Who said running a business was easy work? It does not matter whether you are a freelancer working from a cozy home office with a cup of coffee or behind the cash register at your own brick and mortar store – it is all tough work. The other side might think ‘the other side’ has it easier – but business is business. It is all the same. We all have to work hard at it.
However, thanks to the internet, everything is that little bit easier these days. Everything you are going to need is right at your fingertips. In fact – you can even start a purely online business. Even if your business is based in the real world, with real money and real customers you can still open an online store to gain access to more customers.
Running an online business comes with a bunch of benefits, including the fact that it is simply so much cheaper than running a business in the real world. You do not have to pay rent, or some of the taxes associated with operating a physical business, or owning a retail property. There are some costs, though – you need to pay the people who work for you, and if you are subsidizing shipping rates, then you will be paying for those as well. Of course, you need to get your website hosted and pay for web storage. It is not cost-free – but it is certainly cheaper.
One of the biggest benefits to online business is how simple it is to set up. If you have the correct skills, it is even easier as you can code your site from scratch. If you are not savvy with HTML, that is not much of an issue. Some websites allow you to create a website from scratch or even host a marketplace. You could even hire a freelancer or an agency to build your website for you. Just make sure it works!
When you are running an online business, shipping your product out is key. Your business does not have borders when it is based online so your business can sell to more people than ever – even on a global basis if you wish. Because your business is powered by the cloud and if you’re working from home – or running a business totally online – you need to use services like physicaladdress to give your real mail forwarding services and a place to manage your shipping and returns. It is a really useful thing to have even if you aren’t shipping a physical product. One thing on shipping though – be sure to pack your products securely – it is on you if your product turns up at your customer’s mailbox shattered into millions of pieces. Pack safely and securely and be prepared for a few broken eggs (only literal if you are selling eggs online for some reason).
There is a lot of good stuff about online business – especially if you want to work from home, great if you have a family or many commitments in the real world. Online business is accessible from anywhere with a net connection, so see if it could be the path forward for you!