Tips For Starting Your Own Online Business
This content was reviewed for accuracy on 20/12/2023
1) Get a good website built
A good website can make a difference, helping to create a trustworthy image for your business. Your customers will judge your business by how you present it online, having a great website will help bring in more business. However, it’s easier said than done and you’ll have to factor in costs. A basic website can cost as little as £500 whilst a quality site that gives you a strong market presence can cost thousands.
Take inspiration from any great websites you come across and search for freelance web designers or other experts who can help you build a site if you can’t afford to pay an agency to build one for you. Make sure your content is up to date and try to keep your site clean, simple and easy to navigate.
2) Know your route to market
No business succeeds without knowing who their customers are and where they can be found. This is as important online as it is offline. Perhaps you will use the all singing all dancing website that you’ve built in the previous step and drive traffic using AdWords or SEO.
You may decide to use an existing marketplace like eBay or Amazon – or both as you may not want to depend on one marketplace. If you decide to use Amazon you could have your goods shipped directly from the factory in China, to an Amazon FBA warehouse here in the UK. Here’s how you can make money by using Amazon FBA without even touching your products!
3) Take advantage of free marketing opportunities
For those just starting internet businesses, budgets tend to be quite limited but there is a lot of marketing you can do online for free.
Depending on your customer base, blogging can be a good way of reaching out to potential customers. Using Facebook is a good way to widen your reach and communicate with customers. TikTok, Twitter and YouTube are also great social media platforms, tweeting local companies can help build positive working relationships and YouTube or TikTok videos help you present a human face to your business!
4) Trademarking and domain names
Not every business idea will need trademarking but if your business operates under a brand name that could be imitated, it is advisable to look into it. You can find out if a brand name relevant to your business is already under use in the UK by searching www.gov.uk/search-for-trademark.
Getting hold of a domain name that is especially relevant to your business can also help bring in more customers when they browse the internet.
5) Decide how to source your products
You may wish to use a marketplace such as Alibaba to source your products. It can be difficult to know where to start so we have put together a beginners guide on how to navigate Alibaba.
From there you’ll need to get your goods from the other side of the world to you! That’s where we come in… we can help ship your goods from Asia to the UK and make it hassle-free! (Music to your ears right?)
Get In Touch
We hope you found this guide helpful and that you feel ready to set up your online business… If not, please get in touch!
Remember, if you are ready to get going with your business and import products from overseas, you can grab a quote on the link above.