot of people are searching, but don’t have a ton of competition with other sites.
• Check out your potential competitors by visiting their sites and taking note of what they’re doing to fill the demand. Then you can use what you’ve learned and create a product for a market that already exists — and do it better than the competition.

If your online business is to be a success, you need to formulate a winning strategy. Below, we are showing show you how to create your online business strategy.

#Choose a Business Model

When learning how to build an online business from scratch, it helps to know about some tried-and-tested online business models.

Here are six types of online businesses to consider:

1. Affiliate Marketing: Promote other business’s products and services online, and receive a commission for each sale you make with this passive income idea.
2. Freelancing: Provide a service to other individuals and businesses using a skill that you have, such as advertising, writing, designing, or programming.
3. Coaching and Consulting: Become a coach or a consultant and sell your expertise, advice, and guidance.
4. Information Products: Package and sell your expertise in ebooks, worksheets, templates, and online courses.
5. Software as a Service (SaaS): Create a piece of software or application, and charge users a recurring subscription fee.
6. Ecommerce: You can take advantage of our e-commerce designing and development services.

#Identify Your Target Market

Next, you need to get clear on your target market. In other words, who are you going to serve?

This step is absolutely vital, as there is only one winning strategy. It is to carefully define the target market and direct a superior offering to that target market.

Here’s a simple trick: Make sure you are part of your target audience.

Think about it. If you are a house wife, you’ll understand the challenges, desires, and language of other fellow married women. As a result, it’d be much easier to sell products online that address the challenges and desires for that group.

So, when choosing a target audience, ask yourself:

• What are my hobbies and interests?
• Is there anything that I know a lot about?
• What do I spend most of my time thinking, talking, and reading about?

#Find a Problem to Solve

It’s very important to note one key thing: all businesses solve a problem.

Plumbers fix leaking pipes. Movie actors fulfill people’s boredom, curiosity, interest, and the need to escape and relax. Clothing brands help people express themselves and feel attractive.

Here’s the golden rule: The bigger the problem you can solve – and the better you solve it – the more money people are willing to pay.

For example, take healthcare services. They solve a big problem, which is why almost everyone is willing to spend a lot of money on it.

In summary, If you want to identify an online business to start, you need to find a good problem to solve.

#Analyze The Competition

Analyzing your competitors helps you stay on the cutting edge of what’s working in your niche. Identify successful tactics and new trends, and anticipate shifts in the market. It also helps define your messaging, positioning, and overall business strategy.

#Cover Your Legal Bases

Any business you start must be properly aligned with the laws and regulations in this country. So make sure to read up on business legal requirements when starting a new business. More information regarding business registration formalities and applicable license fees and taxes can be found at: URBS, KCCA and URA websites

#Select Your Sourcing Strategy

If you’re interested in starting an online ecommerce business, you’ll need to find reliable and trustworthy sources of inventory.

There are several ways to do this:

• Search for product manufacturers
• Find product wholesalers in or around you.
• Look for dropshipping suppliers

The last option is highly accessible and gives you a chance to start your business without making a huge upfront investment. With dropshipping, your product supplier ships and fulfills an order only after a customer has made a purchase; they handle the storage and logistics part of the business while you handle marketing and customer support.

# Set Up Your Payment Methods

Now is the time to decide how your business will accept payments and how you as business owner will receive payouts. There are several online payment options available for you to explore. The most popular ones include accepting Mobile Money, Payway, MPesa, Credit Cards, PayPal etc

Regardless of the payment method, you should be able to set your payout schedule. You can choose to receive your money daily, weekly or monthly — depending on your preferences when it comes to cash.

#Build Your Sales Platform

Once you’ve identified your business idea and covered your legal bases, it’s time to build your platform. How? There are a number of platforms that give guide on how to set up an online store. You can contact one of our sales representatives for free consultation.

#Choose a Marketing Method

When you’re ready to start promoting your online business, you need to choose a marketing method. There are many different online marketing methods to explore. These include; Social Media Marketing, Paid Advertising, Influencer marketing etc