Category: Business Tips

5 Simple Reasons Why E-Commerce Could Actually Be Your Ticket To Financial Freedom

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Image via Shutterstock / MaxFrost

Recent studies show that by 2017, retail e-commerce by mobile is expected to increase by 35% while online selling is predicted to surpass the profitability of brick and mortar stores for the next five years. Sound interesting? Globally, the number of households with internet access is continuously growing. This could mean that ecommerce sales could skyrocket as the figure rises. Currently, 40% of the global population have bought an item online which explains why some of the traditional stores in your locals may be closing up and moving to internet operation.

Of course, retail ecommerce is far from what your rose-tinted lenses have revealed to you. It involves hard work and patience as competitors continue to grow and categories such as jewellery, accessories, clothing, and electronics are turned into some of the oversaturated markets. Despite the challenge, this new economy brought about by the advent of internet technology has undeniably altered the way people do their shopping. It has changed the consumers’ buying behaviour, and will continue to do so as more innovations are discovered.

What does this mean to you? If you are one of those people who have been whining at work and wanting to regain your lost freedom, the accessibility of ecommerce platform could be your gateway towards the elusive financial freedom. Here’s why…

1. Save time while earning profits.

Once you have established strong followers that patronise your services and products, you can forget about spending seemingly endless sleepless nights for brand exposure. When you have set up your site, you can take advantage of full automation as internet efficiency and inexpensive virtual assistants can reduce the amount of time you spend on the internet. Further, this will allow you to divert your attention into other aspects of your business such as continued innovation and other bigger projects.

2. Win zealous buyers through your professional online presence.

Do not underestimate the power of word-of-mouth. Cliché as it may sound but this old marketing technique still holds true when it comes to internet selling. When you dream of exponential growth for your ecommerce, building brand loyalty should be at the zenith of your goal as zealous buyers would rave about your products and services on their social media pages. This could eventually direct their friends, relatives, and acquaintances to your page.

3. Internet holds the perfect formula for scalability.

With more than 40% of the global population resorting to online shopping, the internet could be the ideal haven for scalable companies. Not only does it allow entrepreneurs to operate at a dramatically reduced amount of capital, it also permits social media integration, free access to most marketing platforms, and fills the gap between buyers and sellers through real-time customer feedback that lets the latter identify the customer needs.

4. Who needs pricey marketing strategies when you have social media that brings guaranteed sales?

Based on the 2015 Social Media Report conducted by Internet Retailer, social networks brought $3.30 billion worth of sales in 2014 while ecommerce traffic rose by 7%. As more and more household engages into social media platforms, this figure is expected to increase which could drastically alter the way marketers view social media.

5. Use internet productively!

Most of the people today stay connected majority of the time. Whether they are on their phone or laptop, the chances of them scrolling through Facebook feeds and jumping from one tab to another are high. Why idle around when you can make use of those times earning money? Don’t just be online shoppers. Cross the line and start your own ecommerce site to secure your financial freedom. Remember, success doesn’t happen overnight so why not start now?!

4 Simple Yet Effective Tips On How To Make Your Online Business A Smashing Success

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image via Shutterstock /  TijanaM

For the last 10 years, world population multiplied more rapidly than ever, hence the reason why people find it hard to look for a job suited to their credentials because so many people are also looking for a job.

Good thing, there are other alternatives. Thanks to the advent of technology, people can now make it easy to carry out day-to-day tasks – from shopping and purchasing online to playing online games to making money online. Quite sure, you’re already familiar with some of the best methods you can use to generate good income over the internet. The next concern is the best practices you need to keep in mind and implement to ensure future success.

What are these top practices?

Be unique

Being unique plays an integral part in the success of any online business. Copying other people or company is not the right thing to do. Sure, you can easily copy the website blog post or advertisement campaign of someone else, but do you think this will eventually help you to make money online? The best thing to do is create unique campaigns and content to generate more customers. More customers can be result to more income!

Add value

If you will notice, many people who try to make money over the internet don’t provide value to the items they offer. The result? Low income. Thus, you should add value first when planning to set up an ad campaign or create a website. Adding value must always be your top priority; the money you will earn is just a bonus. By doing so, you can expect more sales and establish a solid customer base.

Be consistent

In everything you do, being consistent is highly important. The same applies when doing business and making money online. Create your own plan and you’ll find that later on being consistent is just a simple thing. For instance, if you own a blog, build links slowly and post consistently. The results will blow your mind.

Invest in equipment and tools

Technologies have been invented to help people and businesses make their daily activities and transactions a lot easier. Almost all businesses today are investing in advanced tools and equipment, so why not do the same to make your online activity a real success? If you’re really serious on making money online, invest in a keyword tool or software such as premium WordPress theme to improve your website.

What are the opportunities on making money online?

There are several opportunities you can try to help you generate income, which includes paid surveys, Google AdSense, tutoring, testing websites, teaching English online, getting paid to test apps, working as a social media administrator, etc. The only challenge you will face is the risk of being scammed. But this is not a big problem, though. You need conduct a thorough, comprehensive research about the company or product and check its reviews.

