4 cheat-sheet steps to starting an online business

Qeturah.com
Aug 24, 2017 · 3 min read
Photo credit: Legalzoom

Because it’s online doesn’t necessarily make it an easy start. Believe it or not, starting an online business bears similarities to starting a brick-and-mortar store.

However, you don’t want to start an online business just because everyone is doing it THere are important things to consider when looking to kick start.

  1. Find a need and fill it.
  2. Have a sales pitch
  3. Design and build an easy-to-use website or better still, take advantage of marketplaces like Qeturah if you have a physical product.
  4. Use search engines (Google) to drive traffic to your site.
  5. Be strategic in establishing an expert reputation for yourself in your industry
  6. Send regular emails to your customers and subscribers.
  7. Always try to upsell your customers

We will break down the above considerations in a future article. For now, we want to get your business started by yesterday!

Here are the 4 quick steps:

Start with your Business Name

Every business has a name. Your business cannot function without a name. First thing to do after you figure out what you want to sell, is to come up with a name for your business. Conduct a proper corporate name search: in Nigeria, you can do it yourself on the CAC website free of charge! In this age of Internet technologies, we’d advise the next thing you should consider doing is to buy the domain name for your business, that is a “www.yourbusinessname.com”.

Then, consider opening a Facebook, Twitter and Instagram account for your business and ensure they’re consistent across each platform. If possible, ensure your business name is the same as your domain name; that is @yourbusinessName on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram.

Have a Business plan

Nobody ever firmly built a house without a plan. A plan is like a road map, it helps you get on the road and steers you as your navigate your way to your destination which in this case would be your business success, however success is defined by you.

If you’re seriously considering getting investors for your business, then you must make a business plan. Gone are the days when people were required to create a 40-page long business plan document, nor investors, the time to go through them. You can create a BMC (Business Model Canvas) by snapping one of these easy to use templates online. We would seriously recommend you use this template to make a business plan for your business, whether or not you’re considering taking investor money.

Have a go-to market strategy.

Start marketing early. Before you even launch or your site is ready you can do the following things:

  1. Set up a coming soon landing page to get people to subscribe for when you launch.
  2. Start a blog and create content for your blog to build an audience and momentum. You can curate content for your blog weeks ahead and start sharing tips and tricks on your social profiles.
  3. Send newsletters to your subscribers on a regular basis
  4. Create your social media profiles
  5. When you have a finite date, be sure it is reflected on your landing page. Creating countdown images and sharing them to your social accounts keeps your audience anticipated.

Make it Legal

Take action to ensure your business stays compliant. You can launch your business whilst the process of your business name registration/incorporation is still ongoing. Then, proceed to get a business account set up at your local preferred Bank and set up your methods of taking payments online. You don’t want to be a savage business that still takes cash on delivery, it is a business practice that is frowned upon in this part of the world.

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Qeturah.com

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We make it easy to discover, sell, & shop for quality handmade & Made in Nigeria lifestyle brands: fashion, beauty & home decor. Get in touch: info@qeturah.com

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