Whether you’re looking for a new way to make money on the side or are dreaming of starting your own business, you have something in common with a lot of successful entrepreneurs. Forget what you think you know about entrepreneurs— not all of them have launched giant software companies like Apple or Microsoft. In fact, many have built and scaled businesses right out of their homes by reselling products for profit.
What is reselling?
13 MINI SERIES- Checklist 13: SALES FUNNEL CHECKLIST: build your business online This is the last episode in the mini series called “100 things every business must do to succeed online”. This is the 13th checklist, all about sales funnel basics. Reach out to former co-workers and colleagues, as well as friends and family. Don’t pressure them to buy your products or services. Instead, tap into them for introductions and help with other things on this startup checklist. Don’t waste time on “partnerships” Be careful about wasting time on “business partnership” discussions.
The process of reselling is simple: You find desirable items for a great price, buy them, then sell them to someone else.
When you buy low and sell high, that’s called arbitrage. “Retail arbitrage” is when you purchase items from a retail store — like hitting a big sale at Walmart — and sell it to your own customers for more. “Online arbitrage” is the same thing, except instead of going to a store, you source inventory off the internet.
Why do it?
There are countless reasons to go into the reselling business. Maybe you’re tired of working a desk job and are ready to take your career into your own hands. Maybe you need more flexibility. Many resellers are parents wanting to stay home with their kids, and reselling gives them the flexibility to work when they choose.
Whatever your motivation, reselling gives you the flexibility to scale as big (or small) as you want, when you’re ready. You decide how much time and capital you’re willing to invest, and grow accordingly.
Who are resellers?
Anyone can be a reseller, as long as they’re willing to put in the work! For some, reselling is just a side hustle. But for others, it’s an opportunity to scale their business into something much bigger.
The basics of reselling
Sourcing
To get started, you’ll first need to find items to resell. Sourcing is the process of finding and purchasing inventory and is perhaps the most important aspect of your reselling business.
Inventory can be sourced in a variety of different ways, including from traditional retail and online arbitrage. Depending on your niche, you can hit up the sales rack at retail stores, thrift shops, flea markets, bulk membership clubs, overstock websites, online marketplaces, and especially wholesale liquidation sites. Be sure to be on the lookout for deals—finding good products at below-market prices is key to good margins!
Keep in mind, whether you choose selling a niche market or selling based on consumer demand, you’ll need to invest in inventory. It’s harder to turn profits if you’re only selling a few things at a time, so plan to stock up!
Selling
If you’re just getting started, it’s time to think about your online strategy. Fortunately, online marketplaces make it easy for resellers to get started and scale up. On Amazon alone, top third-party sellers are generating millions of dollars in sales. You too, can be one of these top sellers!
Most people associate reselling with eBay and Amazon, but it’s also worth considering other marketplaces like Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, Etsy, and local flea markets.
Research
Before you start selling, we recommend reading up on seller guidelines for Amazon and eBay to familiarize yourself with basic marketplace rules and regulations. We also recommend joining reselling Facebook communities to get real-time advice from other successful resellers. And, of course, be sure to check out the BULQ Blog for deep dives on a variety of beginner, intermediate, and advanced reseller topics.
Conclusion
Reselling is an easy step into entrepreneurship, with many different paths to success. Whether you want to start a small side hustle or are ready to resell full-time, there’s a way to scale to your ambition.
Want to learn more? Check out our full “Getting Started” Guide to Reselling now!
How to Sell OnlineBeatriz Estay/ 48 minsTable of Contents
Chapter 1 How to Find the Perfect Products to Sell OnlineThe Entrepreneurs Checklist To Selling Online Courses
Chapter 2 How to Evaluate Market Viability for Your ProductsChapter 3 How to Conduct Online Market ResearchChapter 4 How to Conduct a Competitive Analysis for Your Online BusinessChapter 5 10 Online Business Laws You Need to Know for Internet SellingThe Entrepreneurs Checklist To Selling Online Websites
Chapter 6 How to Identify and Analyze Your Target Market in 2020Chapter 7 How to Source and Manufacture Products for Your Online BusinessThe Entrepreneurs Checklist To Selling Online Business
Chapter 8 Choosing The Right Ecommerce Platform For Your BusinessChapter 9 59 Productivity Hacks for Online Small Business OwnersChapter 9 How to Create, Setup, and Launch a Profitable Online Store (Seriously)Chapter 10 Driving Traffic to Your Online StoreChapter 11 Next Steps After The Sale: Your Guide to Small Business ShippingChapter 12 Measuring Success: AnalyticsChapter 13 Time To Grow: The 5 Things To Consider When Scaling Your Online BusinessChapter 14 17 Tips For Online Small Business OwnersTable of ContentsGET THE FULL GUIDEGrow your ecommerce brand in 2020. Download the complete in-depth, 16 chapter guide.
