online store startup business plan

How to Write an Ecommerce Business Plan [Examples & Template]

Published: April 03, 2024

If you have a promising idea for an online e-commerce business , it’s important to create an e-commerce business plan to ensure your vision has enough stock to be profitable.

Having a business plan for your online store will help you define your target market, establish your monthly and quarterly sales goals, and increase the likelihood of long-term e-commerce success.

In this post, we’ll go over an online store business plan and how you can create one for your e-commerce startup. Let’s get started.

What is an e-commerce business plan?

An e-commerce business plan is a document that outlines your business and its goals, analyzes your industry and competitors, and identifies the resources needed to execute your plan. It also lists the e-commerce retailers you’ll use to distribute your products and the marketing strategies you’ll use to drive sales.

Whether a company operates as a startup or has years of operations and growth under its belt, an e-commerce business plan is essential for evaluating a business and determining areas of improvement.

An e-commerce business plan is essential, with increasing numbers of shoppers conducting business online. It's estimated this number has reached over 2 billion . An e-commerce business plan keeps you organized and is useful when seeking investors who need to understand your company.

So, let’s dive into some examples of e-commerce business plans and what goes into writing one using our free template .

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HubSpot's template provides clear steps to structuring one for your ecommerce business. Throughout this section, I’ll use the example of a photography company specializing in online photo editing.

How to Write an Ecommerce Business Plan

• Give an executive summary.
• List and describe your business.
• Detail your products and services.
• Conduct a market analysis.
• Strategize your marketing plan.
• Create a sales plan.
• Outline legal notes and financial considerations.

1. Give an executive summary.

An executive summary is a one-to-two-page overview of your business. The purpose of an executive summary is to let stakeholders know what the business plan will contain. HubSpot‘s free template offers some tips on how to write one, as I’ve done below:

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How To Start An Online Store In 8 Steps (2024 Guide)

Updated: Jun 4, 2024, 4:03am

Table of Contents

1. pick a viable niche and define your target audience, 2. choose your product line, 3. create your brand name and brand assets, 4. register your business, 5. choose an e-commerce platform, 6. build your e-commerce website, 7. optimize your site, 8. tell the world, why e-commerce is important, frequently asked questions.

Whether you have unique handmade items you’d like to sell or you want to start a wholesale or dropshipping business, you’ll need a great website with eCommerce functionality to be successful online. With relatively low upfront costs and many great code-free site builders available, it’s easier than ever to start an eCommerce business. In this article, we’ll show you how to start an online store in just eight easy steps. Make your eCommerce business dreams a reality today!

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The first step in starting your online store is to determine a niche market you’d like to serve. One of the biggest mistakes new business owners make is not focusing on the three components of choosing a niche:

• Profitability: You want a niche that is profitable so you can see a return on your investment and build a profitable online store. If a product is too expensive to manufacture or purchase wholesale, it has a low potential for profitability. Similarly, a product might be too expensive to ship and may be better suited for selling in person.
• Searchability: The best e-commerce stores stock in-demand products people search for. If you’re looking to start an online store that sells dog leashes, for example, make sure “dog leashes” is a keyword you target. Use SEO tools to determine products people search for.
• Passion: Consider your passions. For example, what do you enjoy talking about or researching? When you’re passionate about what you sell, you’ll be more likely to stick with it when times get tough. Not only that, but you want customers to direct people to your store because you’re the expert in a particular field, product or service.

Your target audience is just as important as your niche. You want to make sure the products you sell will interest them and that they can purchase what you’re selling with no trouble. Don’t ask people for their opinion on your product if they’re not in your target audience.

Once you’ve determined your niche and target audience, it’s time to decide on your product or service line. This can be the hardest part of starting your online store. You want to make sure you’re not selling a product that’s too expensive to produce or that no one is searching for. It’s also important to make sure you have the resources, such as storage and shipping, to accommodate your products.

If you choose a product that’s already popular, how will you differentiate yours from the best? Can you improve on an existing product? How will you make sure your online store is the go-to source for this product?

Once you know what you want to sell, the next step is to choose your brand or business name and create your brand assets, such as your logo. For some, this step might come very easily and, for others, this can be very challenging. One way that businesses often weed through name ideas is by going to a domain name registrar, such as GoDaddy and searching for available domains. The reason is, ideally, you want your domain name to match your business name.

If you’re not sure where to begin when creating your logo, Canva is a great place to start. It offers dozens of free and easy-to-customize logo templates. In case you don’t want to try your hand at logo design, you can always hire someone to do it for you from platforms like Fiverr and 99Designs.

To process payments for your online store, you’re going to need employer identification number (EIN). To get an EIN, you need to register your online store as a business in your state. While you can register as a sole proprietorship or corporation, generally small businesses register as a limited liability company (LLC), which helps protect your personal assets should your company get sued.

There are also tax advantages to creating one for your new company, so check with your tax advisor to see if an LLC is the best option for you. The process of registering your business will vary from state to state, so it’s best to refer to your state’s Secretary of State for more detailed information on the process. Alternatively, you can always use a business registration service , such as LegalZoom or ZenBusiness.

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Next, it’s time to choose an e-commerce platform. This is the platform where you will build and manage your online store. There are a number of great e-commerce platforms to choose from, such as Squarespace, Shopify and Square. However, each platform comes with its own unique set of features, which impact affordability, capabilities, and user-friendliness, so it’s worth taking the time to find the right one for you.

Here are a few of the best e-commerce platforms for easily building an online store:

• Squarespace: Best for web design beginners looking to easily build a beautiful online store with built-in marketing tools for as little as $14 per month with annual billing.
• Shopify: Best e-commerce platform for building a dropshipping store. Plans start at $29 per month and typically involve the purchase of a premium theme for around $250.
• Square: Best for those on a budget as it offers free plans, as well as those planning to sell in-store and online.

For more insights and information and to help you choose the right one for your online store, check out the best e-commerce solutions .

Once you have decided which e-commerce platform you want to use, the next step is to go to that platform and create an account and begin building your online store. While the steps will vary depending on which platform you’re using, typically the steps will more or less involve the following.

How to build an online store website:

• Navigate to the e-commerce platform of choice, such as Square, and create an account.
• Choose a domain name (typically included with a plan–if not, purchase separately).
• Select a template or theme.
• Add your business name and logo.
• Customize your homepage as well as all other web pages.
• Add your products and create product listings.
• Set up a payment processor.
• Configure settings, such as tax or shipping calculators.

Follow along with our detailed step-by-step instructions that walk you through how to build a website .

Once your online store is up and running, optimize it for search engines so that it can get found online and in search engines, such as Google. This will help your website increase its visibility, gain more website visitors, and generate more sales–all for free.

Here are a few things you can do to optimize your site:

• Title tags: The title tag is the text that appears on the search engine results pages (SERPs). Your title tag must be descriptive and relevant to your product or service.
• Meta descriptions: The meta description is the text that appears under your title tag in the SERPs. Use descriptive and interesting language that encourages people to click through to your site.
• H tags: The H tags are the headings on your page. Make sure they’re descriptive and help explain what the page is about.
• Images: Include images on your page and ensure they’re properly tagged with keywords.

Once your online store is up and running, you need to market it. The reason for this is that building a business through SEO is a key component in your long-term strategy. Marketing your products and services will help bring in traffic now.

Here are several ways you can promote your online store:

• Add your brand to online directories.
• Work with influencers to promote your brand.
• Online advertising, such as Google Ads or Facebook Ads.
• Use content marketing to help your site get found online.
• Create social media profiles and become active on them.
• Referral or loyalty programs.
• Use press releases (if you have highly unique or groundbreaking products).
• Join an affiliate marketing program.
• Try word-of-mouth marketing.

The best way to promote your online store depends on your business and the products or services you’re selling. Successful marketing campaigns contain many, if not all, of these strategies at the same time. Try a few different methods and see which ones work best for you.

There’s a reason the current generation is often called the instant gratification generation: our world is more connected—and easily accessible—than ever. With a few clicks of a button, people from all over the world can purchase your products and services 24/7, 365 days per year, provided you have an online website. Sometimes, this is referred to as an e-commerce store. The overall look, speed and quality of your site can make or break a sale.

How much does it cost to start an online store?

The cost to start an online store varies depending on the platform you choose and the features you need. Some platforms are free to use, while others have a monthly fee. You can find e-commerce solutions for less than $30 per month. Then, just pay for marketing, products and shipping.

Where can I get products for my online store?

You can get products for your online store from a variety of sources, including wholesalers, manufacturers and distributors. Popular aggregators of manufacturers include Alibaba and DHgate. Many store owners use sites like Faire or Abound for wholesale products.

How do I start an online store with no money?

The easiest way to start an online store with no money is to sell services or digital products and choose a free e-commerce platform. This way, you only pay per transaction. Examples include printable products, editing services and PDF workbooks.

What is the difference between an e-commerce platform and e-commerce hosting?

An e-commerce platform gives you the tools to design an attractive-looking page or series of pages for customers to visit and learn more about you but that website has to be hosted somewhere, which is what an e-commerce website host does. Websites are hosted on platforms that can support the traffic being sent to them.

What are the most important sections that my online store should have?

In addition to having sections for your goods or services and a place to check out, you should also have sections or pages that include your contact details, an about page that provides details about your store and its offerings, a frequently asked questions (FAQs) page that can help answer some of the questions your customer may have regarding your store of what you have to offer and a policy page that offers you some form of legal protection in case there are disputes―this section or page should deal with information related to your liability, return policy, privacy policy and similar issues.

What are some easy businesses to start?

One of the easiest businesses to start also has the lowest overhead: selling digital goods. This can include items such as e-books, online courses, audio files or software. If you have expertise in a particular area or niche, this is a great option for you. Dropshipping is also a great option because you don’t have to keep inventory. You could also buy wholesale products or create your own. Once you create your product, you can sell it through your own website or third-party platforms, such as Amazon or Etsy.

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Katherine Haan is a small business owner with nearly two decades of experience helping other business owners increase their incomes.

8 Steps to Write a Successful Online Store Business Plan

Read over our steps and tips to creating a strong online store business plan.

Who Needs an Online Store Business Plan?

If you’re looking to jump into ecommerce, you need a business plan. It will prove vital to your overall success by creating an overarching guide for your new venture.

Your business plan can serve multiple purposes. It can help you secure investors or business loans. You can use it as a tool for recruiting employees and partners. Also, you’ll be able to use it as a roadmap.

Creating Your Ecommerce Business Plan

As with so many things in the world, there aren’t really many hard and fast rules when it comes to crafting an ecommerce business plan. However, the most effective business plans tend to have the following components:

• Executive summary
• Company description
• Market analysis
• Marketing plan
• Logistics and operations
• Financial plan

We’ll go through each of the steps you’ll need to take to complete these components.

Step 1: Write an Executive Summary

Your executive summary is the first thing that will be presented in your online store business plan. As the name implies, it acts as a summary for the entirety of your business plan, with high-level information laid out for readers to easily peruse.

The importance of a concise and informative executive summary cannot be understated. It’s likely any potential investors or lenders with busy schedules are going to read the executive summary before taking any time to read the more detailed parts of your business plan. You don’t want to lose them here.

Make sure your executive summary is easy to read and includes pertinent information you want to communicate. You want to give the audience an idea of who/what your company is, without trying to sell yourself too hard. The rest of your business plan will do the selling, as your executive summary should entice them to read the business plan.

Try to write no more than two pages for your executive summary, but you really should be aiming for just one page. At the end of the summary, the reader should know who you are, the problem you have identified, and your approach to solving that problem.

Beyond high-level points in the summary, you can get a bit more granular in pointing out things such as current partnerships, customers, product development, monetization strategies, and other details that will help the reader get a better idea of who you are, and what to expect when reading your full business plan.

You might want to save writing the executive summary until after you have completed the rest of your business plan, or you could write it first to help give you a guide to the bulk of the plan.

Step 2: Complete Your Company Description

Where your online store business plan executive summary should give readers and potential investors a high-level sense of your business, creating a company description is where you need to get extremely specific.

Include all identifying elements of your company, including:

• Business structure, such as:
• C-Corporation
• S-Corporation
• Sole proprietorship
• Website domain name

Now, start getting more detailed in describing who and what your company is on a grander scale. This is where your business plan should include your company’s mission statement and vision.

Your mission statement should be short and sweet. You’re essentially wrapping up your entire company in one sentence. Tell the reader and the world why your company exists as quickly as possible.

If you’re having trouble coming up with your mission statement, start with something extremely grand and general. Then try to insert your company into that grand statement.

What grand thing or problem are you attempting to solve are you doing, and for whom are you doing it? If your company sells food from organic and sustainable farms to schools maybe your mission statement is something like, “Keeping the world green and our kids’ diets clean.”

Where your mission statement tells the world who you are now, your vision statement shows where you want to be in the future. Think about the overarching goal you want to reach through your mission. “Our vision is to ensure the health of the people and planet. Through this, we will get nutritional and tasty meals to kids across the country, sourced from our curated and highly-vetted sustainable farmers and producers.”

After sharing your mission and vision statements, give the reader some more background into where you are coming from. How did you find the problem and what made you think about the solution? What experience do you have?

Then, introduce yourself formerly. List the key players involved from ownership down to staff. Though if you are already substantially big, you probably don’t need to list absolutely everybody. Be proud of who your team is and show why their contributions matter.

Step 3: Document Your Market Analysis

As with any good business, conducting market analysis plays a big role in getting off to a good start. Including your analysis in your business plan not only shows anybody reading it what is happening in the market, it also shows the that you fully understand the market yourself.

Break up your market analysis into three distinct categories:

• Audience analysis : Identify the demographics you are selling your products and services to. Use key identifying factors such as age, gender, location, and income. Show your understanding of what is important to your audience.
• Industry analysis : What is the current state of the industry? How did it get there, and where is it heading? Are there ecommerce trends that could impact your business? Back your conclusions with data where possible.
• Competitive analysis : Know and understand your competition. What are the products/services they offer? What is there pricing structure? What is their current standing with the public? Identify their strengths and weaknesses. Find learnings from your competitors’ successes and failures. Identify any gaps that you can fill. Show how you can reach higher profits, how your product is better than theirs, and you might target an untapped audience.

You can even go the extra mile and analyze yourself. Conduct a SWOT analysis to name your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This will give you huge insight into how you are already set up for success, and things that could use extra attention and work.

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Step 4: Describe Your Products & Services

Here is your chance to dive deep into your products and services with your online store business plan. Use this space to detail how your products differ from competitor products. Point out how your products helps address any problems.

Keep in mind that this probably isn’t the place to get very technical. Avoid jargon here and make things simple and easily digestible for a wide and varying audience. You also don’t have to go into every single product or service if you have a large selection. Concentrate more on categories of products rather that each single individual item.

Step 5: Put Together Your Marketing Plan

You’re sure to go far with a good plan to market your ecommerce business . Outline your marketing plan here as part of your greater website business plan.

Start by pointing out who your audience is, where you’re most likely to find them, and how best to grab their attention. Then consider how much you want to invest in marketing strategies.

Working in ecommerce gives you several tried and true online methods of marketing.

• You can help your audience find you organically by building a digital content strategy where you create and produce related content, like articles and videos.
• You can learn and establish best practices for search engine optimization (SEO) for ecommerce so that your website will rank higher in web search platforms like Google.
• You can take advantage of Google’s popular pay per click (PPC) program to get your site listed in front of a target audience.
• It’s also a good idea to build a strong social media presence where more people will be able to find you. Social platforms also offer a breadth of paid advertising tools if you want to go that route.
• With affiliate marketing , you can have external editorial websites leverage their built-in audience to highlight your product to get a cut of sales that come through their funnel.
• Many influencers will work with companies to promote products. Target influencers in your niche rather than looking for just the people with the most followers.

It’s important to note that organic marketing (or unpaid) doesn’t exactly mean free. It takes labor and quite often a good chunk of money to build out and implement a good organic marketing strategy.

Step 6: Detail Out Your Logistics and Operations

Here is where you’ll point out all the things you need to keep your business running day to day. If you are selling physical products, you’ll need to consider things like:

Many small ecommerce companies rely on third parties to handle the bulk of their logistics. If you are doing so, be sure to highlight that here.

If you are selling a service, your logistics and operations will look a bit different. You’ll be more concerned about things like transportation, computer hardware and software, office upkeep, and more. Of course, that doesn’t mean that companies selling products aren’t also concerned with these operational items.

By completing this section, you should get a strong grasp of what your business needs to run well, and you’ll be able to give potential investors an idea of the costs required to operate well.

Step 8: Lay Out Your Financial Plan

There’s a ton that goes into ecommerce business planning, and one aspect does seem to loom large: financials.

While you may have touched on your finances in other parts of your business plan, here’s where you need to be much more granular and detailed. Just how into the weeds you get will depends on what you deem crucial for others to know. Investors and lenders, for example, are probably going to pay more attention to your financial plan than anyone else.

You’ll want to include these main pillars of a well thought out financial plan:

• Income statement : This will give your reader a look into your bottom line by showing your total revenue against your expenses over time. Of course, if you have yet to launch your business, you can project these numbers.
• Balance sheet : Used to calculate shareholder equity, your balance sheet reflects your total assets (everything your business owns) minus liabilities (all your reoccurring costs).
• Cash-flow statement : True to its name, this shows how your cash flows in and out. You’ll detail out when your revenue comes in and how much. You’ll also explain when you must pay out all your expenses and how much too.

Wrapping Up Your Online Store Business Plan

Coming up with an entire business plan for online businesses is no small feat. If you need a little more help, check out the many ecommerce business plan templates available online. Once you’ve tied all loose ends, don’t forget to at least give yourself a small pat on the back. As you wrap things up, keep in mind that your business plan can absolutely be a living document. It’s even a good idea to tailor it according to whomever is reading it.

For example, if you know an investor who gets excited by big ideas, you might want to put more thought into products and services. If you’re presenting it to somebody highly experienced in the industry, you might want to throw in a few more ecommerce terms than you normally would. If you have a number cruncher, you probably want to fine-tune your financial plan. If you’re just using it as a roadmap for your organization, you might be content to keep things high level.

Whatever the case, remember that you have the power to make your business plan perfect for your needs. If you need more help with your new company, take a look at some of the top ecommerce KPIs to build your business and grow revenue.

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How to Start an Online Store in 7 Steps

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1. Hone your business idea

2. choose your online store’s platform, 3. source your store’s products, 4. pick a payment processor, 5. learn about shipping, 6. formalize your business, 7. launch your online store.

There’s more to starting an online store than setting up a website. You’ll also need to define your target customer, source your products and take steps to make your business official. Starting small — offering just a few products at a time, for instance — can help you get your e-commerce business up and running fast.

Here are seven steps to take as you get ready to launch your online store.

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What are you selling and who are your customers? Answering these questions upfront will help you focus your e-commerce business idea so that you can choose the right tools.

To further structure your idea, try writing a business plan . In addition to defining your products and target audience, this process can help you dig into other questions, like:

Who are your competitors?

How do you plan to ship products to customers?

Do you need a license or permit?

How much will it cost to run your business?

How much do you need to charge to break even or turn a profit?

Even if you’re planning for a small online store — like opening an Etsy shop where you’ll list a handful of handicrafts each month — look at your competitors and think about your target customers. This information can help you with everything from writing more effective product listings to deciding which social media platforms to advertise on.

Once you have a vision for your business, it’s time to shop for your virtual storefront. You can use an e-commerce website builder to create your own website, with its own domain name and unique design. Or you can build your store on a third-party marketplace, like Amazon, Etsy or Depop.

Here’s how to choose.

E-commerce website builders

Best for: Online stores that want to develop a strong, unique brand via their own website.

