Ready to launch your eCommerce business, but a low budget is stopping you from turning your dream into reality. Then this blog is a must-read for you. From creating a business plan for your eCommerce business to finding the best eCommerce building platform. We have covered it all for you in this post.
So, sit back, relax, and start scrolling to know more…
Create a Business Plan
Similar to any brick and mortar, you can’t build an eCommerce store without a business plan. Building a business strategy and setting up short and long-term goals will help keep track of the business progress. During the initial stages, set realistic goals while keeping an eye on your budget. Later on, when you are well versed with how the business runs, you can move on to more complex goals.
The key takeaway from this section is:
- Create a detailed business plan.
- Focus on how you plan to grow your business.
- Set goals that you want to achieve and set a timeline for the same.
- Avoid moving further with the business plans unless you create a solid business plan.
- Start by investing a small budget and then slowly increase your investments as the business grows.
Choose A Niche Product
While planning to start an eCommerce product store on a shoestring budget. It pays for a business to focus on niche products rather than a range of products. Focusing on niche products lowers down the initial setup cost and direct competition for your eCommerce https://www.toptal.com/product-managers/ecommerce/ecommerce-product-strategy.business.
How to find a niche product for your eCommerce business?
Just answer these basic questions to find a list of niche products perfect for your online store.
- Which products fit perfectly within your area of expertise?
- Which products are easy to market and don’t require any technical skill?
- What time of products is in great demand within your target location?
- In which product category is there low competition?
- Which products can generate more than 40% profit?
Answering these questions will present you with a list of items that you can sell on your eCommerce platform. Select a product or products with lower competition, higher profit margins, easy to market, and in demand in your target location.
Invest In Technology
Investing in technology might seem like an additional expense, but it can drastically lower the setting up cost if you look closely. Before we tell you why, let’s check out the list of technologies that an online store can invest in.
- Mobile and web platform.
- Supply chain management.
- Internet marketing.
- Online transaction processing.
- Electronic data interchange (EDI)
- Inventory management systems.
- Automated data collection systems.
Investing in technologies such as supply chain management and inventory management will allow you to reduce the need to hire additional staff. With all these technologies, you can move toward running your business in auto mode. Manage every business aspect from managing inventory to supply chain all at one place with these technologies.
Do It Yourself
We all know that setting up a business requires a huge budget, whether online or offline. And every bit of saving is crucial for your business and lowers down the initial setup cost. Simple tasks such as designing a logo, creatives, and banners require a graphic designer. However, if you are looking to save money, then you can put these tasks on the “DIY” list. Free online software like Canva can be used without any prior knowledge of photo or video editing. Create logo design, posters, and ads banners for your eCommerce platform for free and save a few bucks. Websites like Unsplash and Freepik are perfect platforms if you are looking for free HD images.
Consider Dropshipping
An eCommerce store is all about creating an online store, managing inventory and supply chain. And to manage all these, there is a huge investment required. However, if budget is the only issue, then you can consider dropshipping business. In this business model, you just need an online store to host products and no need to worry about maintaining a stock and supply chain. You are basically promoting someone else’s products, and the only investment that you make is to create and manage your online store. When someone uses your platform to buy something, both suppliers and you will get your fair share. The biggest advantage of the dropshipping business model is that no money is charged until a sale is made.
Create An Online Store
Whether you are planning to start your eCommerce business or go for dropshipping, creating an online store is a must. Your online store will become the foundation for selling your niche products. eCommerce building platform allows users to:
- Change or edit your eCommerce website design
- Choose your domain (or buy one)
- Keep track and manage inventory
- Accept online orders
- Ship orders, accept payments, and more.
Ready to build your own online store? Here are some popular eCommerce building platforms for you:
Etsy
Etsy eCommerce building platform is the perfect choice for someone looking to offer unique and vintage products to their customers. The best thing about the platform is its storefront feature that allows you to customize the buying process while keeping customers in the center. The platform welcomes every entrepreneur from big to small to create and start their online store.
Shopify
Shopify eCommerce building platform is perfect for someone looking for an easy to design and customize online dream store. Shopify provides its users with multiple advanced tools and features to change the product’s display, market products, and manage eCommerce stores with ease.
The platform offers fairly affordable and transparent pricing plans to cater to a variety of customers depending upon their eCommerce platform needs. Shopify pricing plans are:
- Shopify Lite – $9 per month
- Basic Shopify Plan – $29 per month
- Shopify Plan – $79 per month
- Advanced Shopify Plan – $299 per month
You can go for Shopify lite or a basic Shopify plan for the initial stages, as these are more affordable options. However, if you are planning to target multiple locations with a single online store, then Advanced Shopify Plan will be perfect for you. Hiring Shopify web development company can help you set your online store with ease.
WooCommerce
WordPress’s powerful plugin ‘WooCommerce’ is perfect for someone who is looking to convert their website into an eCommerce business. The platform allows users to download some unique and must-have features and use them to create an extremely user-friendly eCommerce platform.
If you are planning to create your own basic eCommerce store, then you can do so perfectly on your own. However, it is best to go for a developer or web development company for big customization.
Wrapping Up
So, now you have learned how to start an eCommerce store with a low budget, it’s time to move on with your plan. But, before doing that, make sure you follow the steps mentioned above, such as business plan, niche product, technology, and others thoroughly. Take advantage of the technology to reduce the need for hiring people and control overhead expenses.
There is no doubt that you can create an online store on your own and start selling goods online. However, if you are facing any issues or planning to do some customization, hiring experts is the best way.