How to Start My Own Online Catalogue Business
An online business can provide a lucrative vehicle to take your hobbies to the next level. According to Inc. magazine, there were more than $136 billion in online transactions in 2007. Hobbyists of all types often discover that they can leverage their expertise by starting their own catalogue or other online business.
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Instructions
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Instructions
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Incorporate a business within your locality. Open a commercial bank account for your new corporation. Obtain a credit card merchant account for your company. Sign up as a merchant with other popular online payment processing services. Set up bookkeeping software to track the revenues and expenses of your company. Apply for membership in entities available in your locality including the Better Business Bureau, Chamber of Commerce and other applicable online business rating organizations.
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Choose a name for your website and register the domain. Select a hosting service for your website, making sure that you have sufficient bandwidth and disk space. Design your site or employ the services of a web designer to design it for you. Integrate your payment processing solutions into the website. Beta-test all functions within the site to ensure there are no bugs.
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Assemble a universe of products or identify a specific service to be sold on your website. Upload photographs and product descriptions if you elect to employ a catalogue theme, or alternatively design the site to be most conducive to selling your product or service if you are forming another type of online business. Utilize SEO (search engine optimization) techniques for all text on the site. Conduct market research and price your products or services competitively.
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Procure a supply chain if you plan to warehouse and ship products yourself. Select a drop shipper if you are willing to have reduced margins in return for ease of order fulfillment. Formulate shipping and handling charges for various methods of product delivery. Display prominently your shipping rates and your policies regarding returned items.
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Market your online business on blogs, other sites popular with your target demographic, article directories and social networking sites. Create an affiliate program to develop additional sales channels. Expand your reach by creating additional virtual stores on major retailing websites. Offer online coupons and other promotions to accelerate your initial site traffic.
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Tips & Warnings
Do not be discouraged if you lack significant money to invest. According to the National Black Business Trade Association (NBBTA), 44 percent of home-based businesses got off the ground with under $5,000 in capitalization.
Solicit contact information from customers and site visitors in order to support future marketing campaigns.
Make sure you comply with all state tax laws and remit all required sales tax.
Take sufficient steps to protect the security of your website, especially when storing your customers' financial information.