These tools help you build a freestanding e-commerce website that isn’t linked to any particular marketplace. Popular options include Shopify, Squarespace and Square Online. Think of this as renting a storefront on Main Street with your own address, signage and space inside to customize.

On one hand, building your store this way gives you more control over the look and feel of your website, and you’ll likely save money on transaction fees. On the other, you may have to invest more in marketing and advertising to compete with sellers across the web.

There are a few free e-commerce website builders , and paid options generally start at $25 to $30 per month.

Third-party marketplaces

Best for: Online stores that are willing to pay higher fees and sacrifice some branding opportunities in exchange for easier access to customers.

Third-party marketplaces include websites like Amazon, Etsy, Depop, Poshmark and eBay. You can set up a storefront and list products on your chosen platform, and when shoppers visit the site to search for a certain type of good, they may find yours. Think of this as renting a kiosk at a craft fair or a booth at a farmers market.

On one hand, these marketplaces already have dedicated shoppers, so you only have to compete with other sellers on the platform. On the other, your store will probably look a lot like other stores on your chosen marketplace. These places tend to charge higher transaction fees in exchange for providing so much infrastructure.

» MORE: Shopify vs. Etsy: Read our head-to-head comparison

If you sell services instead of physical products, look for an e-commerce platform that lets you take appointment bookings, prompt customers to fill out intake forms and send them reminders.

Now that you’ve decided what your store will look like, it’s time to fill its (virtual) shelves.

If you’re planning to make items yourself or resell vintage goods, this may be pretty straightforward — your listings will be governed by how much you can create or what you find at estate sales each month, for instance.

But if you’re selling manufactured goods, you’ll have more options to consider.

If you’re willing to keep inventory in stock, your options include:

Wholesaling, or buying goods in bulk from industry sellers, then selling them in smaller quantities. You can search online for wholesale goods, but visiting trade shows and wholesale markets can help you zero in on a specific niche.

White-labeling, or buying generic goods from manufacturers, then adding your own branding. 

Retail arbitrage, or searching for retail goods at steep discounts and selling them at their usual prices.

» MORE: How to find products to sell on Amazon

If you don’t want to deal with inventory management, consider:

Dropshipping, which is a popular online business idea but can be a difficult space to compete in. Dropshippers identify products from manufacturers or wholesalers that they want to list in their stores. When a buyer places an order, the dropshipper hands the order off to the dropshipping supplier. Then, the supplier ships the good to the customer — the dropshipper never handles it themselves. 

Print-on-demand, which is a type of dropshipping. Print-on-demand services print your designs on generic goods like T-shirts and coffee cups. When a customer orders a product, the print-on-demand supplier creates it and ships it out. 

Now it’s time to turn to your online shopping cart .

Your shoppers need to be able to pay for their purchases, probably with debit or credit cards. This service is called payment processing . Expect your payment processor to take around 3% of your revenue in exchange for its services.

If you build your online store on a third-party marketplace like Amazon, payment processing and fees probably come built into your total transaction cost.

If you choose an e-commerce website builder, you’ll likely have the option to choose a built-in payment processing option — for instance, Shopify defaults to Shopify Payments, and Squarespace offers Stripe. The payment processor will automatically take a percentage of each transaction on top of the website builder’s monthly subscription fee if you have one.

Some e-commerce platforms let you choose your own payment processor. The more you’re planning to sell, the more you stand to benefit from shopping around for the cheapest credit card processing .

Think about how you’ll get goods from their source — whether that’s your basement or a warehouse — to your customers.

Many online store builders offer shipping label printing, and some even give you discounted rates with certain shipping companies. They may also provide tracking information to your customers automatically. And some offer dynamic shipping rates at checkout, which means they’ll determine the cost of shipping based on a customer’s address and then pass that cost along to the customer.

Choosing an e-commerce platform with shipping tools can help eliminate the headaches of handling shipping manually.

If you choose to manage shipping on your own, though, know that shipping costs are usually determined based on how much your package weighs and how far it’s traveling. The bigger it is and the farther it’s going, the more you’ll pay. Research shipping costs in advance and make sure to build those costs into your prices.

It's important to separate your business and personal finances when starting an online store. Even if you’re only selling a small handful of goods, you’ll need to know how much revenue your business is generating when it’s time to file your taxes.

Key decisions at this point include:

Choosing a business structure , like an LLC or sole proprietorship . A sole proprietorship doesn’t require any setup work, but it’s important to understand what it is and how your business income will be taxed.

Opening a business checking account . You can do this for free online. NerdWallet recommends all business owners have a bank account dedicated to their business, no matter how small it is.

Figuring out whether you need any licenses or permits. You may need a business license. If you perform certain services, you may need an occupational license, too. Check your state or local government website for requirements. 

» MORE: Do you need a business license to sell online?

It’s time for your grand opening: Publishing your website and listing your first few products for sale.

If you’re creating detailed listings on a third-party marketplace, orders may start rolling in as shoppers come across them. But if you choose to build your own website, you may need to invest more time and resources in online marketing .

Lots of e-commerce website builders come with marketing tools that can help you create social media posts and ads and send emails to your customers. If you need more support as your business grows, consider investing in digital marketing software .

On a similar note...

BUSINESS STRATEGIES

How to start an eCommerce business in 10 steps

• Amanda Bellucco Chatham
• 20 min read

Get started by: Create an online store →  | Getting a domain →

Learning how to start an eCommerce business can be a complex endeavor. To put your business on the path to success, you need more than an idea; you need a plan. This post provides a step-by-step guide to the process of starting a business , from initial inspiration to the first online sale and beyond. 

Ready to start selling? Build your eCommerce website  with Wix.

As with any entrepreneurial venture, careful planning and preparation are essential to your success. Here are the steps to follow to get started with your own eCommerce business: 

Identify your online business niche

Do market research

Select the right product mix

Secure product sources

Write a strong business plan

Set your business name and legal structure

Choose an eCommerce platform

Create your online store

Manage your eCommerce business finances

Market your eCommerce business

01. Identify your online business niche

While it may seem counterintuitive, your chances of making it big in eCommerce are better when you start by thinking small—that is, when you start by defining a niche for your online business.

While it’s helpful to study the general trends, broad categories can be crowded with competitors. As one example, health and personal care is slated for growth to over 13% of the eCommerce market  through 2027 but trying to compete with major drug chains or beauty retailers can prove difficult (if not impossible) for new players.  

Instead of targeting a large, general market, target a niche market. For instance, you could start an eCommerce business that focuses on organic skin care for teens, with a selection of cleansers, moisturizers and sunscreen for acne-prone skin. Finding a product to sell is perhaps the most crucial part of starting an ecommerce business, so make sure to do your research.

It helps to have expertise in your chosen niche. You’ll spend a lot of time researching the right products or services to provide. You’ll dive into every detail of the business. And, at least at first, you’ll likely manage day-to-day operations, so you should be passionate about what your ecommerce business idea . 

Related reading: $300K in 7 days: building a million-dollar beauty subscription business  

02. Do market research

Once you’ve pinpointed an ecommerce business niche or idea, it’s time to research and evaluate your potential market. Not only will you learn more about your audience but you’ll also gather the quantifiable data you need to make revenue projections and calculate costs. To understand the market, consider these strategies:

Identify your audience type :   Are you catering to corporate professionals or individual consumers? The audience you have in mind will help determine th e type of business  you intend to operate. While many eCommerce businesses serve exclusively B2B or B2C customers, some sellers serve both. For example, a gourmet food seller that typically sells to individual consumers may offer corporate gifting services for the holidays. Or, an apparel retailer may provide customization options for bulk orders, enabling companies to print custom uniforms that include their logos. Get familiar with the main ecommerce KPIs before getting started.

Size your market : Build a profile of your ideal customer based on their demographics, geographic location, interests, spending habits and any other salient details. Then use that profile to guide your research into census and market data to arrive at realistic numbers. Your goal is to understand your potential customers better as you gauge the ultimate potential for growth for your eCommerce business. These benchmarks will also help you forecast revenue and demand as accurately as possible until you begin generating sales and have an earnings history to use as a guide.

Immerse yourself in the trade : Follow trade media and individual thought leaders in your chosen category and read up on overall eCommerce trends via publications. The Wix eCommerce Blog  is a great place to get started.

Study the competition : Dive deep into competitor websites, sign up for their email updates and track news coverage on your competitors. Pay attention to how they market themselves, both online and offline. If you can dig up financial reports or earnings, that information can guide your own forecasts and projections.

Ask your audience directly : Use surveys and polls to gather information from your potential customers. Hang out in relevant social media groups and forums and attend in-person events where potential customers congregate. 

03. Select the right product mix

Your niche and your target market will guide decisions about which products to sell or services to offer. Consider, for example, whether your audience would be receptive to curated kits or gift sets, and whether seasonality is a factor.

Price and profit margin are essential to consider, as they determine the potential for your business to scale. A break-even analysis will help you figure out how much of each product you need to sell to recoup your initial costs and begin making a profit. 

When selecting products to sell, you’ll want to consider factors like: 

Product life : Know your expected  product life cycle . This will help you create a multi-year plan for your eCommerce business. Some big-ticket items are built to last decades; buyers who ordered a sofa may not return to your site immediately, unless you offer complementary items. On the other end of the spectrum, replenishable goods like pet food or beauty supplies may inherently attract repeat purchases. For these, you may want to offer bulk discounts or start a subscription box business  to further encourage repeat business. 

Price expectations :   While offering a variety of price points can broaden your appeal with buyers, if your audience is used to purchasing luxury goods, then you may want to limit your selection to top-of-the-line offerings. If you’re a B2B seller, consider whether your corporate clients expect you to offer items in bulk at wholesale  prices. 

Cost of goods sold (COGS) :   As you select products, consider overhead costs and logistics , such as whether items require fancy packaging or “white-glove” delivery and installation. Digital products, by contrast, have no shipping or physical  procurement  requirements. You can calculate COGS with the following formula: beginning inventory + purchased inventory − ending inventory.

Once you have guidelines in place, dive into the specifics. If you need inspiration and want to see what’s trending, turn to competitor websites or search best-selling items on marketplaces like Amazon. Ecommerce tools like Google Trends and Algopix can also help identify hot products. Or, use your favorite SEO or keyword research tool, like Semrush, to find frequently searched products, validate a product concept and/or discover which brands are most frequently searched in your market.

04. Secure product sources and suppliers

Once you have specific items in mind, you’ll need to determine the right product sourcing method. Perhaps you create all of your products by hand and want to keep it that way. Or, maybe you’re interested in dropshipping with a platform like Modalyst , Wix’s native dropshipping solution.

Depending on your budget, resources and preferences, you have a few options to choose from when it comes to sourcing products:

Make goods by hand yourself : Quality is fully within your control, but it can be tricky to scale your business or keep up with high order volumes. 

Hire a manufacturer :   You source products from a third-party manufacturer but sell them under your brand name. Items are made to your specifications, and you retain control over production, pricing and branding. You can make goods efficiently in large quantities, but good communication with your production partner is essential to ensure quality is up to snuff.

Partner with name-brand manufacturers : If you seek products from specific manufacturers or designers, you can contract as an official reseller or dealer and offer those products through your eCommerce site. While your brand will get a boost from the affiliation, you’ll need to price items low enough to compete with other sellers, and some brands may have policies around a product’s minimum advertised price (MAP). Both can cut into margins. Retailers can also create their own branded merchandise via private label  lines in partnership with manufacturers, straddling the manufacturer/retailer divide. Costco’s Kirkland line or Amazon’s AmazonBasics are just two examples of this strategy.

Source from wholesalers : Wholesale suppliers offer catalogs of goods, often from multiple manufacturers. You can find inexpensive products to buy wholesale, which gives you leeway in pricing. On the flip side, products sourced overseas may bring additional delivery costs and tariffs as well as the expense of inventory and warehousing.

Work with dropship suppliers :   Dropshipping  shifts traditional retailer responsibilities to suppliers, enabling you to launch an eCommerce business with minimal upfront investment. You handle the marketing and choose your products, but incoming orders are routed directly to your suppliers, who are responsible for shipping items directly to your customers. You never have to buy and hold inventory, run a warehouse or ship items yourself. On the flip side, you have less control over product quality and delivery, putting your brand in a vulnerable position if suppliers slip up.  Ghost commerce  takes it a step further, where the supplier ships items, yet you maintain your brand’s image and handle customer relations.

It’s important to weigh your options when choosing a product sourcing method, and truly evaluate all of them carefully. Before you make a definitive decision, ask yourself the following questions:

Do you want to customize or brand your products? Because wholesale suppliers produce in bulk, it may be hard to tweak selections to match your criteria. As an intermediate option, some suppliers offer white labeling, which allows you to sell ready-made products with your logo and branding. And if you want to personalize products further, explore print on demand . This is a subset of dropshipping that allows you to offer custom designs on a selection of products created to your specifications as orders come in. 

How much capital do you have to invest in inventory ?   If you’re working with limited startup funds, dropshipping can be a more economical route for launching your brand. 

How complex are your warehousing and fulfillment needs?  If you offer recurring subscription shipments, corporate gifting services or bulk order capabilities, you may need to manage logistics yourself to ensure deliveries are accurate and on time. 

How do your competitors source their products?  While you don’t want to outright copy your competitors, research as much as you can about their processes to identify any potential differentiating advantages they have. Do they have exclusive dealer rights to brand-name merchandise you want to stock? Do they offer products sourced exclusively from sustainable suppliers? 

What is your backup plan if one of your suppliers has issues? Nearly four in 10 shoppers  have abandoned online purchases due to items being out of stock, so take proactive steps to avoid disappointing buyers. Find backup sources of widely available wholesale products, and cover contingencies in your contracts with suppliers. 

How will you scale  your business?  Manufacturing or making your own products gives you the greatest amount of control, but they also make it difficult to meet rising demand. You may need to contract with a new factory altogether, hire staff or find other expensive solutions. For a more flexible option, you may want to consider dropshipping or wholesaling. 

What are your audience’s expectations?  Buyers are prioritizing sustainability more and more. In fact, U.S. consumers are reportedly willing to pay an 11% premium  for products with reduced environmental impact. If your customers expect ethically sourced products, include those factors in your sourcing criteria.

05. Write a strong business plan to validate your idea

Document all the research and planning you’ve done up to this point with a formal eCommerce business plan . Not only does a business plan capture your work in a comprehensive and detailed format, but it also provides a touchstone for keeping your day-to-day operations focused on your mission. The strongest business plans keep teams aligned during launch and lay the foundation for attracting the right business partners and investors. 

While the individual components of a business plan can be tailored to your unique priorities, you should include the following elements to be sure the document is relevant and useful: 

Mission, description and unique selling proposition (USP) : Your business plan should outline the reason your company exists, summarize at a high level what it does and identify what sets your brand apart from others. This information helps you stake your claim in the marketplace and guides future decisions about priorities. In particular, it’s critical to flesh out your  unique selling proposition . Your USP guides your product positioning , helps you to stand out from the competition and identifies partners and consumers who share your values. For example, “plastic-negative” water company and Wix merchant  Mananalu  differentiates its products by supporting a larger cause. Mananalu water is packaged in refillable aluminum bottles, which are easier to recycle than plastic. In addition, each time a consumer buys a Mananalu water, the company pledges to remove a plastic bottle from the ocean waste stream. Shoppers can even buy further “plastic offsets” to support the company’s cause. Climate Neutral certification and “1% for the Planet” membership provide third-party credentials attesting to the company’s commitment to sustainability.

Market and SWOT analysis : Summarize your market research and describe your company’s position relative to the competition. Provide an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) to pinpoint your areas of greatest potential growth. A realistic analysis will help maintain focus not only as you launch, but as you scale and add new offerings. 

Your offering :   Use your previous research and planning to create a detailed description of your products and/or services, product sourcing and pricing strategy. Describe how this offering aligns with your audience’s needs. In addition, describe your plans for customer service and order fulfillment as crucial components of the brand experience.

Marketing  plans : Describe how you plan to introduce your eCommerce business to your target audience, including which digital channels you’ll prioritize and which technologies you’ll rely on to execute marketing tactics.

Financial forecasts : Using your previous research, build a model forecasting expenses, revenues and growth. To ground your projections in reality, use real-life results from competitors or other businesses in your field. Consult trade publications and category experts for growth benchmarks and formulas to incorporate.

Funding sources : Describe how you’ll secure the startup resources you need, whether through your own savings, private equity, crowdfunding or investors. If you’re presenting your plan to potential funding sources, customize the information to explain the rationale behind your request and describe the benefits of funding your business.

06. Set your business name and legal structure

After you put your business plan together, you’ll need to set up the actual legal framework to support your business.

Start by picking a business name that reflects your brand identity and USP. If you need some inspiration, try researching popular search keywords, brainstorming names related to your niche or playing with different spelling variations. Wix’s free business name generator  can provide more ideas. As you narrow the list, check that the names are:

Easy to read, say, spell and remember

Search-friendly

Available as a website domain 

Not being used by another business (in the U.S., individual states maintain registries of businesses you can check)

Once you have your business name figured out, you’ll need a logo. You can create one yourself, work with a graphic designer or try out the Wix logo maker  for free.

Next, you’ll want to choose the right legal structure for your eCommerce company—a key step in starting a business  of any type. Your overarching business structure will define your liabilities, tax status and more.

Consult with legal professionals and accountants to determine whether a sole proprietorship ,  partnership ,  limited liability company (LLC)  or corporation  is right for you. In the U.S., you’ll also need to register your business and apply for a federal employer identification number (EIN) in order to pay taxes, open a business bank account or obtain financing. You can do this through the IRS’s website for free.

07. Choose an eCommerce platform

At this point, you’re ready to bring your brand to life through building your own ecommerce website . 

The first step is to choose the best eCommerce platform  for your needs. There are dozens of website builders on the market, so evaluate your options carefully. To ensure your eCommerce website development  goes smoothly, look for a platform that provides:

Professional aesthetics : Wix offers hundreds of specialized online store templates  you can customize to reflect your brand.

A domain name : You’ll need a domain name  of your own to match your business name.

Enterprise-grade security : Wix offers a secure infrastructure  with 24/7 security monitoring to protect against data breaches.

Top performance : It’s critical to have web hosting  with the capacity to support a speedy, high-performance site  on both mobile and desktop devices, even during peak sales periods.

Built-in analytics : Wix’s analytics dashboard helps you track key ecommerce metrics , such as website traffic  and generate historical performance reports.

Customizable shopping cart pages : A customizable shopping cart page  will ensure your branding and messaging are consistent throughout the purchase process.

Variety of checkout options : Flexible eCommerce checkout  options should support whichever payment method your customers prefer. Wix Payments is an integrated payment gateway system that can connect to in-store point-of-sale (POS) registers, too and allows you to accept payments on a website.

A content management system : A content management system  (CMS) should ideally support robust product information and brand-building features such as blogs, how-to articles and buying guides.

Back-office functionality : Look for integrated tools that help automate back-office functions, like bookkeeping and order fulfillment. Wix offers ecommerce tools for tasks like inventory management , invoice creation  and more.

A reasonable pricing model : Your platform’s pricing model should make sense financially for your business, both now and in the future. As you research, pay close attention to recurring fees and special surcharges so you understand the total cost. With Wix, you can build a website with eCommerce functionality for as little as $27 per month.

Get ready for launch. Sign up  for Wix today.

08. Create your online store

Regardless of which eCommerce platform you choose, it’s important to research the best practices for designing an online store . Knowing how to make a website  includes the following best practices:

Be clear about what you sell : Make it easy for customers to understand your business and products by using consistent design elements and language throughout the site. Avoid jargon-heavy or overly cutesy names for product categories and individual items; use accurate language that matches the search terms your audience enters. Once shoppers are ready to buy, don’t beat around the bush; use clear calls-to-action like “Shop Now” or “Buy Now.” 

