Online business Help
 

Hi

I want to start an online business very soon. Have my products ready and plan on using shopify.com to host website. Its my first time starting a business and need some help with what steps to do/the whole process. Anyone here have an online business that can answer some of my questions? Looking for some help to get started. If you can send me a PM would be great, thanks!!

Try contacting the CEO of Kung Shoes. One of the most talented entrepreneur in recent history.

@v_tec Please im not joking around here. Looking for some real advice

Business can be complicated and every venture is different.

A few things to consider since you are into product retail business:
Market - What and where would you consider to be your bread and butter? By this I mean a market that should at least provide you with enough income for the operation of business. If you don't have one, find one.

Cost - Many people that I know of who started their own business often overlook the expense side of thing. By expense, I'm not saying just rough numbers of this and that, but a concrete and firm number that would cost you to run the business. For example, let's say you sell 10 pairs of shoes and they cost you $100 shipped to your door, how much would it cost you to repack them separately, buy the stamps, gas/stamps to the post office and the website... etc. By knowing your true cost and market, then you can estimate what price would it make sense for you to operate. If you are able to sell at such a price, do it and otherwise, GTFO.

Supply - Where are you getting your supply from? Are they stable and/or problem-free? If not, are there better suppliers? What are the pros and cons of this supply chain?

Logistic - So you need to ship the product once sold, how is the logistic working? You get product to your place and then ship out from post office? Analyze the cost of such method to see if other methods such as leaving your stocks in an fulfillment center makes better sense... etc. As logistic is a big part of your expense, figuring ways to lower it, means more money left in the pocket for you.

Last but not least, plan ahead. And it goes for all the points I've mentioned so far. See how you'd change them as your business grows, and if any particular plan makes a lot of sense, pick every decision toward it, be it market location, size, marketing... etc.

Hehe,

Do you have an online business?

I am selling handmade jewelry and gold/rosegold/whitegold designs and more. I have the products ready. I just need some help with set up website and start selling. Like how to open a business account etc because i have not done it before. Also not sure about how to do the taxes part. I guess all would be recorded in the back office of the shopify.com store website. I plan on wholesaleing to jewelry/fashion stores in vancouver and sell through my website.

Thanks

I couldn't help but chuckle at what v_tec posted.

To his credit, he posted a link of what you SHOULDN'T do, so look on the bright side. :)

I don't, although what I used to do for a living had something to do.

From your last post, I don't think you figured out what I said in my previous post.

Market - you are aiming both wholesale and direct simultaneously. It's a big no-no IMHO for small starting business like yours. Your website would be in direct competition with the B&M stores. Why would they sell your product unless you offer them very attractive terms (big discount, flexibility... or more)? I'd suggest sticking to one or the other until you get some attention or merchants come to you. As of now, you have no bargain chips; everything to lose, little to earn. The only way for this to work is more or less the Apple model: you have a good reputation, and you do both direct sales and wholesale while maintaining the control on pricing. Until then, pick a side.

Cost - tax is a complicated issue. Shopify takes the accounting part, but not the tax part. You are still responsible for law compliance (GST/PST registration? incorporation? liabilities?). I'd suggest calling a few accountant who specialize in small businesses to discuss. And tax is not the only thing, you have to have a clear idea on how much it would cost to get your product from raw material to you and finished product in customer hands and/or anything in between.

Plan - you don't seem to have one. Do it, and think it through again. It would cool down the adrenaline you got from the excitement of starting your own business and take a realistic view on your venture.

Hehe,

Market - I will start by selling through website online. Eventually i would like to contact shops in vancouver to show them my products. If shops like my product why would they not want to sell it? They are going to get wholesale prices and can make a good profit. The shops would sell for retail price which is same as website price. What do you mean competition. Do you mean customers will go in store, see the jewelry and instead of buying from store, shop online and pay extra for shipping and wait time? I was thinking to make the online store a little more expensive like $20-$25 more. Shops in vancouver would have better prices and so local customers will shop there?


Cost - Many of my friends are accountants, i will talk to them about the cost part and gather all the info and numbers.


Thanks

As I said before, think again about your business model. I don't think you have narrowed down on your options.

The reason I suggested against direct+wholesale is that unless you are like Apple who has a strict control on pricing, your website (direct) would compete head on with the retailers (wholesale). Say your brand is "hundredone" jewelry and you give $20 profit to the retailer. It then undercut your price by offering at $10 less (so making $10 instead of 20 to move volume), does your site lower the price to stay competitive or you just give away that market? What if they offer it on their website as well? When consumer looks up on internet about hundredone jewelry, they see your site is more expensive than others, so they shop elsewhere.

The other model would be you more or less *cosign* your product with jewelry shops, so they take certain amount of money on each sale. But floor space comes at a premium. How much exactly are you able to make after that? Would the website still make sense at all in this case? Are you able to handle the volume by maintaining the same level of quality... etc.

There are tons of questions that you have yet found answer for your venture. You could say that you'd play by ear, but very few businesses can succeed like that.

It seems like a very poor way to make profit, why give the stores the upper hand when selling your product? You'll make more money selling direct to your customer. It's manufacturing -> profit rather than only making the wholesale profit.

You'll need to market your product to even have people wanting to buy it. You could sell it to stores, but if no one has heard of your brand why would someone consider buying it over X brand? How unique is it that it can sit on it's own and sell itself?

There are other platforms you can leverage aside from just shopify. Handmade jewelry would seems like a really good fit on Etsy.

How do you plan on getting people on your website?

I've helped build a few shopify stores for friends and colleagues. Also running one for a denim brand my friends and I started

You shouldn't let retail stores sell your product for cheaper than your website, otherwise what incentive is there for consumers to buy from you and wait days for their shipment? You make more profit selling it yourself so why you want to drive your sales away? And traditionally, buying online is suppose to be cheaper cuz of lower overhead

why did you pick shopify over etsy?

Looks like a few have offered some great advice.

To OP, and any others posting in this thread looking for advice - There's one thing a lot of these posts are missing.

Chargebacks - This is the single most important thing to consider. This is a huge subject on it's own I can elaborate on. I'll start an AMA thread in this sub-forum where anyone with questions can ask to get clarified.