Setting Up an Online Golf Accessories Business

Accessories are one of the top business trends of the decade. Building an online golf accessories business is a great way to be your own boss at an affordable price and be involved in your golfing passion. With a little planning, you can be online selling novelty golf balls, personalized T's and other great accessories.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

1. Decide the focus of your business. You can offer a retail site for golf accessories or if you can get a great value on items you can build a wholesale golf accessory business. Some business focus on promotional golf accessories such as personalized T's. Determine your vision for the business including the items you want to sell and your focus in terms of target market (i.e. retail, wholesale, businesses, gift market, etc).

2. Find resources for golf accessories to sell in your store. Search the Internet for "wholesale golf accessories" or "golf accessory manufacturers" to find possible suppliers. Be sure to read all agreements carefully before agreeing to work with a supplier. Run the numbers to insure you can buy the items at a price that will earn you profit. Remember to add your overhead (web hosting, marketing expenses, etc) and the value of your time when calculating what your profits should be.

3. Set up the business. Contact your local government business office to get a business permit. Also ask about a sales tax permit. Because you're selling tangible good, you may need to collect sales tax on customers from your state (if you state or locality charges sales tax). If your business has a name other than your given name, you may need to file a fictitious name statement as well. Your local business office should be able to let you know how to take care of that.

4. Plan your website. Determine the organization of your site. Customers will find it easier to buy if they can find what they're looking for. This can be done by grouping your site into categories such as "Gift Ideas", "Novelty Golf Balls", "Gifts for Women Golfers" etc. All e-commerce golf sites should also have pages that outline your privacy (what you'll do with customer information), shipping details, contact information, and an "About Us" page that outlines your golf accessory business' history, mission and goals, and lets your visitors know about you.

5. Sign up for web hosting. Decide if you want a web host that offers built-in e-commerce capabilities, which is easier to set up, but usually costs a bit more. If you are web-tech savvy or are hiring someone to build your site, you can get a web-host without an e-commerce package. Either way you want to find a site that will meet your needs. Because you'll have many pages, pictures of golf accessories, shopping carts and other online store related features, you want a web-host that provides enough storage and bandwidth to meet your needs. For both types of sites you'll need a shopping cart and payment system that can calculate multiple items, determine sales tax by state as well as shipping costs, and security measures to protect you and your customers' private information,

6. Get a payment processor. Once your customers add golf accessories to their online shopping cart, they need a way to pay. A payment processing system can be integrated into your website's shopping. If you're using an e-commerce host, it will let you know which payment processors work with its system. If you're using a web host's shopping cart feature or if you're using a script you've bought, both should let you know what processors you can use. In the above options you'll have to apply for a merchant account. Another options is to use Paypal.

7. Build your golf accessory site. Now that your site is organized and has a host, you need to build and upload the site to the host's services. Many hosts have templates that you can use online. Or you can use a program such as Microsoft Expressions or hire someone. Your shopping cart system should have the database in which you'll list all your golf accessory items, prices, and pictures. If you're using a e-commerce web-host, you may have inventory features that can help you track sales and know when you're running out of a particular accessory.

8. Get customers to your store. The real work of your business comes with getting customers. Write a marketing plan that provides details on your target market (golf enthusiasts) and where they can be reached. Develop marketing tools to put in front of your target market. This can include ads on golf related websites, social networking with golf enthusiasts, and writing golf accessory reviews. Don't forget offline marketing such as press releases, business cards, and ads or articles in golf magazines.

References

• Entrepreneur Online Business
• Small Business Administration Business Techology Resources