Whether you do business, either the traditional ones or the latest online business, the basic objective is to earn money. With the rapid growth of internet presence, worldwide, the scope of doing business online has offered myriads of opportunities.
A few that could be cited are generating leads for clients for offline business, selling your arts, crafts, images or even used materials on eBay.
But before knowing ‘How to start a business” online, it is essential to know ‘why’ to start a small business online. Below are the ten reasons that could be attributed to this.
List of 10 Reasons to start small business online:
1. Plunging Into a New Economy
The traditional small businesses are associated with their own pros and cons. As a one man’s affair, a first generation entrepreneur is subjected to heavy risk and challenges.
It may even ruin a person’s income generating career. But a totally new economy has been generated by the internet, which is geared to move faster than the traditional economy.
E-commerce is the call of the hour. When you plunge into it, you can find newer avenues and opportunities, which hitherto were unimagined of. There are a number of options, open before you,
2. Go Global
Small business is growing with leaps and bounds, in a global level. You can go global instantly and without any massive investment. You can find the number of horizontal and vertical e-market places for pushing your products or services.
Through them and with the least of financial involvement, you can have access to a large and varied potential customers, located anywhere in the world.
In fact, you will be doing your business in a ‘global village ’. By reaching global leads to earning more in a very short period of time. If you have great ideas and a well-designed plan, customers will be after you.
3. Location Constraints Removed
When you carry on your small business with physical stores, it is constrained by its location and hours of operation. These constraints are totally removed by online business.
Customers from any length of distance can have access to your business throughout the year for 24 hours/ 7 days.
People now a day are so busy that they are unwilling to spare time to visit a physical store and make a choice from the products on the counter.
They want the products at their doorsteps and want to pay on receipt of their ordered goods. Moreover, with the rise in mobile marketing, your business will grow faster.
4. Low Start-up Cost
When you do not have to invest on the traditionally required facilities such as business premises, inventory, staff, statutory formalities, advertisement and publicity.
You can start your small business online, at the premises of your home and handling most of the jobs yourself. You can find the number of online business on SureJob where you need zero or very low investment.
You just have to have a personal computer, internet connection and certain basic software. Of course, you need to have personal skill on the line of business that you are going to take up.
Added to all these, you can acquire skill and guidance, from the internet which you can apply for running your business.
You do not have to run to banks and financial institutions for obtaining loan for fixed capital and working capital. This in turn will save a lot that otherwise would have been drained in the shape of interest.
5. Low Cost of Operation
The traditional brick and mortar small business idea needs to incur cost in varied scores, such as rent or lease money for the space or buildings, salary and wages of staff, travelling expenses, interest on fixed capital and working capital, electricity and water, installation of furniture and fixture, repair and maintenance of fixed assets, stationeries, advertisement and publicity, carriage inwards and outwards, VAT on sales and many more.
But, in online small business, most of the above expenses will either not be required to be incurred or are substantially lower.
Your online business may need to involve cost in the shape of management of supply chain, delivery, procurement, internet charges. It is logistically advantaged because the work of several people could be undertaken by one person.
6. Better Customer Interaction
It has been aptly said that customer is ‘King’ and you have to do everything possible to satisfy a customer. It is the mean and the frequency of communication and interaction that establishes amenable relationship with customers.
Unlike the brick-n mortar business, your customer can know about you, your activities and credentials by visiting your website. Mutual interactions and communications could be established through email, phone, Facebook, Twitter or other social media.
Your customer can contact you instantly, as and when they need, without any constraint of time. They save time and are free from any hassle for getting your support.
7. Better Marketing Strategies
If you take up small business, online, you do not have to adopt the conventional means of advertisement such as display boards and hoardings, classified advertisement in the print media, road shows or physical approach to customers.
Social media such as Facebook, Twitter and search engines like Google, Yahoo etc are the cheapest and most effective means of presenting your products and services to the potential customers.
Thus, you can implement your marketing strategies, most effectively, reaching to very wide areas. You can analyze the buying patterns and tastes of your customers, so that can design your marketing strategies accordingly.
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8. Flexibility in the Ways of Earning Money
When you run a small business, you have the flexibility in the ways of earning money. Sometimes, you may find your present job or business not remunerative to your expectation. You may also realize that your creativity and productivity is not fully utilized.
In such circumstances, you can switch on to some other ways, without having to lose anything financially or wastage of time.
Moreover, you become your own boss and are free from the pressure and psychological aspect of ‘bossism’. You can work at the ease of your own convenience and can employ your fullest potentiality. You get time ‘to stand and stare’ and pursue your hobbies and personal interests.
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9. The Sky is the Limit
In case, you are employed in a full time job, your earning is limited to a fixed salary and you cannot expect to earn anything more than that.
For instance, if you are a teacher, you can never expect to get the million dollar salaries that the lawyers, investment bankers or specialist surgeon earn. But, sky is the limit if you take up online small business.
Here, you get the opportunity of earning according to your ability, efforts and commitment. In fact, you get a thrilling, exciting and empowering experience of achieving something of your own. Besides increasing your financial status, you upgrade your social status and get due recognition in the society.
10. Working on Projects of Your Passion
With so many avenues open before you, you can always have the liberty of working on the projects you are passionate about. Besides working for someone else you are sacrificing your own passion and personal interest.
By doing business online, besides securing an income, you are satiating your passion for certain specific work that has been constantly prompting your inner self. You earn, not only to live but also to enjoy life to its fullest extent.