A lot of people, especially those who have the experience and capital are looking into entrepreneurship and being their own boss nowadays especially when the pandemic started and a lot of businesses have to either close down or be restricted as to how many they could serve within their stores.
Fortunately, in the age of the internet setting up your own business is easy and with lesser expense than having your own physical store. Not only do you save on the cost of rent, but you can also save on other overhead expenses.
Online business or e-commerce is trading products and services using the internet.
The products can be tangible like the ones that you can physically buy at stores and there are also products like software, soft copies of commissioned artworks, e-books, and online education certificates.
Services that can be offered as a sole proprietor of a business are programming, virtual assistance, accounting services, medical and media transcription among others. 2020 was a huge learning lesson for companies and even employees, and a part of this population found a solution via an online business model.
The statistics say it all, as of the end of 2020 the US e-commerce revenue has reached $794.5 billion, which is a growth amounting to a whopping 32.4%. It is projected that by the year 2026, 450,000 jobs would be offered by the e-commerce industry. In a month alone, Shopify has grown 62% in new stores the same year. By 2040, it is estimated that 95% of all daily purchases would be through e-commerce. Currently, WordPress powers 39.5% of all websites in the current year.
Millennials make up for the majority of online buyers with 73% according to Amazon business. It may be handy to know this prior to set up an online business and one’s marketing strategies. There is also a market for one business to do business with another company. Right now, there are approximately 87% B2B buyers that make their purchases online.
When surveyed 75% of all B2B buyers prefer it this way, especially since restrictions and health safety concerns are still there because of the pandemic. 70% of B2B buyers were also surveyed to be open to making purchases worth over $50,000 through online transactions.
For new business owners, it might also be one of the markets you would like to tap into as it is a projected market of $1.7 trillion in the US by the year 2023. Internationally, it is projected to reach a value of 9 trillion by the end of this year.
For the food industry, it has taken a huge blow due to the restrictions and quarantine that everyone has to go through to keep themselves and their family healthy. The good thing is that 10.8% of the consumers iterated that convenience is the primary motivating factor in choosing what to eat.
Hence, this is where the shift to the internet comes along.
Digital restaurant orders have been surveyed in May 2020 to have increased more than double up to 138%. However, since convenience is the driving force of these consumers, business owners would also have to check the quality of the delivery experience as they create and maintain the good quality of the food.
Eighty-four percent of online food consumers said that they would be unlikely to buy from a certain restaurant again after a bad delivery experience. This is bad news especially if those brands are reliant on food delivery apps to fulfill an order. Retail TouchPoints (RTP) is an online publication with a primary objective to cover strategies and solutions to help retail businesses. They have surveyed consumers and found that 98.1% say that delivery impacts their loyalty to a certain brand of food.
If you are looking into tapping into entrepreneurship or bootstrapping a new online business, the best time to do it is now.
The first thing you need to do is to check if your business would be possible and if you will make a profit out of it.
Even if there aren’t any physical stores there are still overhead expenses that one needs to be prepared for. If you have a potential market it may do well, but one needs to consider if the product being offered is something that people would consistently buy. There are also costs in reaching the kind of market that is in need of the products and services that you are thinking of reaching.
A good business name that is easy to remember is also an important step as you would also need to register your business in your state and tax office. Once this is done, you should decide what kind of structure your business will have. Will you be solely operating the business or with a partner? Are you creating an LLC or a corporation?
A lawyer may provide you an insight as to which structure that would work for you and as each structure has different tax requirements, a consultation with a tax professional might come in handy. There is a lot of documentation and paperwork to ensure that your business is a legally operating entity so these professionals would be helpful for you.
After that, you can build an online store and website, decide on your suppliers and fulfillment or delivery method that will be proper for your business.
Creating a business from the ground up is a lot of work but it might just be something that you may find fulfilling. It’s hard to find the balance between work, health safety, and cost of living at times, and having an online business became a solution for some. A spacious, comfortable workspace is needed for you to be able to work well, fulfill orders and meet customer satisfaction.
A Modish Adjustable Standing Desk from FlexiSpot might be the answer for this. It is a premium spacious and sturdy desk that has a cable management system to keep your workspace organized as it is safe. It is stable with anti-collision features and a child lock. Learn more about this stunning product.
