Complete Guide to Starting an Online Business in 2023

aroundknowledge.co.id – How to Start an Online Business – Starting an online business is not easy. There are so many important decisions to make. What to sell? To whom to sell? How to get customers?

If that's not enough, there seems to be a new business trend online every two weeks. Chatbots, cryptocurrencies, Facebook ads, Instagram influencers and more. What to pay attention to? What really matters?

How to Start an Online Business from Scratch

If you want to know how to start an online business in 2023, we've got you covered. This quick and simple article will guide you step by step on how to start a small online business.

Consider this an online business start-up guide for dummies because we cover everything in languages Simple English and includes simple, actionable instructions to help you out start.

1 Don't Start Building Just Yet

When starting a business, it may be tempting to jump into action. So if you feel compelled to create a website, choose a company name, or create a logo, hold off.

To start a successful online business, you need a strategy first. Steps 2, 3 and 4 of this article show you how to build an online business strategy.

2 Choosing a Business Model

When learning how to build an online business from scratch, it is helpful to know about tried and true online business models. Here are 6 types of online businesses that you should consider.

1. Affiliate Marketing: Promote other business products and services online and earn commissions every time you sell with this passive income idea.
2. Freelance: You provide services to individuals and other businesses using skills you have, such as advertising, writing, design, or programming.
3. Training and Consulting: Become a trainer or consultant and sell your expertise, advice and guidance.
4. Information Products: Package and sell expertise in e-books, worksheets, templates, and online courses.
5. Software as a Service (SaaS): Create software or apps and charge users a regular subscription fee.
6. Ecommerce: Use a service like Shopify to set up a website and sell physical products online.

Want more online business ideas to inspire you? Check out our guide “25 Small Business Ideas to Make Money”.

3 Identify Your Target Market

Next, you need to define your target market. In other words, who will you serve? This step is very important. As marketer Philip Kotler said, “There is only one winning strategy: carefully define your target market and deliver a great product to it.”

Here's the trick. Make sure you are part of your target audience. think about it. If you have been camping all your life, you will understand the problems, needs, and language of other campers. As a result, selling camping products online will be much easier.

Plus, your marketing will be more successful because you'll better understand how to communicate with other campers. On the other hand, if you've never camped in your life, you're going to have a hard time selling camping products online.

So, when choosing your target audience, ask yourself:

• What are my hobbies and interests?
• Do I know much?
• What do I spend the most time thinking about, talking about, or reading about?

4 Find a Problem to Solve

When learning how to start an online business, it is important to note one key point. All businesses solve problems.

A plumber is repairing a leaky pipe. Hollywood movies satisfy people's needs for boredom, curiosity, interest, escape and relaxation. Clothing brands help people express themselves and feel attractive.

The golden rule is: The bigger the problem you can solve and the better you solve it, the more people will be willing to pay.

Take medical treatment, for example. They solve big problems, which is why almost everyone is willing to pay big bucks for them.

On the other hand, not many people pay to keep the table from rocking. It's not a big problem and I don't need any help fixing it.

Bottom line: To know how to start an online business, you need to find a good problem to solve.

Here are three examples.

• Target Market: Fashion conscious teenagers
• Problem: Fashion conscious people want to stand out from the crowd without spending too much money.
• Solution: Create a clothing line that is colorful and budget-friendly.
• Target market: Marketing managers in multinational software companies.
• Problem: Businesses need to drive traffic to their website.
• Solution: Write articles that rank on the front page of Google to drive traffic.
• Target Market: Working mothers with small children.
• Problem: Many mothers want to exercise regularly but don't have much time.
• Solution: Create a time-saving fitness program and schedule.

How to find a problem to solve?

• Join Facebook groups and online forums and ask people what help they need.
• Use Google Keyword Planner to find out what people are searching for.
• Find successful online businesses, get to know the problems they solve, then find a better way.

5 Competition Analysis

Anyone learning how to open an online business should not sleep on competitor analysis. Competitive analysis helps you stay ahead of technology working in a niche market You, identify successful tactics and emerging trends, and anticipate changes in the market.

