If you have been looking everywhere for a complete guide to teach you everything you need to know about starting a successful online business from home, this is the right article for you. It will take you by the hand, showing you everything there is to know about “how to start an online business from home”.
With more than 38 million home-based businesses in the United States presently, it is obvious that entrepreneurs are taking a new turn. More and more people are now considering owning a home-based business that will give them the flexibility they desire. So if you are looking for a way to start an online business from home, you are definitely not alone.
Running an online business from the comfort of your home will not only give you the chance to be your own boss. It will also help you pursue your passions and earn you a greater level of job security. The fear of unexpectedly losing one’s job will be taken away by online businesses.
However, starting an online business is not a walk in the park. It can be frustrating, especially if you couldn’t figure out the essential things to do to make it work. In this post, we have highlighted everything you need to know about successfully starting an online business from home.
We will not only tell you what you need to do (step by step) to launch your own online business. But we also show you profitable online businesses you can venture into while working from home. So, let’s get straight to business!
Why Should You Consider An Online Business In The First Place?
Before showing you how to get started with your own home-based online business, you should see some benefits locked up in that decision for you. You should see why more and more people are turning to online businesses to earn their income. Below are some of the benefits of starting an online business.
It’s is easier and cheaper to start
The truth is that most businesses out there require a lot of start-up capital and lots of time to set up. But with online businesses, you don’t have to wait for so long before you can get things rolling. Affiliate marketing, for instance, doesn’t require you to wait for days or weeks before you can start. It is what you can start right away.
You can also start such a business without spending a dime. You only need to install a free blog, choose an affiliate link, and start promoting your offer. However, not all online businesses start free but you can be sure they are much cheaper compared to physical businesses.
It encourages personal freedom
If you are the type that spends hours in traffic to and from work every day, you will definitely appreciate the freedom of starting an online business offers. With a home-based online business, you will not struggle to have full control over your personal life. You can simply work and get things done right from the comfort of your home.
In addition, there are no bosses, no office politics to maneuver, no set work schedule, and no dress code whatsoever. You are simply on your own with so much freedom.
Unlimited income potential
It’s a simple principle: the amount of money you make is dependent on how hard you work. Your earning potential is completely determined by your performance. That means you don’t have to wait for a promotion or raise before you earn more. You work harder; you earn more.
It’s even more interesting if you are doing your online business from home. It offers you the chance to save money on food and gas. You will not only be eating healthy lunch but you will also be saving a great deal on it. Remember, having your lunch prepared at home is more cost-effective.
You can work anywhere in the world
So far you have your computer with you and there is internet access, you are good to go. It doesn’t matter where you are, you can always run an online business from anywhere around the world. You will have enough time to spend with your family and loved ones without your business suffering from it.
An online business allows you to travel anywhere you like. Also, if anyone is sick, it is easier to leave your desk at home than one in someone else’s office.
It carries less risk
Compared to a freestanding business, it takes much less startup capital to set up an online business from home. And once the business is up and running, it is far cheaper and easier to maintain than when you have a separate business location.
Steps to Starting an Online Business from Home
#1: Find a Niche
This is usually the first step to starting a successful home-based online business, and also one of the most daunting ones. You will need to first have a business idea that can help you decide which niche you should go into. Remember, not all niches are good for you; you need to identify which sphere you best fit in.
Not sure, where to start? Here are some tips to help:
Identify what skills you have
Look inward and check to see what skills you have. What is your expertise or knowledge? Consider the course you studied at the university, college, or a workshop. Look at some subjects you have taught before – probably in your place of work. All of these can help a lot when deciding which business idea to pursue.
Ask your former employees what they best remember you for
This is another effective way to come up with a great business idea based on your skills and abilities. If you are still in contact with your former employees or coworkers, try asking them what they best remember you for.
Is it the way you break down complex subjects and explain them or your ability to give listening ears when they needed it most? Their answers can go a long way to help you identify where you shine in a business context.
Ask what your friends and family think you are good at
It is not usually very easy to pinpoint what we are good at but friends and family could help us. Ask your friends what they think you are good at. Let them tell you what talent they believe you have.