Invest in high-quality imagery : A picture is worth a thousand words, and that’s especially true in eCommerce. Buyers can’t physically touch and try products, so photos and videos help convince them to have faith and click “Buy.” High-quality photos that clearly show details and features are essential, while videos demonstrate products in action and can be repurposed for social platforms like TikTok. 

Showcase user-generated content (UGC) : Buyers trust others like them to communicate authentically about products and services, so find ways to spotlight customer reviews, user-submitted photos and social media comments. The same holds true in the B2B world; 86% of businesses  consider verified reviews a critical factor in purchase decisions when deciding vendors.

Embrace mobile : Transactions on mobile devices already account for four in 10 online sales , and an even higher share of product research occurs on smartphones thanks to their “anywhere, anytime” availability. Your eCommerce site shouldn’t just be mobile-compatible. You should assume the majority of interactions with your brand will occur on the go. Make sure that pages load quickly even when wi-fi isn’t available, and that images render clearly on small screens.

Learn more:

eCommerce vs retail

09. Manage your eCommerce business finances

Once you’ve launched your eCommerce business, you need the tools to track sales, profit and growth. These eCommerce money management tips  offer best practices to ensure you have adequate cash flow from month to month and can keep your business humming along. 

Three things in particular are worth monitoring closely:

Plan for seasonality : Holidays, annual weather patterns and other cyclical influences can cause your income to spike and dive. For example, in the U.S., the final quarter of the year can account for more than 30%  of annual sales for some categories of retailers. Other cycles might be particular to your industry: if you offer bookkeeping or accounting services online, for example, your peak season might end on April 15, the filing deadline for personal income taxes. Accurate forecasting can help predict when sales will pour in so you can manage cash flow to cover leaner months.

Get a handle on fulfillment costs :   If your eCommerce business involves delivering physical goods, be prepared to spend 15% to 20% of net sales on fulfillment costs . Of course, if you provide a virtual service or a downloadable app or software product, you can avoid these costs altogether. If you use dropshippers to fulfill orders instead, you won’t carry those overhead costs yourself, but the suppliers will likely pass them on to you as part of your fees.

Guard against costly chargebacks and returns :   It’s estimated that 17.6% of all online sales are returned . Add in the cost of reverse logistics—where goods are returned to stock for resale or simply discarded—and you’ll want to prevent returns in the first place. Try to create detailed product pages that include fit and sizing guides, compatibility information and materials. In addition, bolster your customer service content to address common questions before purchase; communicate shipping timeframes so consumers don’t cancel orders in transit if they don’t arrive in time. Finally, set a return policy  you can actually afford.

Read more:   SMB online commerce  for acquiring banks and merchant acquirers.

10. Market your eCommerce business

Launching your online store is an achievement, but by no means can you “set it and forget it.” With so many eCommerce websites available, you need to promote your brand to attract new buyers and create incentives that keep customers coming back.

As you allocate your marketing budget to sell more products online , focus on the digital channels you know your audience uses. Follow these strategies: 

Personalize the shopping experience : Seven in 10 consumers  now expect personalized interactions with companies, and businesses meeting that expectation can boost their marketing return on investment (ROI) anywhere from 10-30%. Seek out tools that enable you to automate eCommerce personalization  in email campaigns, product recommendations and post-purchase promotions. For example, with Wix, you can add a “Best Sellers” or “Related Products” gallery  to your product pages.

Boost word-of-mouth buzz : Encouraging customers to create and share reviews is just the start when it comes to building word-of-mouth advocacy for your brand. Create promotions that reward customers for referring friends and family, and post share-worthy takes and exclusive offers on the social media networks that your customers use most. To further boost visibility on social media, consider working with micro-influencers. These personalities may not have millions of followers, but they have devoted audiences whose interests can align closely with your brand offering.  

Prioritize SEO : More than half of consumers  rely on search engines as their top tool for shopping research, so stay up-to-date on best practices for search engine optimization to give your brand the best possible chance at visibility. Develop rich content, optimize for mobile devices, maximize site speed and earn inbound links to improve your rankings. 

Build loyalty :   While it’s natural to devote attention to finding new customers during launch, you also need a plan for keeping the customers you already have. It’s less expensive to build a loyal following than to continually churn through one-time purchasers, and repeat customers tend to outspend new buyers . Consider creating a loyalty program that rewards buyers with perks and exclusive offers based on how much they spend.

Drive more sales with Wix eCommerce marketing .

What is an eCommerce business?

An eCommerce business is a company that sells products or services online. With an online store, you can serve customers around the world, and buyers can browse and make purchases at any time of the day. 

Ecommerce sales have increased faster than other retail businesses in recent years. In the third quarter of 2023, for example, the U.S. Department of Commerce reports that retail eCommerce sales grew 7.6% year over year  to $1.8 billion, compared with 2.3% growth in the overall retail sector. In the past 10 years, eCom merce has grown from 6% to more than 15% of all retail sales, according to the Department of Commerce.

Given this growth, it’s no wonder that merchants of all types now view eCommerce as an essential part of their business. The number of eCommerce websites worldwide nearly tripled   between 2019 and 2023 to 26.5 million.

It’s worth noting that while some eCommerce sellers operate exclusively online, others use their websites to enhance and complement offerings at physical store locations, manufacturing plants or offices. Business-to-consumer (B2C)  eCommerce serves individual retail shoppers, while business-to-business (B2B)  sellers offer products or services to other companies. 

What is an eCommerce website?

Types of eCommerce

Ecommerce advantages and disadvantages

How much does it cost to start an eCommerce business?

The cost of starting an eCommerce business depends on many factors, from the type of products you sell to the features you need to power your online store. But when all is said and done, you could spend anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000 .

That range may seem high—in fact, you may wonder if you could drop a zero from the lower end of the scale. Dropshipping can eliminate upfront inventory and fulfillment costs, and platforms such as Wix offer inexpensive eCommerce site hosting plans and design services. But even with this minimalist approach, you still may need to factor in costs for things like marketing, technology and software, legal and administrative fees, and more.

No matter how much startup capital you have at your disposal, it's important to do your research and plan carefully before starting an eCommerce business. This will help you avoid costly mistakes and increase your chances of success. The potential costs to consider include: 

Business formation and licensure : Setting up your business structure and governance, securing any required licenses and filing registration and tax paperwork can add up to several billable hours from legal and accounting professionals. 

Ecommerce platform : The technology behind your eCommerce website is all-important and should support integrated shipping, payments and marketing from one unified dashboard. Depending on the platform, each module may be priced separately, or you may be charged a single annual fee for all-in-one service.

Products : The upfront cost of your products will vary depending on what you're selling online  and which sourcing method you choose. If you hold inventory, add the overhead expense of storage or warehousing space.

Design, eCommerce photography and copywriting : As you set up your online store, you may wish to enlist professional help with the website design, product photos and written content. If you’re launching in more than one country, you may need to find translation services to ensure product copy is localized accurately.

Customer service : Responsive service is a must for building your brand’s reputation. Make a plan to personally handle incoming questions and requests or hire staff to ensure adequate coverage.

Logistics : If you want to handle order and ecommerce management yourself versus outsourcing to a dropshipper, you need to invest in packaging, staff to pick and pack orders, and contracts with freight carriers or third-party logistics providers to handle deliveries.

Marketing : Even if you don’t allocate budget to paid advertising, you’ll still need to invest hours into setting up social media accounts and optimizing your website for search engines.

Why start an eCommerce business in 2024?

U.S. eCommerce sales are expected to grow 10.5% year over year in 2024 , so there’s no time like the present to get started. Here are just a few reasons to start an eCommerce business this year:

The barriers to entry are (relatively) low :   While launching an eCommerce business successfully does take some initial investment, it’s far less expensive to build a brand online. In the past, shopping technology was prohibitively expensive and required a professional IT staff to manage.

You can earn a profit (relatively) quickly : While you won’t generate millions overnight, the relatively low startup costs and efficiencies of scale you can access via dropshipping means that you may be operating in the black within a year to 18 months. While the size of your profits depend in large part on your category and your wholesale product costs, relevant, high-quality products and superior service can help justify the higher prices that lead to bigger margins.

You can access rapidly-growing global markets : As much as the U.S. represents a huge eCommerce market, other parts of the world are seeing even more exponential growth—and you can sell to these nascent markets without needing a physical presence or local staff. While China is dominant in terms of eCommerce market size and penetration, countries that are potentially more accessible, such as Canada, Mexico and the U.K., are all top global targets to consider .

You can run your business your way :   As the world discovered during the COVID-19 pandemic, digital businesses can be managed remotely. You can route orders to dropshippers and respond to customer service queries on your own time, anywhere—a stark contrast with traditional retail, which tethers you to a store location and requires staff to serve customers during set hours. 

How profitable is an eCommerce business?

The profitability of an ecommerce business is dependent on many factors, including the type of industry and niche you choose. When trying to determine how profitable this business type might be, or how long it might take to reach profitability with an ecommerce business you'll need to consider the following:

Industry and niche

Different industries and niches have varying profit margins. For example, businesses selling high-value products or unique items with low competition, such as luxury or handmade goods, may have higher profit margins than those selling low-priced commodity items such as stationary for example.

Business model

The business model you choose, such as dropshipping, wholesale or manufacturing, directly impacts profitability. Dropshipping, for example, means lower overhead costs especially at the start but may mean lower profit margins. Manufacturing products requires more upfront investment but can also mean higher profit margins especially long term.

Operating costs

Keeping your operating costs low, including website fees, marketing expenses and shipping costs, is crucial for maximizing profitability with an ecommerce business.

Marketing and sales strategies

Effective marketing and sales strategies that drive traffic and conversions are essential for generating revenue from your online store. This also means controlling your Customer acquisition cost (CAC) - the cost of acquiring new customers should be lower than the lifetime value of a customer to ensure profitability. At the same time, increasing your average order value by offering product bundles, upselling or cross-selling can boost the profitability of your business. This also means focusing on customer retention and building strong customer relationships for repeat customers.

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Ecommerce Business Plan Template: How to Make a Business Plan

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As the Benjamin Franklin quote goes, “by failing to plan, you’re planning to fail” – and it’s a sentiment that’s just as relevant today just as it was in the 1700s.

Particularly if you’re managing an ecommerce site .

After all, one research project (a collaboration between Forbes, Huffington Post, and Marketing Signals) suggests that a whopping 90% of ecommerce businesses fail in the first 120 days of their existence. So how can yours avoid being part of that short-lived majority?

With an ecommerce business plan, that’s how.

So read on – we’re walking you through what ecommerce business plans are, and why you need one. You’ll find a complete ecommerce business plan template below, too – so you can start planning for your own online enterprise’s future, today.

What is an Ecommerce Business Plan?

An ecommerce business plan is a document that outlines your online business’s objectives and strategy. That’s a summary of both your goals and how you plan to achieve them.

A good ecommerce business plan should identify all the potential challenges your online enterprise will face as you chase profitability, scalability, or simply sustainability. They’ll lay out the groundwork, too: including an analysis of the market you’re planning to enter, and the customers you’re intending to target.

And, of course, an ecommerce business plan should get specific. How will you source your products? Which tactics will you use to market them? How will you fund your fledgling business, and maintain cash flow when times get tough?

Though they’re also useful for keeping you on track with your goals, ecommerce business plans are vital for attracting and securing outside investment, too – so it’s important you get yours right.

Food products are an excellent option for selling online, and you find a list of examples here . But remember, you need to factor regulations and food safety requirements into your business plan.

Why Create an Ecommerce Business Plan?

There are plenty of benefits to creating a comprehensive business plan for your online store:

• Gaining a deeper understanding of your business – your blockers, biggest assets, and most lucrative opportunities.
• Understanding the state of the market, and where you want to position your ecommerce store within it.
• Planning for what’s ahead – getting to grips with industry trends, and how they might affect your burgeoning business.
• Testing how viable your ecommerce store’s idea and concept is, and any weak points inherent in the premise.
• Assessing the outlay required – be it time, effort, or money, this is useful for understanding the scope of the work that lies ahead.
• Obtaining funding – business plans are, after all, super useful for selling the idea of your online store to potential investors.
• Clarifying your strategies for marketing, logistics, and finance, as well as exactly who your target audience is. Making your business idea a little more tangible – it’s starting to feel real now!

Ecommerce Business Plan Template

Ready to start penning your plan?

Read on – the ecommerce business plan template below offers a handy framework to get you started.

Executive Summary

Like a blurb on the back of a book or an abstract at the start of an academic article, an executive summary is designed to give time-poor readers a concise, compelling overview of your ecommerce business plan’s contents.

While your executive summary should take pride of place at the top of your business plan, you shouldn’t write it until the end. That’s because you’ll figure out more about your ecommerce store’s plans, ambitions, audience, and strategies as you flesh out your plan – and you’ll want these to be reflected in that punchy, persuasive first statement.

So what should an executive summary include for an ecommerce business, exactly?

Here’s a quick (non-executive) summary:

• What your business does
• What goals you want to achieve
• What product or service you’re selling
• Where you’re selling
• Who you’re targeting
• Who your competitors are
• How you plan to make money
• How you’ll implement the business plan that follows

Remember, an executive summary needs to be crisp, clear, and to the point. Don’t waffle on with overlong or unnecessary analysis – you’ll lose your reader’s interest!

Company Overview

With your reader now hooked, it’s time to explain exactly who you are, what you do, and why you do it.

A company overview should include:

• Details of your products/services – what are you planning to sell?
• Your company’s key details – your name, tagline, logo, and any top-level branding information.
• Your key individuals – your founder(s), CEO, and COOs.
• Its legal structure: have you set up as a partnership, or a Limited Liability Company (LLC)?
• Your vision, mission , and values. Beyond making money, what does your ecommerce store stand for? What do you believe in – and what higher purpose gets your staff up and out of bed in the morning?

Market Analysis

Next up in your ecommerce business plan, you’ll need to provide a detailed analysis of the market you’re entering into. This is crucial – after all, if there aren’t any existing market gaps for your business to service, it’ll struggle to make an impact.

Your market analysis should include an exploration of:

• Market size
• Current competitors
• Any gaps, opportunities, and threats

To do all this, a SWOT analysis is a pretty good place to start. It stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It’s a form of situational analysis that can help you understand the nature of your business vis a vis the competition.

Customer Research

Who are you planning to sell to? It’s a key question you’ll need to know – and that any potential investors will demand to know – before your ecommerce business gets off the ground.

So, your ecommerce business plan needs to get specific about that sweet slice of the pie you’re targeting. That includes a deep dive into the demographics – specifically, your prospective customers’:

To gain this info, you can conduct market research into the portion of the market most interested in – or most likely to buy – your products or services. That could involve running focus groups, or sending out incentivized surveys.

Advice from the Experts

Top tip: for an even more granular way of conceptualizing your potential customers, create buyer personas . these are fictional depictions or real consumers, with pain points, goals, likes, dislikes, and demographic info all fleshed out..

By tailoring all your messaging to one or more of these personas, you can increase the effectiveness of your comms.

Marketing Plan

Next up? Details about how you plan to spread the word of your business.

This will include which communication channels you intend to prioritize, which marketing strategies you’ll implement, and which milestones and metrics you’ll use to measure it all.

Your marketing plan should make clear:

• Your marketing goals
• KPIs: such as engagement rates, traffic, conversion rate
• Key channels: email, SEO content, paid SEM marketing
• Your key marketing tactics: will you focus on social media, or plow your resources into influencer marketing? Perhaps a blend of both?

Need some digital marketing tips to add clarity and clout to your marketing plan? Our comprehensive guide has you covered.

Logistics Plan

You know how you’re going to entice your customers to buy from you – but how will you actually get your products to their doorstep once they do?

This is what your ecommerce business plan’s logistics section aims to explain. It’ll include:

• Where you’ll source your products
• How (and where) you’ll store those products
• How you’ll deal with orders
• How you’ll fulfill orders – in-house, or via a 3PL (third-party logistics) supplier?
• How you’ll handle deliveries, and which shipping provider you’ll partner with
• How you’ll deal with returns

3PL suppliers like ShipBob store, sort, pick, pack, and ship your goods – so they can be a fantastic option if you’re a growing business, and outsourcing the fulfillment process makes sense.

Financial Plan

As it so often does in the world of commerce, your business plan all boils down to this –  the money .

Your financial plan describes how you’ll first fund your business, then keep it afloat. Here, you’ll set out your fiscal stall with a series of projections around cash flow and income. The goal? To convince investors (and, on some level, yourself!) that your business has legs.

Your ecommerce business plan’s financial chapter should include:

• How you’ll fund your store’s start-up costs
• How you’ll price your products
• How much profit you’ll make on each product sold
• Financial projections
• Income statement
• Balance sheet

Do I Need a Business Plan?

Yes. Yes, you do.

It can be easy, as a business that only exists online, to get complacent – to assume that you don’t need a business plan.

‘Business plans are a traditional document,’ you think. ‘They don’t have a place in the world of modern ecommerce businesses.’

Well, guess what? They do – regardless of what you call, or how you classify, your business. But there are certain types of ventures where a comprehensive business plan will be especially useful. Among these are:

• New ecommerce stores
• Businesses seeking investment
• Businesses looking to expand into new markets
• Ventures attempting to increase their share of an existing market

Even if your ecommerce store falls into none of these categories, a business plan is always a good idea. It’ll clarify and crystallize your professional goals, hold you accountable to your ambitions, and keep you on track to making your dreams a reality.

In this article, you’ve learned exactly what a business plan is, and why it’s vital for commercial success – particularly for brands of the ecommerce persuasion.

You’re also well-versed in the structure and contents of an ecommerce business plan:

• Executive summary
• Company overview
• Market analysis
• Customer research
• Marketing plan
• Logistics plan
• Financial plan

What now? Well, it’s time to get researching and writing. So remember – keep it simple, keep it tight, and make sure it reflects the heart and soul of your business (and all that passion you feel for it, too!).

Putting together a business plan is exciting. It’s that tangible, real expression of your goals and vision for your ecommerce store – so it shouldn’t be a chore. Go enjoy it!

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• Sample Business Plans
• Retail, Consumers & E-commerce

How to Write E-commerce Business Plan + Template

So apparently everyone is jumping in to start an ecommerce business. Considering you already have your star product or service ready, you must be very thrilled to launch your business and make your first sale.

However, wait. Is your business plan ready? If you haven’t marked writing a business plan as the most important task on your checklist, you need to do that right away.

We know writing an ecommerce business plan is challenging. As a business owner of this new challenging enterprise, you don’t have much time. But this detailed guide with step-by-step procedures is likely to make the entire process of writing easier for you.

Don’t waste a minute further. Let’s dive right into the topic.

Key Takeaways

• Elements like executive summary, product or service, operations, marketing and sales plan, management team, and financial plan come together to make a compelling business plan.
• Determine marketing strategies for your ecommerce business and lay a clear action plan for building a solid brand image.
• Clearly establish your value propositions, business goals, and objectives to form relevant strategies for your ecommerce company.
• Make financial projections and consider various progressive and aggressive scenarios to establish the feasibility of your business idea.
• Identify the gaps and loopholes in your planning and make changes to your business idea accordingly.

Why do you need an Ecommerce business plan?

