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HOW TO START AN ONLINE BUSINESS

The economy is changing and you might be wondering at a time like this – how to make money
online?
Here, The E-commerce industry is growing very fast in India and around the globe. Tons of
products are being sold and purchased online on daily basis. Establishing a successful online
business requires following many steps and much of your hard work.
Once Bill Gates said:
“If your business is not on the Internet, then your business will be out of business”

Let’s study some Benefits of Online Business:

As per the Economic Survey 2017-18, the electronic commerce (e-commerce) market in India is
estimated at US$ 33 billion, with a 19.1% growth rate in 2016-17. As per the National
Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) Strategic Review 2018, in the
Information Technology and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) sector in India, the Indian
e-commerce market was US$ 33 billion in 2017-18 and reached US$ 38.5 billion, growing at a
rate of about 17% in the financial year 2018-19.
In this step-by-step guide, we’ll walk you through every part of the process while helping you
avoid the common mistakes new people tend to make.

How to Start an Online Business in a few Easy Steps:

Step 1. Create a Perfect Business Plan and Model

Firstly, you need to understand and think about the business plan and model in a respective
manner that fits perfectly with your knowledge. The most popular E-commerce brand –
Shopify’s CEO said:
“E-commerce is not an industry; e-commerce is a tactic.” ~ Tobias Lutke (CEO-Shopify)

Now, there are two business model options available around are – Single Vendor
Marketplace & Multi-Vendor E-commerce Marketplace. One can choose one as per the
financial budget.

1.Single Vendor Marketplace

The people willing to start work on a low budget or people who are not likely to invest in any
start-up initially due to the risk or any circumstances can choose a Single Vendor Marketplace.
In this type of vendor, you can sell only one kind of product or service to the customer. The
best part about this vendor is the administrative cost is much lesser compared to others. On
the other hand, you can get complete control in your hands.

2. Multi-place Vendor Marketplace

This kind of marketplace is most suitable among most of the vendors due to its benefits and
compatibility in the online market. In this market, many sellers sell several ranges of products
in a single e-commerce marketplace to the customers. Due to the large scale platform of the
market, the profits are higher than usual. The customers can purchase all their necessary items
in one place which makes it more convenient and hassle-free that also increase the customer
reliability and growth rate. There is also a big advantage for the vendors when a customer
orders an item and your supplier isn’t available then there is a security that the other supplier
can take care of that order and deliver it on promised time.

You can choose between these two marketplaces as both of them has their benefits along. If
you can sell your product itself then you can create a Single Vendor Marketplace but If you
want other sellers to visit your store and sell their products or services then you can create a
Multi-Vendor Marketplace. In the Single Vendor Marketplace, you can select your margin scale
by yourself as per your requirement although there is no mediator. On the other hand, you will
earn commissions from every seller in your marketplace.

Step 2. Branding the Business

Now, you have decided on the model of your online business and created the list of products
and sellers. This is the right time to choose a brand name for your business.
There are a few most important things that you need to keep in mind while branding your
business are :

  1. 1.A name would be minimal and short
  2. 2.It’s more likely to reflect your business
  3. 3.It should be unique and there is no meaning in any other language
  4. 4.When the name is selected, create a brand logo for your business. You can select the
  5. first letters of your brand name and ask a designer to configure it. As the logo of Amazon
  6. and Flipkart.
  7. 5.After finalizing the brand name and logo, select a type of company.

There are 4 types of companies in India:

  1. 1.Sole Proprietorship
  2. 2.One Person Company
  3. 3.Limited Liability Partnership
  4. 4.Private Limited Company

To select the type of your company, you need to understand first how you want to run
this company. It’s either an Independent Company or you can add a partner to the
company. This is the most important step for your firm. If you choose a Corporate or
Partnership based structure then you have to apply for a Tax ID number and file the
Income Tax Return (ITR) every year. The Employer Identification Number (EIN) is also
needed to be registered in this kind of structure. After this, you have to open a business
bank account (commonly called a Current Account) that can help you to file taxes in your
financial year. But If you select the Sole Proprietorship structure then you do not need
to have any Tax ID number instead you can use a Social Security Number that will be
provided by the time of registration.

Step 3. Register E-commerce Business

A Registered company increases the authenticity of your business. First, you need to register
the business for Director’s Identification Number (DIN) is a unique Identification Number allotted
to an individual who is appointed as a director of a company. The DIN number will be registered
on the official website of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs click on the link below>>
(https://www.mca.gov.in/MinistryV2/applyfordin.html). Fill out the form on the website and
upload all the documents required. You must have your pan card and digital signature
certificate (DSC). When you received your DIN, check the availability of your company by
applying on the Registrar of Companies (ROC) on the same website of the Ministry of Corporate
Affairs. After the name of the company has been confirmed, six months on average is given for
all the processes to be completed.