Ready to make money online? Check out the best practices below to make the process simple and eventually, help you succeed in your niche.

3 Destructive Habits Holding An Entrepreneur Back From Success

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image via Shutterstock / Stokkete

Ask any entrepreneurship expert and they would tell you that the core principle that dictates a bankruptcy is poor cash flow. Even if a business is in a lot of debt but follows a solid system of positive cash flow, and a close monitoring of returns and payables, bankruptcy is less likely to happen. If you are a rookie entrepreneur, you may want to watch out for seemingly simple things that can potentially hurt your business, and lead to its insolvency.

Small, Unnecessary Purchases

So you’ve just opened your business and you start buying all these interior design accent pieces that can’t really promise an influx of customers. In some cases, some owners get too obsessed with “cheap” buys not realizing that these small amounts pile up too. Think of the few hundred dollars spent on décor and a nice coffee table that could have been used to pay your power bills. Remember, the goal is to have a fast return on your investment, so you may want to stop spending on unnecessary, inexpensive buys because those “discounted” prices add up too.

Hiring too Many Staff too soon

The success of your business is extremely proportionate to the amount of work that you put into it. At the onset of your venture, try to minimize your expenses, including employee salary. If you can do away with just one or two helpers, then by all means, hire less. Most successful startups have owners who went through sleepless nights, survived on home-cooked meals, and some even had to be their own store’s painter, janitor, and handyman. Salaries are part of overhead expenses and if you can cut cost on overhead, you can direct your funds on better channels such as marketing and lead creation. The last thing you want is to overlay your employees because you can’t afford to pay their wages any longer.

Poor Accounting

There is a misconception that small businesses do not need painstaking accounting work. You raise a capital, earn, and that’s about it… Wrong!

The fact is, small businesses need more accounting work in tracking how the money spent on rent, stocks, supplies, and contingencies compared to big, stable corporations who already have a system in place. Other miscellaneous expenses should also be listed and itemized so you can check if you’re spending too much on minor things. This will also help you decide on expenses where you can cut down and save. Ideally, your operational expenses should not exceed your average daily or monthly income. If you lose sight of where your money is going, it may be too late for you to realize that your business is slowly losing money, and everything can be gone at your own expense.

If you’re frugal and prudent enough, you’ll know the things that deserve a chunk of your startup capital, and those that can wait for later. Maintaining healthy cash flow can be tricky, and there WILL always be lean months where you’re almost just break even. Regardless of these challenges, resilience and the ability to adapt and redesign your business strategies can draw the line between bankruptcy and brand endurance.

5 Tips for Starting and Succeeding in Your Own Business

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image via Shutterstock / Gyorgy Barna

Let’s face it; people these days are constantly trying to find ways to take themselves out from the rat race of employment. More and more people now are seriously considering opening a business rather than staying employed all their lives – and I bet you are one of them.

Here’s the thing though, wanting to start a business is completely different from actually starting one. So to help you get started in your journey to entrepreneurship, here are five simple yet clever tips to help you thrive in your own business:

Know your prospective customers’ needs

In identifying which business to put up, you have to ask the question “what do they need that I can offer?” By asking this, you automatically know if you have possible clients who will take advantage of your products or services. Let your hobby make money. Do you have an exceptional knack for crocheting? Do you bake the best cookies in the neighbourhood? Are you remarkably skilled in Taekwondo and can teach children? If it’s a yes, then you might have just found the perfect business venture for you.

Finding the right business for you is crucial to its success

Just like choosing the best prom dress, a business investment must be a perfect fit. You will need to have the skills, knowledge and the motivation to grow and develop it. When you do something that personally involves you, you will give it your best, and almost always, the result will be positive. Examine yourself and assess what talents and skills you have which will aid you in choosing the business of your dreams.

Start small

Most people engage in business in order to improve their way of life, and maybe keep a million dollars in their savings account. And though the idea of making a lot of money maybe tempting, zeroing your certificate of deposit to fund your wonderfully crafted idea of a business may not be the best move. Like anything else in life, business is still a gamble. There are a lot of factors at play, and making huge investments in something you are not 200% sure off is not the way to go. So, start small. If you are planning to set up a boutique, it might be better to set up an online shop first (which is really a trend right now). You can cut some of the cost from starting an actual store and also build a line of loyal customers.

Do your research

What is the age bracket of your target customers? Are there a lot of them in the area where you plan to set up your small company? How many competitors will you have in your chosen location? How accessible is your business site?

These are just a few of the things that you will need to look into so you can project how well your prospect business will fare. Distinguishing these things will help you devise ways to sell your products and services. It will also help you decide if your business is worth investing in or not.

Draft a business plan

With so many things to consider, putting up a business can be confusing and nerve-wracking. That is why it is critical to draft a business plan so you can clearly see where you are going in your investment.

Think of your business goals as a treasure, and the business plan is the map to help you get to it. You will have a better picture of the things that you need to do to get to where you want your business to be.