A business plan has many more advantages apart from helping you get approved for a business loan. Here are a few potential benefits of having one for your ecommerce company:

• Goals fulfillment: You will have to juggle multiple roles while running your ecommerce store. A well-crafted business plan will offer a roadmap to your business while helping you realize your business goals.
• Business strategies: A  business plan simplifies your business strategy and helps put the strategies for sales, marketing, and operations in perspective.
• Market analysis: A business plan strengthens your stand in the market by compelling you to conduct a detailed market analysis of the industry, competitors, and potential customers.
• Test ideas: An ecommerce plan will help you realize the gaps and errors in your planning. This allows you the luxury to make changes in the business model before investing your money in it.
• Simplifies the finance: A well-structured business plan lays a clear financial plan for your ecommerce business. The figures will help you understand the profitability, costs, and expenses of the company and its viability in monetary terms.

There’s much more to it. A business plan is like a beam of bright light that will make walking through the woods easier. It’s a living document that will evolve as the business grows.

Key components of an ecommerce business plan

Wondering what goes into making a perfect ecommerce business plan? Well, these are the key components you shouldn’t be missing.

• Executive summary: The executive summary will highlight the key details of your entire business plan.
• Business overview: This section will include a brief business overview along with its value proposition, objectives, mission, and vision statement.
• Market analysis: This section will define your potential customers and competition. A detailed industry analysis and competitors analysis will lay a foundation for important business strategies.
• Products and services: Define the products and services you will sell to your ideal customer. Also, offer a brief description of each product.
• Sales and marketing strategy: Highlight your sales and marketing plan to attract your potential customers. From content marketing to social media- include every detail of your strategies here.
• Operations plan: A well-defined plan that will help you run a smooth online business. Clearly defined process for inventory, order fulfillment, sales, storage, etc.
• Management team: A brief introduction of your company’s management team and their expertise in the field.
• Financial plan: Includes detailed financial forecasts and key reports like balance sheet, cash flow, P&L, and investment plan.

There is no definite format for business plans. However, a comprehensive plan accounts for all these components and makes it effective.

How to Write an Ecommerce Business Plan: A Complete Guide

From undertaking thorough market research to creating a marketing plan- uncover every detail on writing an effective plan for your online business with this guide.

1. Get an Ecommerce business plan template

Crafting a stellar business plan is a challenge. However, it can be the most precious reward for your business if you manage to write it comprehensively.

The process of translating your business idea into a business plan is lengthy and time-consuming. One is likely to leave behind an important detail or two without any definite format.

This is why you need an Ecommerce business plan template to write your plan in a structurally organized format. A template will help streamline your thoughts, organize the vision, and bring your ideas to life effortlessly.

Let’s not look elsewhere for a perfect template. Upmetrics business plan template is intuitive and is enriched with relevant examples that can be easily used as a reference while writing your plan.

Need Assistance Writing a Ecommerce Business Plan?

Get Upmetrics’ business plan template, import data directly into the editor, and start editing using Upmetrics AI Assistant.

Start Planning Now

2. Write an executive summary

Executive summary is a concise rundown of key points that summarizes your business plan. Though presented at first, it should be written in the end after you have walked through all the other aspects of planning.

Consider it as a document that will offer a brief insight into your overall business. Investors will read this part and gauge the viability of your business idea. If they find it fascinating and intriguing enough they will read it further in detail.

Add brief details of your ecommerce business, target market, problem, solution, service model, business goals, and financial figures in this section.

Adapt a narrative tone to make it interesting and keep it highly informative. And, most importantly keep it within a limit of 1-2 pages.

Say goodbye to boring templates

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3. Create a company overview section

As the title suggests, this section offers a brief company description of your ecommerce business. You must also include brief details about the company’s history in this section if it’s not a new venture.

So what does this section include?

• Name and location of the business , i.e. location of your warehouse, back end office.
• Type of your Ecommerce business , i.e. B2B, B2C, D2C, C2C, etc.
• Business structure of your e-commerce brand , i.e. sole proprietorship, Partnership, LLC, limited partnership, etc.
• Business goals : Highlight milestones such as sales or revenue goals.
• Mission statement : Describe the fundamental purpose of your business explaining why the business exists. For instance, the mission of First Cry is to offer eco-friendly baby care and maternity items to conscious buyers through its website and listings on a third-party platform.
• Vision statement : It is a declaration of what you want to achieve with your ecommerce business. For instance, First Cry wants to become the preferred brand for baby care products in the markets of North America, Asia, and Europe.

4. Conduct a competitive and market analysis

In this section of competitive and market analysis, you will dive deep into the study of the target market, industry trends, and your competition. Only a thorough understanding of these key elements will help you build a resilient business.

Target market and market opportunities

Begin by determining the Total Addressable Market (TAM) for your products and services. This part of the market analysis will offer a realistic idea of your market size.

Further, strengthen the understanding of your target market by identifying your target audience. Create a buyer persona by considering the psychographic and demographic details of your ideal customer.

Collect data from US census boards, government websites, and industrial publications for solid and foundational market research.

Lastly, identify the market trends and highlight your business strategy to fill the gaps in the existing market.

Competitive analysis

Ecommerce companies operate in a severely competitive marketplace. Understanding your competition will help you safeguard the business against potential threats and risks from your direct and indirect competitors.

Collect the data and analyze your competitors on the grounds of prices, services, quality, product offering, target market, and market size to make conclusive points. Evaluate their strengths and weaknesses using methods like SWOT analysis.

Now, detail the competitive advantage of your products and service offerings. This analysis should reflect that your business idea has a solid advantage over competitors’ offerings.

Focus on quality research. The study of the target market and competition will lay a foundation for crafting efficient business strategies.

5. Detail your products and services

After completing your market analysis, you will create a detailed section for your products and services.

Highlight all the product lines that your online business will offer. Also, mention the products within each product line and the product source.

If you are amongst the ecommerce businesses that sell digital products or services, mention those and explain how the customers will access them.

For instance, an OTT platform offers streaming services to its clients through an application.

Keep this section detailed by adding a brief description of each product and its pricing.

Consider this as a checklist of questions you must answer within this section:

• What are the products of your online store?
• Will you manufacture the products or source them from vendors?
• How will your customers buy the product- Website, application, shopping platforms, etc.
• What will be the pricing of your product offerings?

6. Develop a sales and marketing plan

By now, the readers are aware of the products and services that your online business will offer. It’s now time to tell them your sales and marketing plan.

Millions of ecommerce businesses start every year. But very few manage to crack their desired sales.

In this section, you will make sales strategies to ensure that your desired sales become achievable.

Try answering the following to form an efficient sales plan:

• Sales channels: website, application, ecommerce platforms, subscription box platforms, flash sale sites, etc.
• Sales method: Inbound methods or outbound methods
• Sales personnel: Who will be responsible for product/service sales
• Sales tools: CRM

The decisions you make here will influence the marketing strategy of your online store.

Marketing strategy

Now you need a well-rounded marketing plan to market your online store. After all, marketing is crucial to developing a brand, reaching your target customers, and acquiring sales.

In this section of a business plan, you will highlight the marketing plan for your ecommerce business. Identify the marketing channels that will be most effective for your target customers and design your strategies accordingly.

Here are a few prevalent marketing methods that can help you grow your online store:

• Content marketing: Start writing informative and useful blog posts for your target audience. Focus on principles of SEO and keyword research to grow your reach organically. Also, post guest blogs on websites to increase your chances of reaching a wider audience.
• Social media marketing: Identify the social media platforms that are used the most by your target audience and dedicate your marketing efforts accordingly.
• Email Marketing: Email marketing is the most rewarding marketing channel for thousands of ecommerce businesses out there. Explain how you will build your Email list and draw conversions through them.
• PPC: Design strategies for running paid ads on Google, Facebook, and other platforms and determine your budget for the same.
• Traditional PR: Traditional methods of publications can also help you market your product effectively. If you will be using such methods, highlight the details regarding the same.
• Influencer marketing: Will you hire or barter with influencers to promote your product? If so, define your strategy for the same.

All in all, the marketing plan should clearly define a roadmap to reach your target audience. Also, highlight different marketing tools you will use for your online business.

7. Introduce your management team

Having the right team will help you build a successful ecommerce business. So take your time and figure out the manpower needs for your business.

In this section of your business plan, you will introduce the key management members at your ecommerce store. Define their role, responsibility, experience, expertise, and achievements to prove their suitability in your organization.

Outline the organizational structure of your online store and explain how these people will be responsible for the smooth functioning of your business.

8. Outline your operational plan

Running an ecommerce store is not an easy task. From managing the backend to offering timely deliveries- a lot goes into ensuring smooth business operations.

A solid business plan cannot be complete without a detailed section of operations in it. So take your time and set your operations in line before you start with the store.

Here are a few things that most ecommerce business plans have in common. Consider adding them to your operations plan as well.

• Order fulfillment process: Everything from getting an order to delivery, managing returns, shipment, packaging, exchange, and tracking is defined at this step. Explain how the order will be fulfilled at your online store.
• Manufacturing and quality control: If the products will be manufactured in-house, what will be the manufacturing process? How will you ensure quality? Where will the goods be manufactured? What machinery will you use?
• Suppliers: Who will be your supplier for products and services? What will be the purchase terms? Will there be an agreement or contract? What would be the contingency plan in case of casualty?
• Storage: Will you dropship the products or store them in a warehouse? Where will be the storage located? How will you manage stock? What methods will you use?
• Technology and payment processors: How will the customers pay for online shopping? What payment methods are available for them? What technologies will you use to facilitate payments? How will you secure their personal information?
• Customer service: How can the customers reach you? What will be your order policies? Will there be any customer service team?

The logistics and operations plan will serve as a policy book for your organization. It will answer every query and doubt regarding the process.

9. Prepare financial projections

Now comes the most taxing part of creating a business plan- preparing a financial plan.

A financial plan is crucial because it will help you determine the feasibility of a business idea. Moreover, if you plan to seek funding for your online business, the projections in this plan will compel potential investor’s interest in your business.

Here are a few things to include in your financial plan:

• Startup costs: Estimate the startup costs for your ecommerce business . From website development to inventory costs, licensing fees, security, and software charges- include every cost that will go into establishing your online business.
• Funding source: Determine your funding requirements and what sources will you use to acquire the funds, i.e. business loans, angel investors, friends and family, etc.
• Pricing strategy: Include your pricing plan for the products and services. Consider various overhead and operational costs to determine the final pricing.
• Sales projections: Include your monthly, quarterly, and annual sales projections through different sales channels and also estimate your revenue.
• Income statement: Also known as profit and loss statement, in this key report you will forecast the company’s profit and loss for the next 3-5 years. The difference between a company’s revenue and expenses will give you gross profits and net profits.
• Cash Flow Statement:   A clear documentation of cash that is generated and spent in a business. This will help potential investors understand whether your business will make or lose money.
• Balance sheet: A key summary of your business assets and liabilities that indicates your net worth. Calculate your equity in the business by deducting all the liabilities from your assets.
• Break-even analysis: Break-even will help you evaluate how long before the business will start making money.

Too much of calculations right? Not with the financial forecasting tool from Upmetrics. Simply enter your numbers in the tab and the tool will do all the detailed calculations for you. Import the data from Excel sheets and before you know your projections will be done.

Ecommerce Industry Highlights 2023

Ecommerce is a trillion-dollar industry. It’s indeed a rewarding market for anyone who wants to start an ecommerce business. But before that, you must check out these latest industry highlights of 2023.

• Global market size: The global Ecommerce market size is expected to reach 6.3 trillion dollars in 2023. There is ample room for new businesses to venture into this market.
• Online marketplace : According to Forbes , 24% of total retail purchases will be made online by 2026.
• Market leader: Amazon accounts for 37.8% of Ecommerce sales , which is far more than other ecommerce businesses.
• Cart abandonment: 48% of online shoppers abandon their carts because of extra costs on shipping and taxes. You are likely to lose your potential customers if you fail to consider these aspects.
• Frequency to shop: 79% of online shoppers will shop for something or the other at least once a month. Considering the customer segments, nearly 96% of Gen Z shop at least once a month online.
• Social media commerce: If you think websites and platforms are the only way to reach your potential customers, you are wrong. 96.9 million people in the USA are reported to shop on social media.

The US online marketplace is expected to reach 940.9 billion by 2023 end. There is enough scope for new businesses to emerge and grow in this competitive market space.

Related Ecommerce Resources

• Creating a Successful E-commerce Marketing Plan
• E-commerce Financial Plan
• E-commerce Industry Statistics
• Calculating Your Online Store Startup Budget
• How To Open n E-commerce Business

Download a sample ecommerce business plan

Looking for help to write your business plan? Well, we have something absolutely perfect for you. Download our ecommerce business plan sample pdf and get a detailed guide to write a plan along with relevant examples.

Upmetrics business plan templates are designed specifically for entrepreneurs and business owners who want to write their own business plans. Our templates are modern, intuitive, and easily available to kickstart your plan writing.

The Quickest Way to turn a Business Idea into a Business Plan

Fill-in-the-blanks and automatic financials make it easy.

Write your business plan with Upmetrics

All set to start your own ecommerce business? Let’s simplify the entire business planning process for you with Upmetrics. We have more than 400+ customizable sample business plans suited for varying different businesses. With features like AI assistance and financial forecasting, you can bring together an actionable business plan in easy steps.

So whether you are aiming to start a business-to-business or business-to-customer or any other type of ecommerce business, you are well equipped to write the most stellar plan with our business planning app .

Get started now.

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Frequently asked questions, can i get expert help to draft my ecommerce business plan.

Of course, you can. Writing a business plan is not an easy task. You may lose context or can leave behind an important detail while writing. A plan writer can translate your business idea into a plan efficiently with his compelling skills. If not, you can take the help of online tools and search for relevant templates to write your own business plan.

Can I customize my ecommerce business plan as per my business needs?

Absolutely yes. No two ecommerce businesses are the same. The very purpose of a business plan is to address the unique concerns, ideas, and questions relating to your ecommerce business. From executive summary to a financial plan, customize every aspect of your plan with Upmetrics business plan builder.

What are the common mistakes to avoid while crafting an ecommerce business plan?

Here are a few mistakes to avoid while drafting a business plan for your new business:

• Lack of market research
• Inadequate financial planning
• Overlooking the competition
• Not having a clear value proposition
• Undermining the technology needs
• Not considering casualties and emergencies
• Using complex language

Can I create an e-commerce business plan on my own, or should I hire a professional?

Ideally, you should be the one drafting your business plan. This is because no one knows your business better than you yourself and your business partners. So instead of hiring a professional, take the assistance of plan builders and step-by-step guides and create a compelling plan. Upmetrics AI assistant will simplify the writing process by helping you put together a cohesive write-up.

What are some emerging payment technologies to consider in your e-commerce business plan?

If you are planning to start a competitive ecommerce brand, you need to offer a bunch of payment solutions preferred by your target audience. Here are a few payment technologies you must definitely have in your business:

• QR code payments
• Mobile wallet
• Contactless payment
• Real-time payments
• Buy now pay later solutions

About the Author

Upmetrics Team

Upmetrics is the #1 business planning software that helps entrepreneurs and business owners create investment-ready business plans using AI. We regularly share business planning insights on our blog. Check out the Upmetrics blog for such interesting reads. Read more

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Creating a Stellar Ecommerce Business Plan for Your Online Store

Choose the Right Ecommerce Platform

For years, you’ve purchased items from online businesses or marketplaces like Etsy, eBay and Amazon and thought to yourself, “I could do something like this, too.”

Starting your own ecommerce business may seem intimidating — writing a business plan, even more so.

However, a business plan allows you to validate your business idea, assess your financial position and create a concrete action plan for how you’ll deliver a product from the original source to the end consumer.

In other words, while the business plan might seem like it’s ultimately meant for other people’s benefit — potential investors, business partners or well-meaning family members who keep pestering you to write one — in reality, the business plan benefits you, the business owner, the most.

You’ll shape the vision and mission for your business and map out how you’ll get there. One study by Harvard Business Review found that entrepreneurs who write a formal business plan are 16% more likely to achieve viability than those who don’t.

An ecommerce business plan is a document that outlines your business purpose and goals, analyzes your industry and competitors and identifies the resources needed to execute your plan.

For example, which suppliers will you work with? What types of products will you stock? Who is your ideal buyer? How will you advertise your business? Can you afford to provide free shipping and still make a profit?

Here’s a step-by-step primer on how to write a business plan for your ecommerce store, what elements to include and how to use your own business plan to increase your chance of success.

How to Create An Ecommerce Business Plan

Business plans help entrepreneurs maintain focus on their goals and shape the day-to-day running of a new business. The key elements of an ecommerce business plan template describe blueprints for growth, projected timelines and financial goals — clarifying topics like cash flow, expenses, marketing tools and distribution channels.

Draft an executive summary.

An executive summary provides a concise rundown of the key points in your business plan. In short, it should summarize your chosen industry, business purpose, competitors, business goals and financial position. Executive summaries average 1-3 pages and are ideally under two pages.

What does your business do?

Explain the raison d’être for your startup. What problem will you solve for your customers? Who is the target audience? Where do you want your business to be in one, five, or 10 years?

Here are the main elements of an executive summary:

The problem statement or business opportunity : Describe a pain point or gap in the market that you are uniquely qualified to fill. (“As someone who used to own a convenience store, I heard many of my customers complain about the lack of healthy food options while traveling domestically.”)

Your business idea : State how you plan to approach the problem (“XYZ is a ready-to-eat meal company that lets travelers order and pack healthy meals ahead of trips so they can avoid eating fast food.”)

Company history : Describe what milestones you have achieved. Are you already working with suppliers? What is your current revenue? (“In 2021, XYZ fulfilled over 10,000 orders, generating $150,000 in revenue.”)

Industry and market analysis : Outline the trends in the market that affect your business, market size, and demand for your product. (“In 2022, the global health and wellness food market was valued at $841 billion and is projected to increase to one trillion by 2026.”)

Competition : Explain who your competitors are, outline their strengths and weaknesses, and make it clear how you will differentiate.

Timeline for key milestones : Project when you plan to achieve goals like breaking even, launching an IPO, or other key milestones.

Financial plan (if you are seeking funding from investors or banks).

What goals does your business want to achieve?

Set short- and long-term goals for your business, such as achieving a certain amount of revenue or testing a new product idea. Business goals can be general and high-level or they can focus on specific, measurable actions (SMART goals).

The most realistic goal-setting approach is to set short-term goals as stepping stones to your long-term goals. For example, your short-term goal to decrease website bounce rate by 25% within 12 weeks might help you reach the long-term goal of growing conversions by 50% within one year.

Timeframes for short-term goals can range from a few hours to a year, while long-term goals generally take 1-5 years to achieve.

What products do you sell?

Outline your product offerings and specify where you’ll source each item. Some ecommerce businesses manufacture products in-house. Others work with wholesalers, manufacturers or print-on-demand businesses to resell their products.

Curate a tight product line that demonstrates your value proposition. Why should someone buy from your online store rather than another brand? Why would someone choose your products over a substitute if you don't produce goods in-house?

Ecommerce companies sell three types of products: goods, services and digital products. Tell your readers what you intend to sell and why. List each item and its purpose. For each, you want to answer the question “why?” Why are you choosing to offer these specific products and services? How do you plan on fulfilling orders?

If you’re offering a service, explain what you do and where. Are you local? Do you travel to your customers? Will you partner with similar service providers in other areas?

How will customers access the item if you're offering a digital product? Will they download software or education videos from your site? Will they pay a subscription or usage-based fee? What about licensing requirements? Mention intellectual property ownership (if applicable) including trademarks, patents and copyrights.

Who is your audience?

Describe your ideal customer. Define your product or service from their point of view. What problems does your product solve for them? What benefits or features do customers look for when shopping for that product type?

Create customer profiles that summarize your target audience in terms of demographics (age, location, gender, etc) and psychographics (pain points, interests, buying patterns). Consider creating customer segments based on shared characteristics if you cater to a wide audience.

