Your online store is open for service 24 hours a day!
Opening an online retail store is one way to go into business for yourself without incurring the large expense and risk that can be associated with opening a physical retail store. Some of the benefits of opening an online retail location include: 24 hour availability, very low overhead costs, no need to hire employees, and the ability to reach a wider range of potential customers. By using one of the storefront programs from a company like Ebay or Amazon.com, you can start your own online retail store in just a few steps.
Instructions
1. Decide what type of products you would like to sell online. When making your decision, consider if you want to be responsible for shipping products to your customers directly or if you will want someone else to have that responsibility. Also consider your potential storage needs when choosing products. If you want to ship direct (ship your products to your customer), you need to keep in mind that products must be stored somewhere until they are purchased and shipped.
2. Locate suppliers. If you plan to ship products yourself, part of your research should include determining if the supplier requires a tax identification and/or business license before allowing you to purchase, if they have a policy on the minimum amount of merchandise you can purchase to get their discounted prices, and what their account setup requirements are (business bank account, credit check, etc.). If you plan to use suppliers who drop ship items to your customers, decide if you want to use an affiliate program like Amazon.com's storefront program, of if you want to locate individual wholesalers who will ship products for you.
3. Choose a name for your online store and purchase a domain name. Do your research prior to purchasing the domain name to be certain that a physical (real world) store does not already exist for the name you want to use to avoid any potential trade name or trademark issues.
4. Obtain the necessary business licenses for your state. Requirements vary by state, but most states will require that you apply for a state tax identification number at the very least. Suppliers will often require a tax identification number and copy of your business license even if your state doesn't require you to have one. Also, most banks require you to file a D/B/A (doing business as) in order to open a business checking account. A business checking account is not a requirement to open an online retail store, but it can be useful in tracking expenses and proving the validity of your business during tax season.
5. Choose a hosting company and setup your storefront. There are a few ways that you can do this. Companies like Amazon and Ebay, and several hosting services offer preprogrammed storefronts with integrated shopping carts which require you to simply upload product photos and descriptions to get started. You can also search for "free ecommerce sites" and find a program that you can install yourself. Or you can hire a programmer to do this for you. If you plan to accept payments online (check or credit cards), make sure you discuss merchant service options or the ability for the shopping cart to integrate with Paypal services before you make your selection.
Tags: retail store, online retail, online retail store, business checking, business checking account
