I started working from home about 3 years ago and it took awhile for the business to get off the ground, but it happened. It took a lot of hard work, long hours and trial and error, but it paid off in the end. First thing to do is develop a business plan and write down everything that may come into your mind, no matter how small. I have outlined a few of my ideas below that worked for me.
1. Find a product, something that interests you and something you would buy.
2. Find a good and dependable wholesale drop-shipper.
3. Think of a catchy name for the store, something that draws attention to your store.
4. Find a good and reliable web hosting company. You can usually register a domain name through the web hosting company and they will provide a means to collect payments from your store, either through Paypal or a Merchant Account. I use http://www.vstore.ca they provide Free ecommerce website design, admin. and business web hosting. Easily create and manage your own Free professional online storefront ecommerce solution.
5. Keep fresh content on your site and add new items to your store often. Rotate items on a page, if you do not have new items to add. Place a featured product on your home page and rotate that item often.
6. Submit your store for Free to search engines, link exchange directories, forums and message boards. Write an article about your store or an ezine and submit to article directories.
7. Have business cards made and advertise offline as well, along with carrying one of your products with you at all times. Word of mouth works great, mention your store to anyone that may have an interest in your product. Place flyers about your store on bulletin boards. Always remember to get permission to place the business cards and flyers at their place of business.
In the end, stick to your idea and make it work. If that product doesn't sell, there are tons of products out there that will sell.
Terri Wilkerson
http://www.vstore.ca
http://onestopnoveltyshop.vstore.ca |