Demographic data should include the following points:

Education level.

Relationship status.

Occupation.

Meanwhile, discover your target customer’s motivations, needs and wants as much as possible. Psychographic data should include the following points:

Where are you going to sell your products?

Outline your sales channels, both future and existing. For example, your main point-of-sale might be your ecommerce site. Be sure to include stats on site traffic and conversions so readers know how your site is performing.

Still, you might also offer your products online on marketplaces like eBay, Amazon and Etsy. Explain how each of these channels is performing and how you’re optimizing them for product discoverability and conversions (eg: following SEO best practices, using high-quality images, highlighting user-generated content).

Identify your company overview.

Tell your brand's story , its purpose, and how the company was founded. In addition to the company description, provide details on how you currently run the business. List your business partners and employees and describe the business's legal structure.

The best brand names are memorable and communicate the essence of your business. Brand names gain icon status because they represent an excellent product or service, so don’t obsess over it.

That said, the right brand name can be your brand’s most valuable asset, driving differentiation and speeding acceptance. In fact, 71% of consumers prefer to buy from brands they recognize.

If you’re struggling to come up with a name, try using an online brand name generator as a jumping-off point. Remember, you’re not locked into a single brand name forever.

Business structure

Describe the legal structure of your business. Is it a sole proprietorship, LLC, an S-Corp or a partnership? Consider speaking to an accountant if you’re not sure. Who is in charge of the business? List founders and officers and their contributions (both capital and expertise) to the company. Who works for the company? Include an org chart that illustrates who currently works for the business and the roles you plan to hire for . List their responsibilities, salaries and terms of employment (freelance, full-time, part-time).[

Your business structure]( https://bristax.com.au/business-articles/business-structures/ ) affects how much you pay in taxes, your ability to raise money, the paperwork you must file and your personal liability in the event of business bankruptcy, so this information is important to lenders. Also mention if you have filed or plan to file for any applicable licenses or permits.

Domain name

Register a unique domain name for your business. A catchy brand name is essential because the domain is less likely to have been claimed by another business. Keep your domain name as short as possible and ensure it includes your brand name for SEO purposes.

Your mission describes the fundamental purpose of your business. It should tell people why the business exists and how it benefits its customers. For example, LinkedIn’s mission statement is “connect the world’s professionals and make them more productive and successful.”

However, be careful not to exaggerate. An overly aspirational mission statement is disingenuous and wishy-washy — no single corporation or small business will single-handedly “change the world.”

A vision statement is a declaration of what you want your business to achieve in the future by fulfilling its purpose. It describes your company’s “why,” while the mission statement describes the “who” and “what” of the business.

Your vision statement should define your values as a business (eg: reducing waste generated by single-use toiletries) and future goals (achieving a zero-waste world by implementing a circular economy).

Background information

Tell the story of how you conceived your business idea. Say you’re a former school teacher who discovered your artistic flair from making handmade pottery in your garage on weekends. Describe how your business has grown and changed since you first started it.

Your team and key people

List the key personnel in your company. Aside from the founders and executive team, who keeps the business running each day? Here are a few examples:

Company owner — that’s probably you.

CEO — that’s probably also you.

Management team.

Customer service manager.

Logistics manager.

PR and social media specialist.

Advertising manager.

SEO manager.

Copywriters.

Conduct market research.

Ecommerce businesses face intense competition and are liable to market disruptions because they rely on third parties (suppliers, shipping companies, wholesalers) to deliver a product or service. Knowing the market in and out will help you build a more resilient business.

A market analysis considers your ideal customer (their purchase habits and behaviors), competitors (their strengths and weaknesses), market conditions (industry trends and long-term outlook), and how your business fits into this landscape.

The point of a target market analysis is to:

Identify the most and least valuable markets.

Develop buyer personas.

Find gaps in the market to fill.

Assess the viability of a product or service.

Improve business strategy .

Market opportunities

The first step to identifying your target market is determining your total addressable market (TAM) — the maximum market size for your product or service. Who are your customers? What are their demographic and psychographic traits? When and how often will they buy your product?

The best way to obtain a high-level overview of your customer base is to consult your social media and web analytics. These dashboards show where your customers live, their age, gender, general interests and more. You can also use U.S. Census Bureau data to pad up this information.

Competitive analysis

Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of your current and potential competitors. First, find out who your direct and indirect competitors are. You can perform a Google search of businesses that sell similar products or scope out rivals in your local area.

Here’s what you need to know about your competitors:

What markets and segments they serve.

What benefits they offer.

Why their customers buy from them.

Details of products and services, including pricing and promotional strategies.

Search for publicly available information about your competitors. Aside from that, do some of your own primary research. Visit their website and complete an order or visit their physical outlet.

Next, analyze the information. Is there a segment of the market your competition has overlooked? Is there a product they don’t supply? Did you have a bad customer experience when you walked into the store?

Detail your competitive advantage in your business plan. Don’t just list things that your competitors do — that’s not analysis. The competitive analysis section aims to persuade the reader that you are knowledgeable about the competition and that your business idea has a significant advantage over the competition.

Products and services

List the products and services you provide and how customers will access them. If you’re selling digital products, will customers have to stream or download the content? Do they pay a subscription fee to access a content platform or do they pay for each individual content piece? If you’re providing a service, will you provide it on physical premises or will you travel to customers’ homes? Will you sell physical products in a physical store or online? What is your website like? List each product, including a short product description and pricing information.

Develop a marketing plan.

You need a go-to-market strategy if you haven’t already launched your business. How will you spread the word about your business? How and where will you advertise and what is your budget? If you run social media ads, for example, what platforms will you use and who is your target audience? Will you do content marketing and SEO? A thorough marketing plan answers all of these important questions.

Marketing channels

Define which channels match your consumer demographic. Do your potential customers spend time on Facebook or do they prefer YouTube? First, figure out where your potential customers are. Next, create attention-grabbing marketing strategies and use them to reach your customer base.

Paid marketing channels

PPC advertising : Advertise on Google’s search engine and pay only once someone clicks on your ad. You can bid for ad placement in the search engine’s sponsored links when someone searches a keyword related to your business offering.

Affiliate marketing : Embed links to another business’s products in your content and receive a commission when someone makes a purchase using your unique affiliate link.

Social media ads : Run paid ads on social media apps and platforms like Facebook, Instagram and YouTube to reach targeted audiences. Ads can use different creatives such as images, videos and GIFs.

Influencer marketing : Work with a popular influencer who will promote your products to their followers. Influencers are paid based on conversions or reach.

Organic marketing channels

Brands must use an organic marketing strategy to build brand awareness and engagement and drive website traffic.

Examples include:

Search engine optimization (SEO) : Optimize your website, web pages and blog posts for maximum discoverability on search engines. This involves doing keyword research for your industry, creating high-quality content that attracts and converts and using keywords in the right places.

Social media posts : Organic social media posts build brand awareness and humanize the brand by providing a behind-the-scenes look at the company and allowing you to share engaging visual content to inspire, educate and entertain.

Blogger networks : Collaborating with trusted bloggers on link exchanges can help you build website backlinks, improving your search engine ranking.

Content marketing : Organic content includes blog posts, white papers, SEO pages, and more. This gives you content to post on social media and improves the discoverability of your website. Websites that publish high-quality content consistently rank higher in search results.

Email marketing : Create email templates for new and potential customers, cart abandonment, promotions and announcements and more.

Logistics and Operations plan

This portion of the business plan covers what you physically need to run your ecommerce company. Basically, it outlines how you’ll manage the flow of goods from the supplier (you or a third party) to the consumer. You cannot start a business without an established supply chain.

Your logistics and operations plan should cover the following:

Suppliers : Where do your raw materials or products come from? Do you work with a manufacturer who produces your product idea or are you reselling products from a supplier, wholesaler or distributor? What is the minimum order value? Do they require payment upfront or after the sale? Do you have a backup supplier in case demand spikes or there is a problem with fulfillment?

Production : Will you create your own products or use a third-party manufacturer or dropshipping company? If you’re creating your own products, where will this be done? What assets and equipment do you need? What are your operating costs?

Shipping and fulfillment : Outline how the product will reach the end consumer. How long will it take you to pack and ship products to customers? Will you use a third-party shipper? Will you ship internationally?

Inventory : How much inventory will you keep on hand and where will you put it? How will you track incoming and outgoing inventory? Do you need warehouse storage space?

Establish a financial plan.

The financial section of your business plan is where you prove the feasibility of your business idea and calculate your startup costs. It includes financial projections and statements that show your business’s current financial position and project where you hope to be in the future. This is one of the essential components of the business plan, particularly if you are seeking investment funding, a bank loan or a business partner.

Income statement

In this document, you’ll forecast the company’s revenues and expenses during a particular period. Total revenue is the sum of both operating and non-operating revenues while total expenses include those incurred by primary and secondary activities.

If you subtract your expenses from your revenue sources, you’ll come up with your bottom line (profit or loss).

Balance sheet

A balance sheet helps you calculate how much equity you have in your business. It summarizes your company’s assets (what you own), your liabilities (what you owe) and equity (money invested into the business plus profits).

A balance sheet enables you to calculate your net worth. All of your assets (machinery, inventory, business premises, etc.) go in a column on the left and your liabilities (accounts and wages payable, business loan repayments, business credit card payments, taxes) go in a column on the right. If you subtract your liabilities from your assets, you get your business’ shareholder equity.

Cash-flow statement

This document shows how much cash is generated and spent over a time period. Cash flow determines whether your business is primarily gaining or losing money. Positive cash flow and profit margins are important because it enables your business to repay bank loans, purchase commodities and keep the lights on.

How to Increase Ecommerce Sales

Explore our collection of free resources designed to help you scale smarter and accelerate your online growth from $1 million to $100 million.

The Final Word

Writing a comprehensive business plan is crucial not only for staying on track in the first year or so after launching your business but also for securing funding, finding a business partner and evaluating the viability of your business idea.

FAQs About Ecommerce Business Plans

Who needs an ecommerce business plan, what are the benefits of creating a business plan, how do i start an ecommerce business with no money, browse additional resources.

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Guide To Build A Practical Business Plan For Online Store

A business plan can be a make-or-break for any business. It’s safe to say successful enterprises all have the same solid foundation with a great business plan, including the ones in e-commerce. This article will show all the steps to build a practical business plan for an online store. If you are thinking about running an online store, don’t miss out on this guide.

Definition Of A Business Plan

A business plan is a document that describes a company, its products or services, how it will make a profit, its leadership and human resource, finance, operation model, and other details critical to its success.

A great business plan helps companies set goals and strategies to achieve them and introduce them to investors. If your business is an online tool, your e-commerce business plan is the roadmap. First, define your business – your vehicle – then describe where you want to take your business and how to get there.

Why You Need A Business Plan For Online Store

Your eCommerce business plan is the most important strategic document for your business.

When you write a business plan, you will:

Gain a deeper understanding of your business

Writing a business plan means you need to check all the factors relevant to your business. Thus, you get all the details about your business and understand it better.

Identify the resources you need

You have a great business idea. Now you have to gather resources to make it happen. Look at three categories of resources: financial, physical, and human, and see what you need to fulfill the requirements for these resources.

Create a roadmap for the future

This document is your game plan for success. You will describe your growth strategy, sales goals, and personal ambitions. You’ll set milestones and identify key performance indicators (KPIs).

Evaluate your competitors

By having a plan, you will find out about your competitors’ strengths, weaknesses, what you can learn from them, etc. The answers you discover are beneficial in helping your business compete with others.

Identify opportunities

Opportunities are everywhere – you need to know where to look. You can form marketing partnerships with companies whose products complement each other.

Key Sections In A Business Plan For Online Store

1. executive summary.

An executive summary distills your business idea into a clear and compelling one-page outline.

It should provide a high-level overview of your business. With a glance, reviewers will understand the type of business you run, what you do, and what makes your business stands out. Your executive summary should include:

• Business concept
• Business goals and vision
• Product description and differentiation
• Targeted market
• Marketing strategy
• Current financial situation
• Human resource

2. Company overview

This part of your business plan should answer two fundamental questions: Who are you, and what are you doing? Answering these questions can explain why you are in business, what makes you different, what represents you, and why you are a good investment.

Here are some components to include:

• Corporate structure (are you a sole proprietorship, general partnership, limited partnership, or corporation?)
• Business model
• Company Vision, Mission, and Value Proposition
• Background information about your company or its history
• Short- and long-term business goals
• Team, including key personnel and their salaries

3. Market analysis

To be successful in e-commerce, you need to understand your target market. Before writing, do research about your industry and the long-term prospects for that particular industry.

A market analysis should include an overview of how big you think the market for your product is, an analysis of your company’s position in the market, and an overview of the competitive landscape.

4. Products and services

In your executive summary, you give a brief overview of your product or service. Now is the time for details. Whatever you sell, write down detailed descriptions, its benefits, potentials, and all other factors that you’d like your customers to know.

Make your product and service sections digestible: keep paragraphs short, stick to non-technical language, and use bullet points to emphasize product attributes. If you have testimonials from pre-launch product testers, include them in this section of your business plan.

5. Marketing plan

Customers directly influence your marketing efforts. You should outline your current marketing plan and future direction for the business and connect and retain people.

Most marketing plans contain information on four main themes. How much detail you provide in each case depends on your company and the target audience.

6. Logistics and operations plan

This is the workflow you implement to bring your ideas to life. Depending on your business, the logistics and operations plan should cover the following:

• Suppliers 
• Shipping and fulfillment

7. Financial plan

Almost all businesses require a certain amount of capital to get started. Some entrepreneurs present their start-up costs, and others form alliances with wealthier partners. Still, others are looking for angel investors, launching crowdfunding campaigns, or raising business loans.

Typically you want to include three main views of economic data: the income statement, the balance sheet, and the cash flow statement. It may also be appropriate to have financial data and forecasts.

Common Mistakes When Writing A Business Plan For Online Store

Being unrealistic.

• Financial projections: This is one of the most common mistakes in business plans. Investors want to know where your business is now and where it’s headed in the future. So if the project is too optimistic and the forecast is not explained, the plan will be rejected.
• Competition: If you overemphasize your match, investors will worry that the company will not survive. Focus on a niche that sets you apart from the competition

Bad Research

All searches must be verified and attested. Using incorrect or outdated information, you discredit the rest of your business idea and plan. The only way to address these weaknesses is to include a detailed strategy on how you intend to manage them.

Hiding Your Weaknesses

Don’t hide your weaknesses, but don’t overemphasize them either. Every company has its shortcomings, but you’ll keep investors out if you hide them or overemphasize them.

Takeaways   

Even if you never set out to reach out to investors, a business plan for online store can help you identify clear, intentional next steps to grow your shop gradually.

Whether you’re writing a business plan for an online store, brick-and-mortar store, or growing your existing business, you now have a comprehensive guide and the information you need to start your next phase of business.

Zoe Lee Zoe Lee

Zoe is a highly skilled Marketing Manager and a key team member at Tigren. With extensive experience in digital marketing, brand strategy, and campaign management, Zoe is passionate about driving growth and engagement for businesses in today's fast-paced, digital landscape.

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How To Start an Online Store in 11 Easy Steps (2024)

How to start an online store: 2024 edition.

Setting up an online store might seem overwhelming at first, but with the right steps, it can be both exciting and profitable. Whether you’re new to starting an online store or have some business experience, an ecommerce store can help you connect with more customers and grow your brand.

In this guide, we’ll tell you how to get started—from selecting an ecommerce platform to designing your site and launching your first product. Follow these steps, and you’ll be well on your way to building a successful online store.

How to start an online store (step-by-step instructions) 

• Find a business idea
• Determine your target audience
• Choose an ecommerce platform
• Decide on your business structure
• Create your brand
• Build your ecommerce website
• Customize your new store
• Set up a payment gateway
• Prepare your store for launch
• Launch your store
• Promote your ecommerce business 

1. Find a business idea

One of the biggest challenges you’ll face as an ecommerce entrepreneur is finding profitable products to sell. While understanding your audience can spark some product ideas, there’s still a lot more effort that goes into identifying truly profitable items. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to find winning products to sell, whether you’re dropshipping, manufacturing, or reselling.

To find profitable items to sell:

• Follow your personal interests
• Jump on trends early
• Cater to passionate hobbyists
• Explore what’s popular in online marketplaces

Note: This post is focused on helping you start an online store. If you’re looking to learn more about branding, writing a business plan, choosing products, or finding a manufacturer, check out our complete guide to starting a business .

2. Determine your target audience

Your target audience is the group your marketing zeroes in on. When starting an online store, knowing who your ideal customers are is essential. It makes finding new customers smoother and draws in buyers who are ready to shop, boosting conversion rates and driving more sales.

You can define your audience by size or specific traits, depending on what you’re offering. But as a new ecommerce entrepreneur, focus on these three categories for a start:

• Demographics. Covers aspects like age, gender, job, education level, and income.
• Interests. Focuses on psychographics, including your audience’s values, personality traits, opinions, and lifestyle.
• Location. Segments the audience by geographical area, allowing you to focus on a particular region.

Think about who’s buying your product. What’s their deal? How old are they? Put all that together into a buyer persona and add it to your business plan. It’ll be handy when you’re writing website copy or planning marketing campaigns.

Even if you don’t have a product yet, you can still identify a target market and create something just for them.

3. Choose an ecommerce platform 

During your journey to start an online store, one of the key choices you’ll make is deciding which platform to use. An ecommerce platform is your gateway to creating and launching your store, processing sales, and managing orders.

As you think about building a website to sell products , envision your ecommerce platform as the hub of your business. It manages everything from inventory to marketing, equipping you with all the tools needed to sell online and support your customers.

When choosing an ecommerce platform for your online store website, consider these key features:

• Web hosting. Your online store needs hosting to be accessible. Some platforms offer built-in hosting, while others might require a third-party service.
• Usability. Pick software that’s user-friendly. Look for something with a drag-and-drop builder to set up your online store without hassle.
• Smooth checkout. A seamless checkout process is vital for closing sales. Opt for a platform that simplifies buying.
• Accessible customer support. You’ll want help along the way, so choose a platform with reliable support.

You’ll also want to consider your current and future needs when choosing your ecommerce software. Some platforms might be perfect for your initial setup, but others like Shopify can offer more advanced features to support your business as it grows.

4. Decide on your business structure

You’ve gone through all the fun stages of building an online store: choosing a name, designing your ecommerce site, selecting products, and writing descriptions. But before you go live, there’s one more step—making your business legal.

It might not be the most thrilling task, but setting up a legal entity is essential. It safeguards your personal assets if something goes wrong. Plus, it can help you:

• Secure business funding more easily
• Potentially lower your tax bill
• Set up retirement plans
• Keep your business credit separate from your personal score

Popular business structures for new entrepreneurs include:

• Sole proprietorship. A simple setup where the business and the owner are legally the same. It’s the easiest entity to start and manage. Partnership. A business owned by two or more people. Partners invest through money, property, or skills and share both responsibilities and profits.
• Limited liability corporation (LLC). A business structure that combines the flexibility of a partnership with the liability protection of a corporation. It helps protect personal assets from business debts.

Read more: Top 10 Most Popular Types of Businesses for New Entrepreneurs

5. Create your brand

A common trait among successful online stores is a brand that connects with customers. Good branding makes your store memorable and keeps people coming back. Before you start designing, focus on building a strong brand identity and creating assets for your marketing.

Here are some key branding elements to consider:

Mission and core values

Start by defining what your brand stands for. What’s your purpose? What makes you unique? And, what promise are you making to your customers? These decisions will influence everything else, from colors to logos.

