A part time job

Now, I'm pretty certain most readers here are planning to run their online business on a part time basis. Sure, every little business has to start small somewhere; be it from your store room, car park lot or by roadside, I do have to warn you in advance:

"A part time job, is like having a part time girlfriend"

Juggling between your day job, part time job and family will not be easy, it might be slow at the beginning but when sales begin to improve and skyrocket, you could get buried in all the monotony: 

answering inquiries, packing, answering inquiries, packing, answering inquiries, packing, answering inquiries, packing, answering inquiries, packing, answering inquiries, packing, answering inquiries, packing, answering inquiries, packing, 

and it goes on and on....

It is essential that you are able to manage your time well and importantly to have the support of your family and friends. As every little business starts off close, keep them together so they can help you in times of need, be it to help reply, pack, deliver and even with finance, because if you have too much work and too little time for fun, then something has gone wrong.

Not to mention, you will want to keep your day job until the business is fully capable of sustaining itself.

Once the business pays off, everything will smoothen itself. Just be prepared that at the start of things it will also be rocky and bumpy.

Thankfully today, there's so much new technology to help you out! More on that next.

Cashflow 101

Before I get to sourcing, there's one thing I need to stress to all aspiring entrepreneurs and that is cashflow. It's not rocket science but cashflow is bloodline of ANY business, it's a known fact but many business owners may not be good at it.

Many e-commerce sellers hop in thinking that:

1. it's a cash business,

2. you can sell via drop ship,

3. there's no need to hold inventory,

and because it's a virtual business so everything should be fast and inventory-less.... we'll you are wrong.

 E-commerce is not a virtual business, it's just an alternate business channel for trading goods. The same and common rules of trading still apply: you have to stay liquid and you have to manage inventory movement well.

If you run a business with too little inventory, customers might not wait and will go elsewhere.

If you run a business using drop ship, you still have to pay the suppliers upfront before delivery and if the item arrives damage or loss, you will have to be responsible.

If you run any of the above with too little cash, you won't be able to expand your business efficiently and furthermore it will be risky if you're just starting out.

Paypal and many other marketplaces in the world do not release payments immediately upon delivery, there's a period where the money is held called, 'settlement' which ranges from 7 days up to 2 months. So if you're selling like hotcakes and have no more money to buy new stock because the settlement period is in the way, you need to act fast!

My advice is to make sure that you have a small working capital before jumping into e-commerce. 

It will help with a little 'breathing' space.

Offline shopping goes virtual

Window shopping, literally.

This was shared on Facebook, don't how real it is. I have heard that in South Korean subway stations, passengers can buy items by scanning a barcode similar to the above and it will be delivered to you by the time you reach home! 

This shopping experience is possible when shipping rates are favourable for large and bulky items. Otherwise, the margins for such fast moving consumer goods won't be able to justify them.

Then again, the cost savings on space and inventory might absorb the shipping rates...

What's my name?

OK, so you got your name selected. I hope it's a name that is simple and easy to remember.

Next, is to determine your interests, as there are many products out there to sell, be it virtual or physical. With millions of products to sell, you may want to choose a particular category to focus on.

There are toys, books, clothes, cosmetics, auto accessories... the list goes on so narrowing down to a specific product category of interest to you has a benefits:

1. you have more domain knowledge over the product,
2. you are more passionate about what you the item,
3. you may know how to buy stocks and where to get them,

Being niche has benefits and drawbacks, but in the long term a laser focus has more benefits. Furthermore, it helps you to off to quicker start by concentrating on a narrow field.

 

Have a laser focus, just avoid the buildings and cars along the way.

I'm going to exemplify myself by saying I like toys, so the name that I wish to use will be toyking and I will focus on selling toys.

My main focus is on my game - Tiger Woods

Getting ready to start your online business

Are you tired of clocking day in and day out?

You want be your own boss?

Heard of many of entrepreneurs making it big from selling from the comforts of their own home?

Want to have a balance work and social lifestyle?

Well, then you have come to the right blog to learn about starting your online business!

But then again, there are many other blogs, e-books, seminars and websites that claim the same what I've claim so why would this blog be helpful to you?

Well, simply put every business venture has a risk and here I can provide guidance, direction, motivation and some common sense... at the end it is up to your personal prerogative and insight on what works best for you.

ONLY YOU CAN BE THE MASTER OF YOUR SHOP, I mean, SHIP! 

Now to be clear I'll be focusing on e-commerce & trading, so if you're ready to start trading....

....the first thing is to have a name. Think of a name that is simple and easy to remember.

examples: dealking, pinkbunny, amazingdeals, etc.

You get the idea right?

The reason for a simple and easy name is so your customers can remember and don't forget this is business is not just for you but the public. Please don't come up with names like: knightlyswords, ultimateblade, rampagingdemon, etc.... this is not a virtual store in World of Warcraft you know.

So, think of a name and let's move on to the next step.