Apart from this, you need to apply for further registrations like GST Registration, Shops and
Establishment License, Provident Fund (PF) for Employees, Employee’s State Insurance
Corporation (ESIC) Registration for Employee’s Medical Insurance, and lastly, you need to have
Certification of Companies Incorporation under The Company Act, 2013 – it is a legal proof of
the identity of your company, you get to avail of all the benefits offered by the legal structure
of your company. These include tax benefits, perpetual existence, etc.

Step 4. Open Bank Account

As you have completed your registration process in the previous step then you have to open a
bank account with your firm’s name in any bank either government or private. In this case, If
you have registered your company as a Sole proprietorship structure then you have to apply
for GST Registration first, only then you are eligible to open your business account.

Step 5. Create E-commerce Website

Moving your business online to generate new income from the online source. It exploits so
many other opportunities and enhances your business value. Online websites are usually
made to gain the attention of customers towards the brand, to get them in touch with
updated products or services, and to add more new customers along. Fortunately, this also
helps to lower the cost of your business.

Growing your business online also means you can manage your business anytime –
anywhere. Also, it gives customers 24/7 access to your products or services that promotes the
sale and increases the chances to gain new profits ratio daily. Before you move your business
online research online competitors and what works, and find out what laws or regulations
may apply like privacy, copyright, and spam. Plan for potential IT or cyber threats.

You need to choose and register a domain name to create a unique website address for your
business. Use an availability checker to see if the name is available. You can use free or paid
services to register the name.

Next, you’ll need to find a web hosting company. Most major Internet service providers host
websites. Costs will vary depending on the size of your site and the level of user traffic,
storage space, and security that you need.

Remember to make your website mobile-friendly. This can attract more users. And make
your site easy to navigate with pages that load quickly. You should use large buttons and font
sizes. And don’t use software that isn’t widely supported. You should also check how your site
looks on mobiles, tablets, and desktops regularly.

Next, plan how to present your products and service. You could use images, dropdown
menus item catalogs, or booking schedules. You could also include a search tool. And
providing secure payment options is very important so your customers feel safe buying from
you. You could also automate responses to customers when they purchase a product or
service via email and provide receipts. If you’re offering home delivery, you’ll also need to
decide on delivery options, costs, and returns policies and make these available on your
website. You need to make sure customers can contact you easily.

Step 6. Payment Gateways

Make your business more profitable by using payment gateways. You need to set Payment
Gateways in which all popular methods like Credit Card, Debit Card, Net Banking, and Cash
Transactions option should be available. Some popular gateways are Phonepe, Paypal, PayU,
PayTM, AmazonPay, GPay, BHMI, Razorpay, etc.
To grind the payment gateway on your website you need to submit some documents
required which are:

1. Bank Account (in the same name as the Business)

2. PAN Card of the Business.

3. Certificate of Incorporation.

4. Memorandum of Association.

5. Articles of Association.

6. Identity Proof.

7. Address Proof.

8. Website Terms of Use & Privacy Policy.

Once all the documents get approved, you can start receiving online payments on your
website.

Step 7. Logistics

This is a very essential step for any online business. Logistics refers to the process of delivering
products to the customer. It also tracks the shipping items unless customers receive their
products successfully. And the most valuable service of logistics is it allows the customers to
track their orders themselves which makes a customer more reliable to the website.
Let’s get to know how to attract customers to shop on your website?

Walmart’s CEO Joel Anderson said, “
“ You can’t just open a website and expect people to flood in. If you want to succeed
you need to create traffic”
To create traffic you can follow a few steps mentioned below:

  1. 1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

This is to boost your website’s visibility. You’ll need to learn about search engine optimization
or SEO. SEO tactics can boost your site’s ranking in search engine results like Google, so
customers can easily find your business. You can improve your SEO by using relevant titles
and keywords and regularly updating your content.

2.. Choose Right Keywords

Now you are ready to create your website. When you prepare your content, keep it simple
and focus on what you want your customers to do. Use relevant keywords to make your
business easier to find online. You could even consider hiring a professional to design and
build your website. Remember, first impressions count. You could also ask them about predesigned web page templates that can save time and money. It’s also important to align your
website design to your existing business brand so customers recognize you.

3. Advertisements

You can also use paid advertising or search engine marketing to drive more customers to
your website. This is also known as Pay per click. You should also use your digital and social
media pages to promote your business and website. So remember to update your website
regularly to keep it fresh. Ensure contact details are correct and easy to find. And keep
customers informed.

4. Retargeting

To ensure connecting with your customers who visited your site once and close it, some cookies
files have been made in their systems. When customers search or visit any other site on their
system, this retargeting network creates an advertisement on their screen. This is a bit
expensive way to advertise but the responses are way much positive.

5. Old Methods

There are some situations likely to be not in our hands. Sometimes we have fewer resources
to promote our business online then, you can use the old methods like you can post your ads
in newspapers, can ask for customers to recommend your brand and its services or products
to more people directly, or making a phone call. You can collaborate with professional bloggers
and YouTubers to create an article or make videos promoting your videos.

So, starting a new online business in India is a good idea. I hope the above information would
be helpful for you to make a new start on your e-commerce business.

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