Business name

Choose a name that truly represents your brand. It could be anything—from your own name to a fun, made-up word, or something that clearly describes what you offer. If you’re struggling to come up with ideas, tools like Shopify’s AI name generator can help you brainstorm unique options.

Your logo is a key element that will represent your brand across various platforms. Whether you design it yourself or hire a designer , ensure it aligns with your brand’s mission, values, and tone to create a cohesive image.

Product photography

Clean, sharp photos are essential for making a great first impression. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need expensive gear to take high-quality images. With just a smartphone and some creativity, you can produce stunning visuals for your website..

6. Build your ecommerce website

Now it’s time to start building your ecommerce site. Take the following steps to ensure you’ve checked off every item on your ecommerce checklist before you launch.

Add your items

In Shopify, go to the “Add a product” section. This is where you’ll enter all the content, images, and details about your product.

Writing product titles and descriptions Your product title should clearly state what the item is. It’s the first thing customers see while browsing, helping them quickly identify what they’re looking for. Keep it brief. Use the product description or options like size and color to share more details.

Product descriptions are meant to both explain and sell. Here are some tips:

• Know your audience. Consider what your customer needs to feel confident about purchasing. Make sure your description communicates that clearly.
• Highlight what matters. Focus on features, benefits, and offers that actually count. Many stores combine text and icons to quickly emphasize these points on product pages.
• Make your text easy to skim. Break up descriptions with short paragraphs, bullet points, subheadings, and bold text. You can also use tabs to organize details effectively.
• Address potential concerns. Think about what might stop a customer from buying. Are they worried about the fit? Do they need specific ingredient information?
• Help customers envision your product. Since they can’t touch or try it, provide details like materials and include a size chart to help them visualize the product.

Uploading product photos or other media

Most ecommerce platforms let you add visual content to showcase your products better. This can include photos, GIFs, videos, or even 3D models.

Presentation matters. You want customers to picture themselves owning your product. Show them how it looks in use or on display. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:

• Use high-quality photos. Blurry or poorly lit photos won’t do your products justice.
• Keep the same aspect ratio. It creates a cleaner, more professional look for your online store.
• Use your existing gear. If you’re on a budget, your smartphone can take great product photos. Free editing apps can help polish them up.
• Include necessary info. Add alt text to your photos to make them accessible to everyone, including those using screen readers.

Managing your inventory

Depending on your business model, you might need to keep track of, store, and manage inventory. This doesn’t apply to dropshipping or print-on-demand stores, though. When setting up your online store, you can use tools from your ecommerce platform or third-party apps to make it easier.

Here are some terms you’ll see in your store’s admin:

• SKU. A stock keeping unit (SKU) is a unique code used to track your products. Create a clear system with numbers or letters so you can identify items easily.
• Bar code. Bar codes (like UPC or GTIN) come in handy if you’re reselling items or want to add scannable codes for simpler inventory management.
• Quantity. This tells you how much stock you have on hand. If you manage inventory across multiple locations, your platform will show the numbers for each location.

Adding product options

Adding product options When your product comes in various versions, like different sizes or colors, you don’t need to create a separate listing for each one. Instead, group them as variants under a single product. Each variant can have its own image, price, inventory tracking, and specific settings.

You can even get more detailed with your options. For instance, you might offer multiple colors that also come in various sizes.

Tagging and organizing your items

Your ecommerce platform provides various fields on the product page builder to help keep your catalog in order. For instance, on Shopify, you’ll find:

• Product availability. Mark your product as “available” and easily toggle sales channels on or off later. 
• Product type. This helps you categorize products, like labeling a t-shirt or a pair of jeans.
• Tags. Add relevant keywords to help customers find your product through the search bar in your online store.
• Vendor. Identify the manufacturer, supplier, or third-party source. Filtering by vendor can make reordering inventory faster.
• Collections. These are key for organizing and curating products for targeted audiences or specific promotions.

Grouping your products into collections

Creating collections lets you curate products based on specific audiences, themes, or categories. Organizing your items this way makes it easier to feature them by season or event, like showcasing winter coats before the cold hits. You can also apply changes to an entire collection, such as putting all your summer wear on sale.

Collections are key for navigation, often appearing in the main menu or top navigation of an online store. For example, a clothing store might organize collections by bestsellers, clothing type (like jackets), or specific customer groups (like kids).

Entering shipping details

In your online store’s shipping section, you’ll input information that will enable automatic calculation of shipping rates and generate the correct labels for each order. Deciding on the specific shipping costs and the options you’ll provide to customers will be covered later in this tutorial.

Pricing your products

When selling online, several factors can impact how you set your prices. Consider things like shipping fees, material costs, overhead expenses, and the value of your time. But most importantly, think about how customers perceive your products’ quality.

You can always adjust your pricing as you gather insights after launching. You might find customers are willing to pay more, or discover new ways to cut expenses and boost each order’s value.

Don’t forget, most businesses that sell products or services need to collect taxes on every sale. Make sure you’ve configured your tax settings correctly.

Optimizing your product pages for search engines

To make your products easier to find on search engines like Google, it’s important to use SEO best practices when writing your page title, description, and URL.

If you know what keywords your ideal customers are typing in to find products like yours, you can weave those into these fields to boost your chances of showing up in search results.

Setting up essential pages for your online store

Besides product pages, there are a few other must-have pages that every online store needs. These pages help establish trust, share your brand’s story, answer common questions, and guide customers on how to reach you. Key pages include:

An About page lets you introduce your brand and build trust with new customers. This is where you can share your story—maybe with a video, some images of your process, or links to any press coverage or awards. Let people know who you are and what makes your business unique.

Contact page

The Contact page is where customers go when they need help or have questions. Include a physical address, phone number, email, contact form, and customer support hours. You might also consider adding live chat options to make getting in touch even easier.

Policy pages

Policy pages are essential for any online business. They give customers a clear understanding of how you operate and what they can expect from you. These pages also protect your business if disputes arise. Important policy pages include:

• Return policy: Outline your return and exchange process. A customer-friendly return policy can make buyers feel more comfortable purchasing.
• Privacy policy: This page explains how you collect and use customer information.
• Terms of service: Your terms of service lay out the agreement between your business and your customers, detailing how you operate and what rights you reserve.
• Shipping policy: Set clear expectations for shipping costs, processing times, and delivery options for the areas you serve.

Tip: Just as you did for your product pages, customize the SEO details for these pages. Think about the URL, the title, and how you want each page to show up in search results.

7. Customize your new store

With your products and content ready, it’s time to focus on your store’s design. You’ll want to tailor the look and feel to match your brand perfectly.

Selecting an ecommerce theme 

Start by picking a theme—a design template that acts as the foundation for your online store. Most ecommerce platforms offer a variety of themes. For example, Shopify’s Theme Store features both free and premium options, each with different styles and capabilities.

When choosing a theme , keep these tips in mind:

• Filter themes by factors like your business size, the number of products you sell, your order volume, and your industry. Some themes work better for clothing shops, while others are made for businesses with large inventories.
• Look for themes that include features you need, like an auto-complete search bar or a section to showcase customer reviews.
• Don’t worry too much about the colors or fonts in the theme—they’re easy to change later.

Designing your homepage

When planning your homepage design, think about the specific goals you want to achieve and how they fit your business:

• Make sure new visitors quickly understand who you are and what you sell.
• Make it easy for returning customers to find what they need right away.
• Build interest in your products and establish trust with each scroll.
• Guide your visitors with clear, direct routes to make a purchase. Keep the design clean and free of distractions.
• Remember, many visitors will be using mobile devices, so design with that in mind.

Allbirds is a great example of effective design. Its uncluttered homepage emphasizes large lifestyle photos and effectively directs visitors to the brand’s main product.

Customizing your navigation menus

Your online store will have three main types of navigation:

• Search bar. Place it in the header to help visitors find specific products quickly.
• Main navigation. The top menu should highlight the key pages you want customers to explore.
• Footer navigation. Use this area for less critical links, like your policies or contact information.

Don’t overwhelm visitors with too many choices. Instead, prioritize the most important actions you want them to take, keeping the focus on shopping.

Setting brand colors, typography, and other design elements

Colors and fonts are essential to your brand’s look and feel, and they should be carefully considered when building your online store.

Even if you’re not a designer, you can still create a cohesive and appealing design with these tips:

• Most themes allow you to customize fonts and colors. Stick to those that align with your brand’s style.
• Think about how different colors influence emotions and use contrast to highlight key areas like buttons.
• Limit yourself to two or three fonts, with a focus on readability (sans serif fonts like Helvetica or Arial work well).
• Add your logo in key places, such as the site’s header and favicon.

For example, a homepage might use calming colors, easy-to-read fonts, and a logo that’s subtly integrated into the design, creating a cohesive and welcoming online space.

Tailoring your checkout

Customizing your online store’s checkout involves tweaking settings, messages, and other details that shape the customer experience and enable you to accept payments online. Most ecommerce platforms offer options such as:

• Customer contact: Decide if customers can choose how they prefer to be contacted after making a purchase (via email or SMS).
• Form options: Choose whether additional details like first names or company names are required, optional, or hidden during checkout.
• Order processing: Streamline the process or add extra confirmation steps, depending on your needs.
• Abandoned checkouts: Set up automated reminder emails for customers who don’t complete their purchase after reaching checkout.
• Customer accounts: Let customers create an account at checkout, which is especially useful for wholesale or members-only stores.

For example,  Ban.do ’s website offers guests the option to check out as a guest, sign in, or create an account before finalizing their purchase:

Set your shipping options

Shipping is often one of the more complicated aspects of running an online store. You need to consider packaging costs, carrier rates, shipping destinations, product weights, and your potential profit margins.

Depending on your business needs, choose a shipping strategy or combine a few options, such as:

• Free shipping: Offer it as an incentive, applying it to certain products, order minimums, or specific regions.
• Real-time carrier rates: Many platforms integrate with carriers like Canada Post or USPS to show live pricing options.
• Flat-rate shipping: Best for businesses with products of similar weights and sizes, making it easier to predict costs.
• Local pickup/delivery: Offer local customers the option to pick up orders at your location with customizable notifications and pickup instructions.

Within your platform’s shipping settings, set up shipping zones (where you ship and available delivery methods) and conditional rates (e.g., bundling goods or handling oversized items).

For example, Momofuku’s site encourages customers to spend a bit more to hit the free shipping threshold:

Configure your tax settings

If you’re selling goods or services, you’ll likely need to collect taxes for the government whenever someone orders from your store. There are exceptions, such as digital goods in some regions or small businesses under specific revenue thresholds.

If taxes apply to you, adjust your online store’s admin settings accordingly. Set taxes by region if necessary, depending on where you do business. If you’re unsure about taxes, consult an accountant or tax professional.

8. Set up a payment gateway

Now it’s time to figure out how your store will handle payments and how you’ll receive your earnings. With countless payment gateways available, including ones built into platforms like Shopify, you can save on transaction fees and keep more of your profits.

Once you’ve picked a gateway, here’s what comes next:

• Decide on payment methods: Choose what options you’ll offer customers, like credit cards, one-click payments such as Shop Pay , or services like PayPal.
• Enable multicurrency sales: If you’re selling globally, add a currency converter so prices adjust automatically to the buyer’s local currency.
• Add extra fraud protection: Implement steps like CVV or ZIP code verification for added security.
• Set your payout frequency: Decide if you want to receive payments daily, weekly, or monthly based on what suits your cash flow needs.
• Customize your bank statement name: Make sure your store’s name is recognizable on customer statements to avoid confusion.

9. Prepare your store for launch

There are a few more steps to ensure your store looks polished and is ready to welcome customers. These include:

Securing a custom domain

Buying a domain is like claiming your space on the web. That’s why it’s called a “web address.”

A custom domain gives you a personalized URL, replacing the default one generated when you named your store. Go to your store’s settings to link the domain you purchased earlier, or grab one directly from your ecommerce platform.

Setting up sales channels

Besides your main online store, you can tap into other sales channels to expand your reach. Not every channel will suit your business, but here are a few worth considering:

• Google. As the most popular search engine, Google lets you run Shopping campaigns and list products for free in its Shopping tab .
• Social networks. Sell your products directly on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, or set up shop on TikTok .
• Marketplaces. Some customers start their shopping journey on sites like Amazon , Etsy , or Walmart. You can link these marketplaces with your online store for smooth integration.
• Point of sale (POS). Many platforms offer in-person payment solutions that sync seamlessly with your online store and inventory.

Customizing your email sequences (optional)

With automation, you can set up email sequences that guide customers through their journey—from signing up to making a purchase and tracking their orders. This boosts efficiency and cuts down on customer support tasks.

10. Launch your store

You’re finally set to go live! Most ecommerce platforms will have you flip a switch or remove password protection so everyone can access your site.

Is it flawless? Maybe not, but you’ve handled the essential steps to get your store ready for business. Launching now allows you to gather feedback in real-time and adjust your design, settings, and messaging as needed.

Here’s what to focus on next to grow your ecommerce business:

• Bring customers to your online store
• Increase traffic and make your first sales
• Analyze what your traffic is telling you
• Fine-tune your store’s performance

Treat this like a “soft launch” for your business. Use real transactions and beta testers (like friends or family) to check your checkout process and navigation. Once everything’s running smoothly, it’s time to share your launch with the world.

11. Promote your ecommerce business

Marketing varies for every business, but it’s essential to lay a solid foundation to maximize your efforts as you drive traffic to your store. Let’s explore some key marketing elements for online businesses.

Social media marketing

Social media marketing combines sharing content to build an audience and running paid ads on social platforms. Here’s how to make the most of social media for your online business:

• Focus on key platforms. You don’t need to be everywhere—start where your audience spends their time. For instance, if you’re targeting Gen Z, TikTok is vital.
• Provide value, don’t just sell. Your ads and posts should blend in with the organic content people see in their feeds. Share content that’s timely, relevant, and adds value to your audience.
• Maintain consistency. Ensure that your brand’s presence on social media matches your online store, using the same colors, imagery, and tone.
• Use social selling features. Enable shopping tools on each platform to make buying seamless, and use your bio link to direct followers to products, offers, or landing pages.

Search engine optimization (SEO)

Many potential customers turn to Google or other search engines when they’re shopping online. Whether they’re searching for something they heard about or comparing products, SEO helps your store appear in their search results.

Effective SEO can bring organic traffic to your online business. Here are some SEO tips:

• Utilize free tools like Keyword Surfer to find high-traffic keywords that are directly relevant to your products.
• Create content that addresses common questions about your products to rank in search results.

For example, if you sell crafts, write blog posts or create videos on related topics to capture search traffic.

Monitoring your store’s traffic and sales across all your marketing channels is essential. Analytics help you understand what’s working and what’s not, allowing you to focus your efforts on the strategies that offer the best return on investment for your online business.

Build your own online store today

Now that you’ve got the basics down, it’s time to take action! Whether you’re selling handmade crafts , custom merch , or digital downloads , your online shop can offer it all. Your ecommerce journey is just beginning, and it will evolve as you grow. To build a successful store, focus on connecting with your target audience and offering the products and messaging they’re eager to find.

How to start an online store FAQ

How do i start my own online shop.

To get your online shop going, start with a brand and something to sell. Next, create your store on an ecommerce platform. Add custom designs, products, and important pages to your site. Once everything is set, launch your shop and begin marketing to bring in customers.

How can I create an online store without inventory?

You can run an online store without holding inventory by picking the right business model. Options like dropshipping or print on demand mean a third party takes care of the shipping. You just focus on sales, marketing, and handling customer service.

Can I start an online store with no money?

Yes, you can start an online store with no money by signing up for a free trial with most ecommerce platforms. However, keep in mind that you might need to spend a little on basic plans after the trial ends.

How much does it cost to start an online store?

The cost of starting an online store depends on several factors. At a minimum, you’ll need around $20 for basic web hosting and an ecommerce plan. You’ll also have to consider transaction fees that can add up with each sale. Beyond that, there are marketing expenses like paid ads, as well as overhead costs like internet, utilities, and rent if you need storage or office space.

What is needed to run an online store?

Running a profitable online store requires a few essentials. You’ll need a device like a laptop or smartphone, internet access, an ecommerce platform, and some startup cash to cover web services and fees. As your store grows, you might also need to stock inventory, buy packaging materials, find storage space, handle order fulfillment, and budget for services like ads or professional help.

Want to learn more?  

• How to Get Free Media Coverage for Your Business
• What You Need to Know About Pricing Before You Launch
• Ecommerce Shipping Solutions: Guide to Ecommerce Delivery
• 10 Tips on How to Handle Customer Complaints
• 9 Ways to Earn Customer Trust When You Have Zero Sales

• Start free trial

Start selling with Shopify today

Start your free trial with Shopify today—then use these resources to guide you through every step of the process.

Free Business Plan Template for Small Businesses (2024)

Use this free business plan template to write your business plan quickly and efficiently.

A good business plan is essential to successfully starting your business —  and the easiest way to simplify the work of writing a business plan is to start with a business plan template.

You’re already investing time and energy in refining your business model and planning your launch—there’s no need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to writing a business plan. Instead, to help build a complete and effective plan, lean on time-tested structures created by other  entrepreneurs and startups. 

Ahead, learn what it takes to create a solid business plan and download Shopify's free business plan template to get started on your dream today. 

What this free business plan template includes

• Executive summary
• Company overview
• Products or services offered
• Market analysis
• Marketing plan
• Logistics and operations plan
• Financial plan

This business plan outline is designed to ensure you’re thinking through all of the important facets of starting a new business. It’s intended to help new business owners and entrepreneurs consider the full scope of running a business and identify functional areas they may not have considered or where they may need to level up their skills as they grow.

That said, it may not include the specific details or structure preferred by a potential investor or lender. If your goal with a business plan is to secure funding , check with your target organizations—typically banks or investors—to see if they have business plan templates you can follow to maximize your chances of success.

Shopify's free business plan template includes seven key elements typically found in the traditional business plan format:

1. Executive summary

This is a one-page summary of your whole plan, typically written after the rest of the plan is completed. The description section of your executive summary will also cover your management team, business objectives and strategy, and other background information about the brand. 

2. Company overview

This section of your business plan will answer two fundamental questions: “Who are you?” and “What do you plan to do?” Answering these questions clarifies why your company exists, what sets it apart from others, and why it’s a good investment opportunity. This section will detail the reasons for your business’s existence, its goals, and its guiding principles.

3. Products or services offered

What you sell and the most important features of your products or services. It also includes any plans for intellectual property, like patent filings or copyright. If you do market research for new product lines, it will show up in this section of your business plan.

4. Market analysis

This section includes everything from estimated market size to your target markets and competitive advantage. It’ll include a competitive analysis of your industry to address competitors’ strengths and weaknesses. Market research is an important part of ensuring you have a viable idea.

5. Marketing plan

How you intend to get the word out about your business, and what strategic decisions you’ve made about things like your pricing strategy. It also covers potential customers’ demographics, your sales plan, and your metrics and milestones for success.

6. Logistics and operations plan

Everything that needs to happen to turn your raw materials into products and get them into the hands of your customers.

7. Financial plan

It’s important to include a look at your financial projections, including both revenue and expense projections. This section includes templates for three key financial statements: an income statement, a balance sheet, and a cash-flow statement . You can also include whether or not you need a business loan and how much you’ll need.

Business plan examples

What do financial projections look like on paper? How do you write an executive summary? What should your company description include?  Business plan examples  can help answer some of these questions and transform your business idea into an actionable plan.

Professional business plan example

Inside the template, you'll find a sample business plan featuring a fictional ecommerce business . 

The sample is set up to help you get a sense of each section and understand how they apply to the planning and evaluation stages of a business plan. If you’re looking for funding, this example won’t be a complete or formal look at business plans, but it will give you a great place to start and notes about where to expand.