It also helps define your message, positioning and overall business strategy. So how do you do a competitor analysis? Here are some tips. Subscribe to competitor blogs.

• Buy the products you sell
• Ignore the product in the shopping cart
• Sign up for our newsletter
• Follow us on social media.

When taking these actions, document the results with notes for each approach. You want to be able to find relevant insights when you need them.

By analyzing their customer experience and seeing how they engage with people through their content, you can identify the tactics your competitors are using to push sale.

Pro Tip: Consider doing a SWOT analysis of your research findings. It is a blueprint that relies on competitors' strengths and weaknesses to determine areas of improvement. To learn more about this strategy, check out our “Everything You Need to Know About SWOT Analysis” guide.

6 Cover the Legal Basis

Any business you start must comply with local laws and regulations. So, when starting a new internet business, make sure to read the legal requirements of online business.

Some legal aspects that need to be considered include:

Business Structure

Do you want to register as an LLC or sole proprietor for your online business? You can do your research and decide for yourself, but we recommend hearing from a tax professional.

Licenses and Permits

Depending on the type of business you are starting, you may need a license to operate your business. This depends on where you live, so check with your local state department for details.

Tax Obligations

Most online business owners are required to pay income tax. In addition, you may have sales tax obligations if you sell products to consumers in certain countries. So, before starting your business, consult with an attorney to learn about applicable taxes and the list of online business documents you will need to file them.

Copyrights, Patents and Trademarks

You want to address this legal element to avoid problems in the future. For example, registering your trademark can prevent others from using your brand name, saving you the hassle and cost of rebranding.

7 Selecting a Procurement Strategy

If you are interested in starting an online ecommerce business, you need to find a reliable and trustworthy source of inventory. There are several ways to do this.

• Look for product manufacturers on websites like Alibaba or directories like Kompass, Sourcify, and ThomasNet.
• In Handshake, find a product wholesaler in or around your state.
• Find dropshipping suppliers on platforms like DSers.

The last option is more accessible and gives you the opportunity to start a business without a large initial investment.

With dropshipping, product suppliers ship and fulfill orders only after customers buy them. It handles the storage and logistics part of the business while handling marketing and customer support.

To find a valuable and reliable partner for order fulfillment, check out this list of the best dropshipping suppliers.

8 Set up your Payment Method

We're almost there! Now it's time to decide how your business will receive payments and how you will receive payments as a business owner. Several online payment options are available. The most popular are accepting credit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.

If you are planning to start an ecommerce business using Shopify, you can enable a provider-integrated payments solution called Shopify Payments. Set up to accept all major payment methods and get 0% additional transaction fees.

For service-based web businesses like freelance writing, check out Transferwise, Payoneer, Stripe and 2Checkout. Regardless of the payment method, you should be able to schedule payments. Depending on your cash preferences, you can choose to receive cash daily, weekly or monthly.

9 Build a Sales Platform

Once you've identified your business idea and covered your legal support, it's time to build your platform. How? Well, if you are planning to start an ecommerce business, create a website with Shopify and then find products to sell with DSers.

If you're planning to start freelancing, coaching, or consulting, Shopify has the option to connect many popular tools such as Digital Downloads to sell digital products online, ReCharge to sell subscriptions online, and SendOwl to sell videos on line.

Keep things simple. Currently, your business is still in the realm of theory. So don't invest too much money, time or energy into building the perfect website. Instead, test your business idea and see if it works before investing.

Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup, says, “We need to know what customers really want, not what they say or what they think they should want.”

10 Choose Your Marketing Method

When you are ready to start promoting your online business, you must choose a marketing method. There are many different online marketing methods in the world. However, some are better than others at learning how to start an online business.

Here are four online marketing methods you can use to start selling relatively quickly.

1. Social Media Marketing: Use social media to create and share content, engage with your target audience, and drive website traffic to drive sales.
2. Direct contact: We provide our services by contacting individuals in the company.
3. Paid Ads: Advertise on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Google and YouTube to increase brand awareness and drive sales.
4. Influencer Marketing: Work with influencers to promote your products directly to your existing followers.