Making money online can not only be a genius of the Zuckerberg level, but virtually any of us. To be a successful businessman, it is enough to have a strong motivation, clearly present the goal and know what tools to come to it.
We determine our value
You need to start your business with a clear motivational attitude. And this is by no means a desire to earn as much money as possible. You need to understand that you are doing better than others than you will attract customers. Write on a leaflet several directions of your future business: what is interesting for you, what is good at your work, what is possible to implement. Out of several options, leave 3-4 workers who will be tested for viability in the second step. And even if the idea that occurred to you at first glance seems irrelevant, you should not immediately write it off. At the time of the launch of today's successful LinkedIn network, they predicted an unenviable fate: social networks for 30–40-year-olds who will drop by once every five years to find work. And Amazon’s business model seemed completely unsustainable: well, who will order books online, and then wait a week until they are delivered, and the cost of delivery will block the possible savings for users. Time has put everything in its place. Ask your environment if it's hand-made, is it good? Evaluate financial opportunities if you want to start trading: collect recommendations if you are a tutor. If someone other than you and your grandmother believes in you, you can try.
We analyze the market and look for competitive advantages
Look at the capabilities of competitors: what are their strengths and weaknesses. How to exceed their offers? You can set the price of services below the market, you can give a certificate with a 20% discount on the next product / service, or organize an excellent service, etc. Future customers should immediately understand what exactly you offer them and what your uniqueness lies in. For example, not so few people are engaged in reselling things with Aliexpress - how will you differ from them, what will you be interested in? You can bet on an interesting selection of assortment: the cutest things with cats, the most unusual products for home and summer cottages, everything for fans of series - in a word, what’s enough for fantasy! But you need to keep in mind the volume of potential consumer audience: if too narrow there is a chance "not to fly up." Do you often buy sugar jars in the form of a torso of Jason Statham?
We are developing an action plan
The principles of building a plan are similar for different categories of online business: to create an online store, you will need to choose a niche, provide for all cost items, find suppliers, create a website and launch advertising, organize technical support, deliver goods and receive payments. There are two options: you can create your own site, or you can place products on the services of selling goods and services - this will significantly reduce the cost of developing the site, its support and hosting. Marketplaces allow you to place on the service, accept payment for goods and look for customers. The most popular aggregator of online stores is Yandex.Market, but it’s almost impossible for a small store to break through among giant companies. For small businesses, Robo.market, which provides full functionality for trading on the Internet, may be the most suitable option.
We promote ourselves and find the first customers
Traditional advertising for online businesses will not work: reminding yourself through outdoor banners or television will benefit large brands, but a small startup may not reach the target audience, spending a lot of money.
It is better to pay all attention to the possibilities of promotion on the Internet: contextual and targeted advertising, maintaining accounts on social networks, search engine optimization. Create viral posts on your social networks, be sure to follow the latest news and beat them in your accounts. You can monitor the results of work with the help of analytics tools in social networks: where customers come from and which social network works better. In addition, you can create video reviews of your products: they will increase confidence in your online store and allow you to reach users of Youtube.
It does not stop at earning first money. It is important to sit down and critically analyze the previous steps: what is the weak point, what needs to be abandoned now in favor of success in the future. How important it is now to acquire an increasing number of new customers, maybe you should stop for a while and think about retaining an already attracted audience.