Lean business plan example

A lean business plan format is a shortened version of your more detailed business plan. It’s helpful when modifying your plan for a specific audience, like investors or new hires. 

Also known as a one-page business plan, it includes only the most important, need-to-know information, such as:

• Company description
• Key members of your team
• Customer segments

💡 Tip: For a step-by-step guide to creating a lean business plan (including a sample business plan), read Shopify's guide on how to create a lean business plan .

Benefits of writing a solid business plan

It’s tempting to dive right into execution when you’re excited about a new business or side project, but taking the time to write a thorough business plan and get your thoughts on paper allows you to do a number of beneficial things:

• Test the viability of your business idea. Whether you’ve got one business idea or many, business plans can make an idea more tangible, helping you see if it’s truly viable and ensure you’ve found a target market. 
• Plan for your next phase. Whether your goal is to start a new business or scale an existing business to the next level, a business plan can help you understand what needs to happen and identify gaps to address.
• Clarify marketing strategy, goals, and tactics. Writing a business plan can show you the actionable next steps to take on a big, abstract idea. It can also help you narrow your strategy and identify clear-cut tactics that will support it.
• Scope the necessary work. Without a concrete plan, cost overruns and delays are all but certain. A business plan can help you see the full scope of work to be done and adjust your investment of time and money accordingly.
• Hire and build partnerships. When you need buy-in from potential employees and business partners, especially in the early stages of your business, a clearly written business plan is one of the best tools at your disposal. A business plan provides a refined look at your goals for the business, letting partners judge for themselves whether or not they agree with your vision.
• Secure funds. Seeking financing for your business—whether from venture capital, financial institutions, or Shopify Capital —is one of the most common reasons to create a business plan.

Why you should you use a template for a business plan

A business plan can be as informal or formal as your situation calls for, but even if you’re a fan of the back-of-the-napkin approach to planning, there are some key benefits to starting your plan from an existing outline or simple business plan template.

No blank-page paralysis

A blank page can be intimidating to even the most seasoned writers. Using an established business planning process and template can help you get past the inertia of starting your business plan, and it allows you to skip the work of building an outline from scratch. You can always adjust a template to suit your needs.

Guidance on what to include in each section

If you’ve never sat through a business class, you might never have created a SWOT analysis or financial projections. Templates that offer guidance—in plain language—about how to fill in each section can help you navigate sometimes-daunting business jargon and create a complete and effective plan.

Knowing you’ve considered every section

In some cases, you may not need to complete every section of a startup business plan template, but its initial structure shows you you’re choosing to omit a section as opposed to forgetting to include it in the first place.

Tips for creating a successful business plan

There are some high-level strategic guidelines beyond the advice included in this free business plan template that can help you write an effective, complete plan while minimizing busywork.

Understand the audience for your plan

If you’re writing a business plan for yourself in order to get clarity on your ideas and your industry as a whole, you may not need to include the same level of detail or polish you would with a business plan you want to send to potential investors. Knowing who will read your plan will help you decide how much time to spend on it.

Know your goals

Understanding the goals of your plan can help you set the right scope. If your goal is to use the plan as a roadmap for growth, you may invest more time in it than if your goal is to understand the competitive landscape of a new industry.

Take it step by step

Writing a 10- to 15-page document can feel daunting, so try to tackle one section at a time. Select a couple of sections you feel most confident writing and start there—you can start on the next few sections once those are complete. Jot down bullet-point notes in each section before you start writing to organize your thoughts and streamline the writing process.

Maximize your business planning efforts

Planning is key to the financial success of any type of business , whether you’re a startup, non-profit, or corporation.

To make sure your efforts are focused on the highest-value parts of your own business planning, like clarifying your goals, setting a strategy, and understanding the target market and competitive landscape, lean on a business plan outline to handle the structure and format for you. Even if you eventually omit sections, you’ll save yourself time and energy by starting with a framework already in place.

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Business plan template FAQ

What is the purpose of a business plan.

The purpose of your business plan is to describe a new business opportunity or an existing one. It clarifies the business strategy, marketing plan, financial forecasts, potential providers, and more information about the company.

How do I write a simple business plan?

• Choose a business plan format, such as a traditional or a one-page business plan. 
• Find a business plan template.
• Read through a business plan sample.
• Fill in the sections of your business plan.

What is the best business plan template?

If you need help writing a business plan, Shopify’s template is one of the most beginner-friendly options you’ll find. It’s comprehensive, well-written, and helps you fill out every section.

What are the 5 essential parts of a business plan?

The five essential parts of a traditional business plan include:

• Executive summary: This is a brief overview of the business plan, summarizing the key points and highlighting the main points of the plan.
• Business description: This section outlines the business concept and how it will be executed.
• Market analysis: This section provides an in-depth look at the target market and how the business will compete in the marketplace.
• Financial plan: This section details the financial projections for the business, including sales forecasts, capital requirements, and a break-even analysis.
• Management and organization: This section describes the management team and the organizational structure of the business.

Are there any free business plan templates?

There are several free templates for business plans for small business owners available online, including Shopify’s own version.

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Written by Mary Kate Miller | July 8, 2021

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People have been buying products from retailers ever since humans started to live in towns and cities. From the Assyrians to the Babylonians, Greeks to the Romans, to industrial cities and beyond, opening up a shop is one of the most common and fruitful forms of entrepreneurship in history.

Retail businesses carry many challenges, however, which make it harder for young, inexperienced, and budget-constrained entrepreneurs to start them. That’s especially the case if you open up a traditional brick-and-mortar store.

Today, we need not be constrained by physical location. eCommerce platforms like Shopify , BigCommerce , and WooCommerce make it incredibly easy for anyone to start and grow an online store, with no physical store or capital costs required. And it’s increasingly common for businesses to start with an online store, and eventually open up brick-and-mortar storefronts (Warby Parker, Casper, Bonobos, etc.). If you want to learn how to start a retail business from scratch, this guide will outline how to start a retail business and online store.

How to Start a Retail Business: 5 Steps to Launching Your Online Business

Follow these steps to start your retail business. Whatever your end goals— be it an online clothing store, a small business selling stationary and other gifts, or something else entirely—start here.

Step 1: Define Your Industry

Start by brainstorming a list of potential industries in which your ecommerce business might operate. Every online business is positioned within the confinements of a particular industry. Whether you sell cosmetics, clothes, food, or anything in between, each industry will have its own set of unique challenges and opportunities.

You can ask yourself a series of questions to help determine your retail industry. If you haven’t yet determined what type of business you plan to launch, try asking yourself:

• What are you passionate about?
• What products do you buy the most?
• What companies do you like the most?
• What products are most popular right now within an industry you’re knowledgeable of?
• What professional experience do you have?

You should also conduct competitor research as a part of your broader market research. This research will help you see the types of companies that are most popular in the industries you’re interested in, the products they sell the most, the type of people that buy there, and much more.

For example, if you were interested in the nutrition/fitness industry (a pretty wide one to start with, but a good starting point nonetheless), you could go to the store of a company like Legion Athletics and examine the following:

• The products they sell
• The way they sell them (the copy, images, and videos used in the product pages)
• The reviews-this is critical; read them thoroughly, especially the negative ones, and see what people say about the products
• The pricing points
• The branding

Your goal isn’t to copy your competitors, but to see what’s working. From there, you can start brainstorming potential ideas to stand out and serve this industry.

Seek Out Secondary Reports and Studies

Search for industry benchmarks and industry reports or studies. See what they say about the sales, popularity, challenges, and the like. Google your industry + terms like industry benchmarks, market segmentation, market trends, market value, and statistics. This data will help you determine the opportunities and challenges related to starting an online store in that niche.

Read Industry and Trade Publications

Industry publications are another avenue for helpful industry research. Read trade magazines, blogs, and journals, and listen to podcasts for the latest trends and industry reporting.

Research Search Engine Opportunities

Search engine optimization (SEO) is essential for every online business because a large segment of your customers will discover your business via search engines. When preparing to start an online store, you want to conduct keyword research. This will help you determine the keyword volume—and therefore the sales opportunities—associated with different products. Tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush can help you find what people look for in Google and other search engines. Leading keywords work as a proxy for popularity and interest. In the nutrition business example above, a lot of people search for nutritional supplements, which means that people are curious about this topic and are potentially interested in buying products related to it.

Step 2: Find and/or Develop Products

When starting a small retail business, you can either source products from external manufacturers or make your own.

Developing Products for your Retail Shop

There are myriad benefits to making your own products. The process involves developing a blueprint, testing, manufacturing, doing quality control, and working the logistics. For a nuanced understanding of the benefits of retailing your own products, you can check out our course on starting and scaling your online store. Instructor Gretta van Riel, who has created 4 multimillion-dollar businesses, will cover why she recommends this path over sourcing products from other vendors. Get an introduction to some of Gretta’s insights with the free mini-class on starting a profitable online store in 12 weeks or less.

Sourcing Products from Third-Party Vendors

Retailing products manufactured by third-party vendors can speed up how quickly your retail store gets to market. To do so, you’ll need to determine the products you want to sell and then identify vendors and suppliers from whom you can purchase these goods.

Let’s say you want to sell vitamins and other similar supplements. To find these products, you’d search “list of vitamin supplements” or “list of vitamin supplements products” via a search engine. This query would bring you a whole lot of potential products to sell. Your job is to make a list of these products and then find the suppliers or manufacturers.

Once you’ve done this, you can contact the company directly to see if they can supply you with their products. This will probably be cheaper than working with a wholesaler, but the company will likely ask you for a higher initial purchase, which will require a larger initial investment. You may want to compare the costs of sourcing directly from the manufacturer, versus purchasing from a wholesaler to determine which option provides you with the highest profit margin.

Step 3: Choose the Right Products to Sell

One of the key problems ecommerce entrepreneurs run into is that they try to sell the wrong products. If you want to succeed with an online retail business, you need to sell products that fit your audience and your chosen brand. This is all about understanding your audience’s needs.

The research you did in the first step should shine a light on the products people are buying or could be buying in your specific industry. An important point to consider when picking the right product is to select the ones that are popular (or, at least, that could become popular soon), lightweight, simple in nature, and cost-efficient. Popular products might show up in industry-specific magazines and journals, attract praise in the community (scout Reddit and other social networks), or are winning awards.

Using the supplements industry as an example, you’ll see multivitamins are very popular. Because of that, everyone is selling them. If you want to stand out, you’ll have to think deeper. What nutritional supplements are people are already buying that you could mix with a multivitamin? What micronutrients (individual vitamins and minerals) are ignored in most multivitamins that you could sell?

For example, you may find that there is a small number of multivitamins that include caffeine. This could be a great opportunity to offer a unique product to your market.

You can also use a tool like JungleScout to see the type of products that are selling the most on Amazon (more info on how to do that in chapter 1 of our ecommerce workbook ). The goal isn’t to sell the same products sold in Amazon, but the same type of product. Make sure to avoid products that are overly complex—that means products that have confusing technical features that can be hard to understand or could get broken during transportation. At the end of the day, you want to pick products that you understand and that you’d like to buy if you were a consumer. This will make it much easier to sell and promote.

Step 4: Talk to Suppliers

Now that you have a list of suppliers you made in Step 2, your job is to contact and start negotiating with them. Begin by analyzing their sites and business. Check for potential revenue volumes available on the web so you can see how big they are. The bigger they are, the higher the minimum initial orders will likely be.

You want to work with suppliers that are comfortable selling to small businesses like yours. When approaching suppliers, don’t tell them you’re inexperienced or new at this. Instead, tell them you’re looking for the right supplier to work with for the long run. Avoid talking budgets and other detailed information just yet.

Do some math to find the right target dollar amount that you are willing to invest. If your budget is $10,000, then you should be willing to spend around $5,000 to $8,000 on your first initial order—the rest will be used for logistics, marketing, and other tasks.

If you want to create leverage with a supplier, be willing to make a large initial deposit-somewhere around 50% to 70%—so you can increase your negotiating power.

To help you out in your approach, you can use this sample template:

Hi VENDOR NAME,

My name is YOUR NAME and I’m a purchasing agent for YOUR COMPANY. We are interested in carrying many of the items that you have to offer. Specifically, I would like to get pricing and availability for the following items: * Products #1 * Products #2 * Products #3

If you could send us more info as well as your product catalogs and MOQ we would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you, YOUR NAME

You won’t believe how responsive some large companies can be with entrepreneurs like you, and how friendly some others will be. Be open to learn and negotiate, and soon you’ll be mastering the art of supplier negotiation.

Step 5: Develop a Brand

No matter how great your products are, if you want to succeed with your online retail business, you need to have a strong brand. For an online store, the basics of solid branding include having a solid positioning statement , great copy, and an overall design that fits your audience and your products perfectly.

Branding is both an art and a science, which can be incredibly extensive. Right now, however, all you care about is nailing your store’s name and logo.

Take some time to think about your business name. Brainstorm as many as you can and think about how it can explain or give an idea of what your business is all about. Most importantly, you want to come up with a name that appeals to your target audience.

Take a look at some of the most popular supplement brands in the world:

• Optimum Nutrition
• Legion Athletics
• Universal Nutrition

They all include something related to the world of fitness—words like “athletics,” “nutrition,” and “muscle.”

As you think about your potential brand names, you want to go ahead and check the availability for their domains on a site like GoDaddy . Ideally, you want to get a .com, but in case you come up with the perfect name that doesn’t have a domain available, consider buying a .io, .co, or .net for the time being.

Finally, get a basic logo and brand colors done. Use a platform like Upwork or 99Designs to get a list of web design freelancers to come up with ideas for your brand.

Check your competition to see the type of colors and logos they use, and what your audience seems to connect with. Check out the logos for the previous examples:

They all have a similar appeal and look; a bit edgy but professional at the same time.

Your logo should be unique, but it should also appeal to the people who are likely customers of some of these brands, so make sure to take notes of their approaches to branding and use them as a guide to your own company.

How to Start an Online Store

Now that you have done the legwork necessary to develop your retail business, let’s discuss how to start an online store.

Step 1: Create an Account with an Ecommerce Platform

The next step to starting your online retail business requires you to open an account with one of the ecommerce platforms and set up the store. Many people agonize over choosing the platform or ecommerce software that’s just right , but the truth is that most of the market leaders—Shopify, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce—have similar features.

What changes from one to the other is the plugins available, the themes, and other very specific features (like the capacity to use Shopify payments or its POS system). Unlike the other 2 options, WooCommerce needs to be installed with WordPress. That means you have to manage your own web hosting. If you don’t mind doing this, or if you plan to use your blog as one of your main marketing tools, then WooCommerce can be a great option as well.

As you review each option, start checking for themes. A premium theme will help your ecommerce store look professional while also keeping your costs down (premium themes are generally affordable alternatives to hiring a web designer to develop your store for you). You can easily track these down by performing a search with the query “[ECOMMERCE PLATFORM YOU’RE USING] premium themes.” (For example, “Shopify premium themes.”)

Free themes can also work if you plan to use a very minimalist design and you’re capable of doing changes on the front end-otherwise, stick with premium themes.

If possible, you can hire a freelancer to customize your theme a little bit without taking on the cost of hiring a full-time employee. Once again, you want your store to look unique and customized to your brand—a freelance, a front-end developer from a site like Fiverr or Upwork will help you make these changes for a reasonable fee.

Check for available plugins or apps on each platform-these apps will help you increase the functionality of your site. The 3 ecommerce platforms mentioned above have an extensive library of great apps to use.

Once you’ve decided on your platform, open an account (all platforms offer free trials) and get ready for the launch.

Step 2: Choose a Launch Date

The negotiation with your suppliers will likely take a few weeks, if not months, from the moment of your first contact until you have their products in your warehouse.

While you manage the supplier’s relationship and logistics, you need to start preparing for your online boutique launch. There’s nothing worse than launching an ecommerce store to the sound of crickets.

It’s better to start sooner than later, so to begin, pick a launch date. You want to pick a date that’s both realistic and challenging-you want motivation, but also to be confident you’ll have your products in stock by that date.

Step 3: Add Products, Photos, and Copy

Start adding your site’s copy, your products, and product copy. If you have one product, this will be relatively easy. If you have dozens—or even hundreds—then this will take you some time.

Product Photos

Even if you source products from other retailers, you want to take your own product photography to avoid having the same photos competitors that sourced products from the same vendor. Even if you’re offering a shared product, you want your business to stand out. There are many companies that provide outsourced product photography, like ProductPhoto.com and Pencil One. All you’ve got to do is send them your product and get them to take the photos and edit them for you.

You also want to write your own product descriptions. This is really important to your online store’s SEO success. If you have the same product listing copy as another website, Google will list your page as having “duplicate copy.” Search engines don’t see duplicate copy as valuable. As a result, it will be harder for a customer to find your products.

If copywriting isn’t your specialty, you can hire a freelance writer to help with product copy and even content marketing efforts. Freelancers, again, can help you maintain exceptional standards without taking on the added cost of hiring an employee. If you’re looking for a freelance copywriter, start by asking your network for recommendations. It’s best to go with a writer whose work you can trust, even if it means paying a little more upfront. Freelance platforms like Upwork and Fiverr have tons of writers willing to work for cheap, but they can be hit or miss in terms of content quality.

Step 4: Create Social Media Accounts

You want to create accounts on social media prior to launching your online store. Facebook, twitter, and Instagram all have benefits for small businesses. Instagram, specifically, can be the most beneficial for an online shop.

You can use these networks to build an email list and a following so that by the launch date, you can get a few sales right away. That’s what Tania Eves did when she launched her store Me and the Brave , something that allowed her to become profitable the same day of her launch.

Step 5: Make a Test Purchase

Test a purchase through your ecommerce business to ensure that all steps of the buying experience operate as expected. Make sure that the post-purchase page and emails look and work fine, and that your backend logistics system also triggers the purchase correctly.

Step 6: Develop a Marketing Plan

As we explained before, a marketing plan brings clarity to your company. A marketing strategy will help you understand how you’re targeting your messaging so you can become more effective when you launch.

One popular tactic when developing a marketing plan is to create a buyer persona . This is basically an abstraction of your ideal customer so you can customize your marketing to them. Ideally, you’d want to survey people in your industry or even interview people. You can also use a mix of competitor research with online customer research. The latter includes looking for comments in popular Amazon products to find problems, ideas, and general feedback.

For example, if you were to sell a multivitamin, you could find other similar products on Amazon and see how many people complain about these products:

As you can see, this person doesn’t believe any vitamin is complete for her daily needs and finds that standard vitamins in a pill form make her sick. This is great feedback you can use in your marketing copy—whether that’s your product copy, your email, your social media, and more.

What’s more, you want to define the top every marketing channel you will use to reach these buyers. The most common include:

• Facebook ads
• Email marketing
• Blogging (in your own site)
• Guest blogging

All of these channels have their pros and cons. Whatever channel you decide to use, stick to no more than three and master them first, instead of trying to do everything at once and spreading yourself too thin. Knowing how to edit and direct your efforts is key to building a successful online store.

Step 7: Launch Your Online Store

This is the moment of truth: time to launch your ecommerce store. On its own, this moment doesn’t require a lot of work. All you have to do is make your store visible to the public, but there’s a whole lot more behind this simple process that you need to consider before calling it a day.

The marketing plan you developed before will be used on this day to get as many people to check your site and, hopefully, make a purchase. For example, if you have decided to write a few guest blogs on top sites in your industry, make sure they all fall on the same day so the traffic from the blog goes to your digital product listings.

What’s more, you want to send a notification to everyone on your email list. Tell them that you’re launching your store and that your products are ready to buy. You can also consider doing a launch promotion, which includes limited-time deals and discounts for new customers.

