7 Powerful Steps On Starting An Online Business in 2021

You need to discover your niche- Discover your niche. Okay? What does that mean? You need to identify that one thing that nobody else is doing that you can do and sort of like win in the space that you're in. Okay? So, for instance, if you are thinking of selling handbags. Do you have a specific type of handbag, is it like a handbag you take to the beach, is it a handbag you take to the swimming pool? Are you looking at a handbag that corporates use for instance? I mean what is your niche going to be? And this is something that you need to think about critically before you start your online business. 

Else, what you're going to do is you're going to sort of drown out in the crowd of businesses and trust me there are lots of businesses out there that could easily kill your brand if you don't think through this properly, and boy or boy you do not want that to happen. So, think about your niche what are you going to be selling. And indeed, your unique selling proposition, what is that thing that makes your product or service unique what is it?

You want to gauge market viability. By that, I simply mean you need to look into your market and see how profitable this business will be. You shouldn't just jump into it because other people are going into the same business and this is something that typically happens in our country. I can't speak for other countries or Africa, where one person will realize that a specific type of business seems to be booming, everybody's jumping on the bandwagon. Then suddenly, there's a proliferation of these businesses in every corner. 

People aren't thinking it's just like copy and paste, and so, what you want to do is dig deeper into your product viability. You need to think about this, what kind of things can make or break your product. Another thing that a lot of people don't do is conducting market research. Lots of us going into a market without actually looking at what's out there already, like what are people selling or why are they selling specifically what they're selling and not the other? You need to see what your competition looks like. Alright? 

So, do some market research. For instance, how many people are in the same market that you want to enter? Is it something that you can compete with the market leader or is it something that you're just going to be and also run? So, as much as possible research the market that you're getting into, get to know who is there and why they sell what they do? Who they're marketing their products to and see if it's something that you would be able to compete with? Just think through it.

You also need to study your target market. Get to know who they are? What keeps them up at night? What kind of problems do they have that you can solve? What your business is going to solve? Why do they purchase certain items and not others? What is their age, demographic? I mean, just look at your audience to who you're going to be marketing to and see how best you can create a solution out of the problems that they face daily? If you are looking at an online business for instance. 

What is the biggest challenge in your country, Africa, or the world for instance? Are you going to look at creating some kind of an online delivery company, for instance, where with a click of a button you're able to call in to say a call center for instance and immediately you get a dispatch coming to you to deliver your item or to pick up an item and drop it off? 

So, you need to think through this a little bit more and be sure that what you're going to go into will, in the long run, pay off. 

Now you've done all your market research, and you have the right product, etc. you need to source your product. Source your product where are you going to buy or get your product created. For example, if it’s a service then it's pretty straightforward perhaps you can train people to deliver that service. And if it is a product you're offering, you might want to think about it. Are you going to import from Belgium? Are you going to import from the USA? Are you going to start importing from China? I mean, think about where you're going to source your product and make sure that it's a place that will give you value for money so that you don't end up losing in the long run.

Another thing you want to do is to make sure that you're selecting the right platform for your business, for example, an e-commerce platform. Assuming that whatever online business you're setting up does not have its e-commerce platform merged or integrated into the way you do things, and so, you want to look at ways that you are going to be able to sell your products. 

Which online store should you use? How good is their delivery service, questions along those lines? Just make sure that you're selecting the right eCommerce platform that can help your business grow because they have their values, they have their vision and perhaps, would just want to watch your business grow along with theirs because so many people are offering services these days that don't match up to what they write or deliver online. 

The next thing you want to do after all this is sorted out is to simply go ahead and launch your product. Go ahead and think about the platforms that you want to use so, let’s say your product is an online business and you want to find a way to get people to come onto your website to make purchases. What kind of cross-media promotion are you going to do to be able to drive in traffic, because at the end of the day if this is new business chances are no one is on your website anyway? 

So, what kind of media are you going to employ to help promote your business? Are you going to do radio? Are you going to do TV? Are you going to do newspapers? Are you going to do social media where you can do sponsored ads on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Email, TikTok name them all?

Now you must put together a promotional plan such that your products don't just come to sit online or your services just don't sit online on that beautiful website or platform that you've created in an attempt to make money or build an online business. Nevertheless, it’s equally essential to think through carefully about your promotional strategy. Once you have got your promotional strategy on lock, it's time to implement your promotional strategy. 

Finally, a couple of months after launching your online business, you want to come back and re-evaluate what is working. What the feedback that you've received from your customers and how can you improve the product or service? You must merge and consider all these things when you're launching your online business because guess what, in the era in which we're in feedback is going to come instantly. It's going to come hard and it's going to come fast and you need to be ready to receive it. And because not all the feedback is going to be great. 

I hope that you've spent your time profitably and henceforth you're going to go out there and crush these powerful steps to creating an online business in 2021.