#2: Find What to Sell Online
Now that you have a good business idea to build your home-based online business upon, the next step is finding what to sell. This could either be products, services, or your knowledge. If you will be selling products, that means you will be providing your customers with a tangible, touchable product that they can also interact with. Examples of products include backpacks, sunglasses, jewelry, pet beds, etc. you can either make your own product or sell someone else’s products for a commission or profits.
Services, on the other hand, are not tangible. They are usually in form of rendering a task to your customers and clients. This could be teaching a language online, being a consultant, online coaching, virtual assistance, etc.
Selling your knowledge online could be in form of eBooks, podcasts, videos, webinars, white papers, workshops, or online courses. Identify which of these you want to be selling online and you won’t have any problem running a successful online business from home.
#3: Learn Online Business Laws
This is one factor that can either make or break your business. Before you start your online business, you will need to get acquainted with online business laws and stay compliant to avoid any legal issues or fines.
Check to know what your country’s legal requirement for your type of business is. Zoning laws, shipping restrictions, and trademarks are all that you should put into considerations. Also, don’t forget to know what is legally required of you based on the industry you are trying to go into.
#4: Conduct Online Market Research
It will be completely unwise to go straight into the market without having an understanding of what works there and what can be improved upon. That is why market research is very important to the success of your online business. It will not only help you understand your customers, but will also help you know who your competitors are, and what they are doing to win the market.
This will, therefore, help you understand how you should define your brand and earn a good position for your business in the market.
To begin your online market research, you can use search engines to know what type of websites are occupying the top position for your chosen keyword. Even though it takes practice to effectively use search engines to analyze the market, it is an effective tool to help decide what your business should offer.
You will also need to research your competitors when conducting market research. Check to see what they are doing and what they are not. That will help you understand how to outrun them in the game. Check what price they offer their products, where their traffic comes from, and why people choose them.
Keyword research is also very important here. It will help you understand the search volume and the type of competition behind any keyword you intend to use. Some tools you can use for keyword research include Google Trends, keyword research tools like SEMrush, Answer the Public, etc.
#5: Analyze Your Target Market
Your target market is a group of individuals your business is looking to serve. They are more likely to purchase your product or services because they share similar characteristics or needs your business can meet. This step is designed to help you understand your ideal shopper. So determine which group your business is going to serve. Their age, geographic location, gender, income, and probably the type of device they use in surfing the web.
#6: Source Your Products
Now, you have the right product, know your competitors, and who your customers are. So let’s go to how to get the physical product. This is a very important aspect of your business because your product is the basis of your business.
In light of that, there are three main ways you can source your products; you can make them yourself, work with a manufacturer, or through a dropshipper.
However, before you start selling your product, ensure you evaluate its viability. Make sure your product is unique in the market. It needs to be authentic and very appealing. It shouldn’t be difficult to find and should be within the ideal price range.
#7: Choose the Right Ecommerce Platform
If you don’t have an e-commerce store to sell your products or services, every other thing we have been talking about is of no use. You need a good e-commerce store that offers an intuitive shopping experience and makes your customers want to keep coming back.
While there are several options out there, we strongly recommend you use WooCommerce because they have been the ultimate solution for many online businesses.
#8: Design a Good Marketing Strategy for Your Business
The next thing to do is to design a good strategy analyzing how your target customer will move through the buyer’s cycle until he or she makes his first purchase. These are usually done in 4 stages:
- Awareness: this is when your potential customer first find your brand or business online when searching for a solution to their problem or needs.
- Lead generation: this is the point your buyers see you as the right solution they need. They take interest in your brand by giving their email address or following you on social media. However, they are yet to make a purchase.
- Lead nurture: here is when you further convince your potential customers that you are indeed the solution they need. You show yourself as an authority in your field and an expert in your niche. This can be done through articles and blog posts or through a free trial of your service to convince them.
- Sales: this is the final stage of the cycle, and it is where the prospect finally made the decision to buy from you and become a customer.
#9: Launch Your Store
Now, you have the right platform and products to sell. The next thing you need to pay close attention to is what happens after a sale. It has the ability to either make your business or break it. You need to put measures in place to ensure the continued success of your online business.
So consider what happens after a sale. This includes how you are going to process and ship your products, manage and process returns, and follow up on your customers to make sure they are satisfied with the order. It also includes keeping in touch with your buyers to convert them into satisfied and returning buyers.