There’s a lot you can do-what matters is that you get as many people to your store as possible and get them to purchase. Plan accordingly, and hustle your way to success. For more information, check out this in-depth guide on how to start an ecommerce business .

What to Do After Your Online Store is Up and Running

So you launched your online retail business. What now? To start, you’ve made it, celebrate it! Pop a champagne bottle, get a coffee at your favorite place, call a friend—you name it.

Once the excitement wears off, you’ve got to remember that you run your own business now. This means you have to think and act as a business owner. Your products need to be properly restocked. You need to offer customer service. You need to refine your marketing plan.

Test, analyze, learn, iterate, and grow.

That’s how you will make your online retail business a success. You already have the blueprint, now it’s time for you to get started.

About Mary Kate Miller

Mary Kate Miller writes about small business, real estate, and finance. In addition to writing for Foundr, her work has been published by The Washington Post, Teen Vogue, Bustle, and more. She lives in Chicago.

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How to Start an Online Business Profitably From Home In 90 Days

Darren DeMatas

November 27, 2023

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In addition to receiving commissions generated through affiliate marketing, we are able to fund our independent research and reviews at no extra cost to our readers. Learn more.

If you have ever thought about how to start an online business of your own, now is a great time to finally roll up your sleeves. In the wake of COVID-19, the ecommerce world was flooded with new activity from all sectors. Although growth has slowed since then, there’s still plenty of room in the market.

How To Start An Online Business

• Research Business Models
• Decide Your Niche
• Conduct Competitive Analysis
• Define Your Brand And Target Audience
• Set Up Business Logistics
• Build Your Website and Marketing Automation
• Promote Your Business

People can make money online in lots of different ways. They can open an online store, write a blog, or become popular on social media. In this post, we will dive into the different models and guide you step-by-step to launching your own online business.

Why Start An Online Business From Home

Online businesses can be profitable with low startup costs. The ecommerce market is growing, especially due to COVID-19, offering many opportunities.

Some of the richest people in the world got their start with online businesses. With the right business plan and commitment, you can reach customers worldwide .

Types of Online Business Models

Online businesses come in all shapes and sizes. You don’t have to be the next Amazon ecommerce marketplace or Netflix to be successful.

When it comes to online business models there are a few major buckets to consider.

• Physical Products: Selling products like t-shirts through online retail
• Digital Products : Like courses, ebooks, or software
• Media / Publisher: Selling ads, affiliate marketing, or sponsored content
• Services : Exchanging time for money by providing services like logo design or marketing

We have hundreds of online business ideas you can start , but I wanted to highlight a few ones in each of those buckets.

Physical Products

An ecommerce store is likely the first thing you think of when it comes to online businesses. Instead of shopping in person, customers make purchases over the internet.

In essence, your website replaces the store. Customers browse and buy your products or services online, and then you ship the order to them.

Online stores offer advantages over brick-and-mortar. Customers anywhere in the world can shop with you regardless of location. Plus, a virtual storefront means lower overhead.

Dropshipping

A dropshipping business is great for its simplicity . To the customer, they operate just like any other ecommerce store. But in actuality, your internet business is just the middleman. 

When a customer places an order, you send the order to the drop shipper . The drop shipper fulfills and ships the order to your customer.

Digital Products

Selling digital products online is very low overhead, but it’s highly competitive. If you have unique skills or knowledge, create digital products to monetize your expertise.

If you have experience in graphic design or web development, create and sell online courses. Or, maybe you’re a talented writer who could create and sell ebooks, audiobooks, or other digital content.

The possibilities for digital products are almost endless. All it takes is some creativity and hard work to get started.

Launch An App Or SaaS Startup

In today’s digital era, launching an app can be a viable business online.

With an innovative app idea, you could tap into a potentially huge market. If you have the technical skill to create it, or the resources to hire someone to do it for you, it could be lucrative.

To successfully launch an app, identify a problem or need your target audience has. Then, address it with your app. Invest time and resources into promoting your app to get it noticed. In a crowded marketplace, marketing can make or break you.

Remember, developing an app is only the first step – you still have to market it.

Ebooks or Courses

Have a passion for sharing what you know with others? Create and sell ebooks or online courses. It can be a long-term viable business since you can create content on almost any topic. Ideas include cooking and fitness, entrepreneurship, and personal development.

For success, pinpoint your target audience. Create content that speaks to their needs and preferences. Spend time building your brand and promoting your products. Use social media, email marketing, and other channels.

Media Publishing Company

You can start a media company with almost no resources other than yourself. Again, a low barrier to entry means tight competition.

Starting a media publishing company involves creating content for your target audience. You can create written, video, or audio content. Then, you monetize it with advertising or other methods.

This business model is highly scalable. Healthline is a publishing company that generates $100M+ per year.

To compete in this space, focus on consistently producing high-quality engaging content. It will help you build a loyal audience. Learn about online advertising and marketing strategies to maximize revenue potential.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing allows you to promote and sell without handling products. Your job is to promote affiliate products and drive traffic to the partner’s website.

You earn a commission when customers use your affiliate link to make a purchase . The company selling the product handles processing and shipping the order. You are responsible for encouraging the sale and directing traffic with referral links.

Blogging is a large and varied category for online businesses. There is a wide range of blogs and many ways to monetize them. For example, some people make blogs as a hobby, while others use them for affiliate programs.

Blogs can make money selling ad space, sponsored posts, or ecommerce. You can even work as a blogger by creating content for other companies’ blogs. Blogging can be great as a part-time job or full-time gig.

Launch A YouTube Channel

What are you passionate about? Create videos about what you love, and build a following of interested viewers. After you build a loyal audience, monetize your channel with:

• Advertising
• Product sales
• Sponsorships

Most full-time YouTubers make $60K per year. But people like Blippi make a ton more. In fact, his net worth is around his total YouTube subscribers.

Become an Instagram Influencer

These days anyone can become an influencer. That’s if you don’t mind being the “face” of your business. I prefer to pass on that. With that said, influencers can make a killing by putting themselves in the spotlight.

Trading hours for money is the basic idea behind selling services. If you have a particular skill set or expertise, you can offer your services online to those who need them. This includes things like:

• Social media management
• Content creation
• Virtual assistance

Use platforms like Fiverr or Upwork to find clients and build your reputation.

Web Design Services

If you have web design skills, leverage them to build websites for others . If you have software development experience, this is a lucrative business opportunity.

Many tools can help non-technical people build websites. But business owners don’t have the time to do it. Beyond websites, you can also create and manage social media accounts.

Marketing Agency

Have a background in marketing? Experience in social media, content marketing, or search engine optimization (SEO)? You can offer your expertise to help other businesses grow. These businesses tend to have a lot of overhead, but you can easily build and sell a marketing agency for seven figures.

Start With a Niche in Mind

Before starting your online business, you have to know what you will be selling . This could be a product, a service, or an idea.

For example, selling a cool t-shirt design differs from selling a website-building service. Once you know what you want to focus on (this can be many things), you can start developing your strategy.

Some questions you will want to ask yourself are:

• What am I selling?
• Do I need or want a website?
• What will my company (and website) name be?
• Will I have stock to manage?
• Do I need to hire anyone?

What you are selling will help answer most of these questions. And you’ll learn things along the way. But first, what are you selling, and how will you make money?

Conduct Competitive Research

Whatever it is you are selling, you will have competition. Before you get started, do some competitive analysis of the market as a whole.

Begin With Basic Keyword Research On Google

Start with basic keyword research on Google. Identify keywords that are relevant to what you’re selling and see who shows up in the search results. Note their website, pricing, products or services, and any unique selling propositions.

Next, delve deeper into their online presence. Visit their website, social media profiles, and any other online platforms they use. Pay attention to:

The design and user experience of their website

How they engage with their audience on social media

Any content they create

This will help you identify what’s trending and the competitive discovery process.

Conducting product research is important. Entering a highly competitive industry with established competitors makes a difficult battle. When it’s hard to carve out your market share, you stifle growth before you even start.

What is the competition doing well? Where could they make improvements? Exploit the areas of improvement for your own benefit.

Your market research could show competitors pricing products too high. It could show poor customer service. Ensuring you do better may determine product viability . If you cannot, it will point you to another business niche.

Define Your Brand and Target Audience

Think about what you want your brand to communities. Beyond the name, consider your color scheme, logo, and mission statement.

You might have an idea or starting point for defining your brand and company image, but you’re not stuck with it. Amazon grew from an online bookseller to a global marketplace. Your brand will likely evolve and settle into its niche.

Define Your Target Audience

What you are selling will also determine who your target audience is . Are you selling to other businesses or customers? Who are they? What social media platforms do they use?

Define and understand your target audience to shape your business and marketing strategy. Your target market will likely change over time. You may notice a difference between your ideal and actual customers, too.

Analytics tools help identify your audience and track what works and what doesn’t. Your customer demographics determine how you run your business (and make money.) It also impacts your social media marketing.

Trademark Your Brand Name

Once you have defined your brand name and image, it is important to protect them legally. Register a trademark for your brand name to ensure no one else can use it or create confusion in the market.

This important step helps establish your business and protects your intellectual property. It’s helpful to consult with an attorney to navigate the process. This ensures you don’t miss anything when securing your trademark,

Create Your Business

Creating your online presence isn’t enough to start your business. You must officially register your company . You can find original and distinctive names for your business with the use of a  business name generator .Generally, it’s okay to start working and make a few sales. But you’ll eventually need to make things official.

Take all Necessary Legal Steps

You will need to address some legal aspects when creating your company . A licensed and registered business provides personal legal protection.

First, make sure you choose the right business structure. Depending on your location, products, and services, you may need a business permit. You may also need a federal business license. In most cases, you will need a federal business license .

Here are the main legal hoops you will need to jump through:

Register Your Business

Don’t let the idea of registering a business scare you. It’s paperwork and paying fees.

You can expect to:

• Register your new business name and optional Doing Business As (DBA)
• Choose your business’s legal structure: limited liability company ( LLC ), partnership, etc.
• A Federal Tax ID (or EIN)
• Other licenses and permits

Opting for a sole proprietorship allows you to skip many steps. That’s why many people getting started take this route. However, this doesn’t legally separate you from your business. If something goes wrong, you put your personal assets at risk.

If you’re confident in your business, save time and register your business at the start. A DBA and Federal Tax ID can also provide other perks.

Get Tax IDs

After getting your federal tax ID and business license, get your state and local tax IDs. You may have more paperwork for taxes and permits.

Get All Necessary Licenses

Certain types of businesses have licensing requirements . Common business licenses you may encounter include:

• Federal business license
• Sales tax license
• Home occupation permit
• Specific industry licensing
• Permits for regulated products

Your needs depend on your business and the products or services you’ll sell. Your local government or the Small Business Administration can help you.

Remember that sole proprietorship can avoid a lot of these requirements.

You must abide by all regulations where you do business. This includes across state lines or international borders.

Open a Business Bank Account

A separate business bank account is crucial. It simplifies your accounting to keep your business revenue separate from personal income. You need a registered business tax ID to open a business checking account.

As a sole proprietor, you can still open a separate bank account to manage personal and company funds.

Choose a Payment Gateway

Whether you sell B2B or B2C, you need a system for handling payments. Popular ecommerce tools integrate with third-party services so you can collect customer payments.

You must connect your payment gateway to your business account to accept payments. Your location and the ecommerce tools you use determine available payment gateway options.

Set up Taxes 

As with any business, you must track your earnings and pay business taxes. Consider hiring an accountant to help you get started if you can afford one. Keep clear and accurate records to ensure you’re ready for tax time.

Build Your Website

Your website serves as your storefront and a direct representation of your company. Building an effective and attractive website is essential for a successful online business. Luckily, there are tools you can use to build a website without technical skill.

Choose the Website Platform

Thanks to many different ecommerce platforms , it’s easy to start an online business. If you’ve got general computer skills, you can build an ecommerce website yourself.

Popular codeless ecommerce platforms include:

There are others, though these make up the vast majority of websites that aren’t coded from scratch. In fact, WordPress powers roughly 40% of all websites on the internet!

The beauty of WordPress is it is free, open-source software . Developers can create custom plugins, so no matter what feature you need, you can find it. This makes it easy to build your website without technical knowledge.

With its popularity, you can find step-by-step guides for anything you may need.

Shopify is an easier website builder for creating a basic ecommerce store, though it will require a monthly fee. It uses simple templates for creating product pages to sell your goods online. This is a popular option among small business owners.    

WordPress may be free, but there are ongoing expenses , including:

• Domain name
• Web hosting plan
• Premium plugins

Find a balance between cost and service when you choose an ecommerce platform.

If you are selling digital products, consider using an online course platform.

If you’re not ready to build a website, use marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, or Etsy to sell your goods. The downside of this business plan is marketplace fees, which can eat into your profits.

Set Up Marketing Automation

Once you have your ecommerce platform set up, it’s time to start thinking about how to market your business. One of the most effective ways to do this is through marketing automation.

Marketing automation refers to software that automates repetitive tasks. This can include email marketing, social media posting, and advertising campaigns. This can save you a lot of time and effort while still achieving great results.

To start using marketing automation, create a customer database. Collect customer information through your website or social media accounts. Use the data to segment customers into different groups. From there, send them targeted messaging.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is one of the most important tools in your marketing arsenal. With it, you can reach customers directly in their inboxes. When done properly, it increases brand awareness and sales.

To start, build an email list. Offer something of value, such as a free book, discount code, or webinar. Subscribers get access to your offering in exchange for their email addresses.

After building your list, use an email marketing platform such as Mailchimp or Constant Contact to create and send emails.

Personalize and offer value to your subscribers with each email you send. Segment your list based on consumer behavior and interests to boost engagement.

Landing Pages

A landing page is a standalone page designed to convert visitors into customers or leads. Effective landing pages have:

• Clear and concise messaging
• A strong call-to-action
• A form for visitors to fill out to become a lead or make a purchase

When creating your landing page, keep in mind your target audience and what will appeal to them. Use eye-catching visuals and persuasive copy to convince visitors to take action. Tools like Unbounce or LeadPages make it easy to create landing pages without coding knowledge.

Funnel Set Up

To maximize your online business success, it’s important to set up a sales funnel. A sales funnel is a step-by-step process that guides potential customers toward buying.

Typically, it starts with the awareness stage. This is where visitors discover your brand. From there, you’ll move them to the interest and consideration stages. Here, they’ll learn more about your products or services. The end goal is to move them to the decision stage, where they make the decision to purchase.

Setting up your sales funnel involves:

• Identifying key steps customers take before they buy
• Creating content and offers to guide them through each stage

For example, you can offer a free trial or consultation.

Market Your Website

Marketing is crucial to help your business grow. To effectively market your online business, understand your target audience. Once you know who your ideal customer is, you can use various strategies to reach them.

Content Marketing and SEO

Using content marketing and SEO can attract potential customers and improve your search rankings. Creating high-quality, relevant content using keywords related to your niche can organic visibility.

Start by identifying topics and keywords relevant to your business. Then, create content around those phrases. You’re not limited to blog posts – you can also create infographics , videos, and more.

Optimize the content with proper headings and meta descriptions to improve ranking potential.

Facebook and Instagram Ads

To build a social media following and increase brand awareness, run ads. Facebook and Instagram make it easy to create targeted ads based on:

• Demographics

To get started, set up a Facebook Business Manager account and connect it to your website. Then, create your ad campaign with an objective that aligns with your business goals. You can choose from options such as brand awareness, website traffic, and conversions.

Create visually appealing graphics and compelling ad copy. Everything should speak directly to your target audience. Use A/B testing to refine your ads over time and achieve a return on ad spend.

Influencer Marketing and PR

Find influencers who have a following in your niche. Reach out about collaborations on content or promotions to tap into their audience.

Use PR tactics such as press releases and media outreach to gain exposure for your business. Focus on relevant journalists and publications because they’re more likely to feature your brand.

Building relationships with influencers and journalists takes time and effort. Don’t expect immediate results. With consistent outreach and quality content, you can establish yourself as an authority.

Retargeting

Retargeting involves showing ads to users who have already interacted with your brand. It reminds them of what they’ve viewed and encourages them to complete the purchase.

To set up retargeting, install a tracking pixel on your website. Then, you’ll create ads targeted at those who have interacted with your site. You can use platforms like Google AdWords or Facebook Ads to create and manage your retargeting campaigns.

Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)

It’s not enough to drive traffic to your website. For success, that traffic needs to convert to customers. CRO is strategically editing your website design and content to increase conversions.

To leverage CRO, analyze your website data using tools such as Google Analytics. Find pages with high bounce rates or low conversion rates. Make adjustments to improve the user experience. For example, simplify navigation or make your calls-to-action clearer.

Use split testing to identify the changes that are most effective.

Successful Online Businesses You Can Learn From

While every online business is different, we can learn from those who paved the way. Here are some strong ecommerce examples :

We’ve already mentioned Amazon a few times, with good reason.

Why? Because Amazon is the be-all and end-all of ecommerce business . It started as a small operation selling used books out of a garage. It grew to control more than a third of all ecommerce in the United States. You can’t ignore Amazon.

Amazon followed many of the tips we’ve covered in this article. (You could argue that they wrote the book on successful online business).

But Amazon started with a focus on one product category: Books. Its target market was people who wanted to save money and enjoy the convenience of delivery.

They embraced their success and continued to grow the brand around those strengths. They expanded into other product categories and now offer countless products and services.

With them, we learn how to focus on our strengths and look for growth opportunities.

Etsy is another good example of a simple idea that turned into a huge success. Etsy started as a small online business that focused on the sale of homemade goods. This differed from marketplaces like Amazon, which sold mass-produced items.

Etsy stayed true to its concept. It is a popular platform for artists and crafters who don’t want to compete with factory-made goods. Their business model was a success, offering niche products you can’t find anywhere else.

EBay revolutionized ecommerce with its new business plan of online auctions. Rather than selling products, eBay built a business around allowing others to sell.

eBay inspired many other ecommerce websites to follow a similar approach.

Each of these ultra-popular websites started as a small ecommerce business before making it big. We can apply the same strategies to our own online business plans. 

Which business is best for online?

Some business concepts that benefit from being online are:

• Affiliate marketing
• Digital product sales
• Dropshipping (and Fulfillment by Amazon companies)
• Training and digital courses

What do these business models all have in common? You can start them with little to no money and with minimal overhead.

Basic ecommerce companies can be successful. But there is greater risk with physical inventory. You must rent warehouse space, buy the inventory, and pay other business expenses.

With the above examples, all you need to invest is your time, and you can start earning money online!

What is the most profitable item to sell online?

You can sell most things online, but digital goods have unique profitability. Unlike physical goods, you can create digital goods like games or online courses once and sell them forever. The same goes for ebooks, videos, and other digital content.

You must print, bind, sell, and ship a physical book. You can sell and download an ebook with no physical labor involved. This is what makes digital goods so profitable for online businesses.

What online services are in demand?

In-demand online services are those that help others get online. In the wake of the pandemic, companies rushed to build their online presence.

Service-based businesses related to website design and digital marketing are in demand. An example is email marketing software, especially email marketing automation.

What are the most successful small online businesses?

You can sell almost anything online, but fashion and beauty are among the most successful. Fashion was the largest ecommerce segment in 2022 . Countless boutiques , brands, and content creators are getting their slice of the pie.

Start Creating Your Online Business

Now you are ready to start planning your own online business endeavors. Chances are it won’t be quick, and it won’t be easy. With a bit of luck and persistence, you can launch a successful online business.

Before, it took specialized knowledge and big risks to make money online. N ow abundant opportunities for those looking to break into ecommerce . No matter your strengths or skill level, there is a solution for how to start an online business.

With a little bit of elbow grease, you can turn your side hustle into a profitable business.

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