VIEW THE GUIDE
BigCommerce powers tens of thousands of online stores making billions in online revenue.
Most of these stores didn’t exist a decade ago, many still not even five years ago.
It won’t be easy. It comes with costs. It will take know-how and strategy. It will take dedicated design from day one. But do it right, and your business will bypass those one-hit-wonder brands to become something much more than a dream, a side gig or even a small business.
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Who is this guide for?
- Are you are an entrepreneur who plans on starting a brand new ecommerce business in 2020?
- Are you looking to expand your business to an independent webstore from an online marketplace (such as Amazon or eBay) or a brick-and-mortar?
- Are you planning to take your B2B business directly to consumers with a B2C site? (If you’re still on the fence, we’ve debunked B2B selling myths and provided a marketing guide here.)
Buckle up. You’re about to go on a deep planning dive to prepare your business for long-term success.
It is possible to build a legacy brand beginning right now.
It’s go big or go home, and it starts right here, by learning how to start an online ecommerce business — no more procrastinating.
14 Steps to Launching an Online Business
The following guide breaks down the process of starting an online business into manageable chunks.
We will discuss all of the following points throughout every chapter in this guide; at its conclusion, you’ll know how to start and run your own ecommerce store.
Here is an overview of the 14 steps for building and starting a successful online business:
1. Find a niche.
Before you start selling, you need to find the right product with the potential for serious profitability. You’ll learn how to research different niches and even examine your own life to find problems that can be solved.
2. Evaluate market viability.
Now that you have a business idea, it’s time to dig deeper into product viability. Think about the kind of details that can make or break your business, like number of SKUs and shipping weight.
The Entrepreneurs Checklist To Selling online, free
3. Conduct market research.
Validate your product using tactics such as keyword research and evaluating trending products.
4. Conduct competitive analysis.
Find out what’s working — and what can be improved upon — from your biggest competitors. This will tell you more about how to define your branding and positioning in the market.
5. Learn online business laws.
Shipping restrictions, zoning laws, and trademark considerations. These can all make or break your business. With this list, you can avoid the ecommerce landmines that derail your business before it gets off the ground.
6. Analyze your target market.
This is where you dig even deeper to understand your ideal shopper. Who are they? What do they like? How can you tailor both your product and your website experience to appeal to your perfect shopper?
7. Source your product.
You know you have the right product, who your customer is, and how to set up your business. It’s time to get the physical product. We’ll walk you through different ways to source your product and how to avoid common pitfalls.
8. Choose the right ecommerce platform.
None of the above matters if you don’t have an ecommerce store that sells your product, provides an intuitive shopping experience, and makes customers want to return. We’ll show you how to go from zero to beautiful online store in a matter of minutes using powerful ecommerce software (spoiler alert – we have a recommendation).
9. Launch your store.
You’ve got the right platform and product. Who’s ready to start getting your product in front of customers? Before you do, learn all the steps you need to take to make sure you’re prepared.
10. Drive online traffic.
Once you’ve got your store up and running, learn the leading organic traffic driving tactics to get more visitors to your store.
11. Master small business shipping.
Shipping is a big topic for brands and customers alike. Learn the reality of small business shipping as it is today and the best approach your business can take to please your customers.
12. Measuring online success.
Success is nothing without analytics to prove it. We’re here to walk you through all of the key performance indicators (KPIs) you need to pay close attention to and to best leverage your data insights.
13. Scaling your business.
At BigCommerce, we enable our business to make it big. In this chapter, we’ll walk you through how to begin planning for the next stage of growth.
14. Insights directly from the industry’s top experts.
The difference between operational and successful is in mastering man’s greatest nemesis — time. Get firsthand accounts from successful entrepreneurs who have grown their home based business into online behemoths.
What are we waiting for? Let’s get started.
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