8 Online Business Ideas You Can Start From Home
There are a wide variety of options available to you when it comes to starting an online business from home. There are many of them you can start right away. But in this article, we have included 7 online business ideas you can consider in case you are lost on which path to follow. Below are some great home-based online business ideas to consider in 2020.
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Idea #1: Buy products in bulk and sell online
This is common to offline businesses where they import products in bulk and resell them individually for a profit. But that can also be replicated in a home-based online business.
Perhaps you recently traveled abroad and found some unique products you think will make a good market in your area. So far the products are easy to store and ship, you can consider going into that.
You can convert one room in your home to a small storage space where you temporarily store the products before shipping them out to your customers. With time, you can scale the business and enlarge.
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Idea #2: Sell homemade products
This is also another great business idea to consider for home-based online business, especially if you are a maker yourself. It is a great chance to turn your hobby into a business. You will simply make your products – in a studio, workshop, or commercial kitchen, and sell them in your store.
Because you make the products yourself, it will be easy for you to control the price while you improve quality and gain more audience. You can either start this on a marketplace like Etsy or create your own branded storefront.
Either way will provide you the opportunity to share your passion with others and still make money from it. However, if you will be producing food or skincare products, make sure you know the regulations that surround them.
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Idea #3: Start a dropshipping store
Creating a dropshipping store is a great alternative to starting an online e-commerce store. It requires less investment and you will only be doing a fraction of the work. All you need is to create a website and create product listings. You won’t have to keep inventory or ship products yourself. A third party will take care of all that for you.
In just a couple of days, you can set up an online dropship store with several products on it. When a customer lands on your page and places an order, you won’t have to stress yourself. You will only place an order with a manufacturer who then ships the product directly to your customer on your behalf. This saves you money and time, and resources.
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Idea #4: Become a freelancer
Freelancing is a great way to make extra cash working from home. You will only be selling your skills online while you make good money from it. Do you have copywriting skills, web design, online marketing, or coding skills? Websites like Fiverr and Upwork allow you to work as a freelancer and earn with your skill working for people all over the world.
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Idea #5: Buy and sell domain names
This is also called domain name flipping and works just the same way as flipping real estate. Here, you will be buying domain names at low costs and resell at higher costs. Domain name flipping is an online business you can do from home and earn a lot of cash.
You can buy domain names on such sites as GoDaddy.com or on auction sites like Sedo or NameJet and resell. But you need to know that not all domain names are gold in the rough, a level of creativity is required when choosing which domain names to buy.
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Idea #6: Build amazon niche websites
This particular online business has been on the rise recently as more people begin to realize how much money they can make from it. Plus it is very easy to start at home. Here, you will need to create a website where you only sell Amazon products and earn a commission on the sales.
Unlike a regular affiliate website, you only sell Amazon products on your amazon niche site. And such a site has a greater potential of being found on the search engines by online shoppers.
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Idea #7: Teach online courses
Still talking about online businesses you can start from home. You can become a teacher of that skill of yours and make money from it. If you have knowledge in a particular sphere of life, you can turn it into an online course.
You will definitely find an audience for any type of skill you are sharing knowledge about. Whether it is teaching English language, everyday home maintenance hacks, or advanced marketing. You can either make it a one-on-one training or go for a larger group of audience.
If you are not interested in direct interaction with people, you can make downloadable courses for people to buy. This can be in form of videos, articles, how-tos, eBooks, or templates.
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Idea #8: Play video games
Gone are the days when playing video games is a waste of time. Now, people are already turning their hobbies into profits. And if you are looking for a home-based online business, there wouldn’t be any like sitting on your couch in front of your TV while you still earn.
Many companies are now ready to pay you to play their games and stream it to your audience. Esports and some other video streaming platforms like Twitch allow you to make a huge amount of money playing games from your home.
Final Note on How to Start Online Business from Home
Although starting your own online business from home may look like a daunting decision, it is definitely one of the most rewarding decisions you can ever make. Instead of leaving you to navigate the world of online business on your own, we have created this post to help you get started right.
Follow the post step-by-step and you will see that launching your own online business from home is easier than you thought. Whether you want to sell products, services, or know-how, you can be successful with it.
