6 Steps To Starting An E-Commerce Store
Hey girl! I can see you!
I know you are a DIY girl, who's always trying to find new ways, learn new things and do it all by yourself, putting more effort, downloading every freebie you find because you have the fire most don’t!You don’t waste time (because we only got 24hrs in a day, right?)You are a superwomen taking care of everything (business, kids, and job, husband and house chores).
But no matter how many freebies you download, how many blogs you read, you always get into your own way.
And that’s frustrating and annoying and sometimes overwhelming!You don’t have hundreds of dollars to spend on Facebook Ads or spend time learning more about marketing when you can barely keep up with learning strategies to start your own Boutique!
I just want to tell you that I've been there!Working too hard, downloading those re-packaged freebies; Not sure what or why I’m putting in so much effort and not sure if I can keep up with the whole “I want to own an online boutique” thing.
But there’s good news – It doesn’t have to be like this! If you don’t want it to be!
Here are 6 quick steps you can do to get started today!
6 Steps To Starting An E-Commerce Store
+ Find a Niche or a problem to solve — Starting an online boutique to sell a bunch of products is NOT enough. You need to find a niche that's narrow & stands out from other stores in the market.
Example - Let's suppose you want to open a boutique that caters to women between 20 - 35 years old who love to wokrout. But you can't just STOP here. You've got to narrow down your niche further before you can go ahead. The extra mile not only gives you an edge in the market but also has less competition.
+ Understand who's your ideal customer — The exercise of going an extra mile in identifying your niche will help you narrow down on who your ideal customer is. Other than identifying the demographics, take it up a notch by figuring out HOW you & your product fit into her life.
+ Build a website or sell on marketplace — If you someone who wants to start with zero upfront cost, selling on marketplaces like eBay & Amazon are the way to go. Otherwise, you can build your own website. There are a lot of platforms out there where you can build your own store from Shopify to WooCommerce, Squarespace, Ecwid, BigCommerce, Storenvy, Big Cartel & more. Find a platform that fits your budget, is easy to work on & integrates with social media.
+ Sourcing Inventory — Find a dropshipper to help you source the products you want to sell on your online boutique. Don't forget to order a few samples to check for product quality before you finalise on one.
+ Lay down Your policies — Being transparent is the #1 rule for long term success in dropshipping. If you sourcing from China & your product takes 3-4 weeks to get to your customer, share that info on your website. You DON'T have to mention where the product is coming from (duh!) but BE OPEN about how long it'll take to get to your customer. Trust me, you'll avoid a lot of angry emails & negative feedback by simply adding this info on your website. Use this option to communicate your boutique's terms & conditions.
+ LAUNCH! You are open for business!
Remember, launching your boutique with Launch Your Boutique Workbook is just a start. The efforts to grow & build a profitable business is similar to any other business online.
