In today’s digital age, the prospect of starting an online business has never been more promising. The internet is an almost endless marketplace for experts and creatives to turn their passions into profits. But if you’re new to the game, it can seem like everyone else has read the rule book while you were in the other room. Whether you’re aiming to sell vintage clothing, offer legal consultation, or launch the newest online game, this guide will walk you through the essential steps needed to kick-start your site and find the right audience.
Research and Planning
The first and most important step in starting a business is the brainstorming stage. Don’t underestimate the power of nailing down a concrete plan, identifying your target audience, and digging into what the competition is doing. Give yourself plenty of time during this stage, and don’t hesitate to bounce your ideas off of trusted friends and colleagues.
Identify Your Niche
There are a lot of different kinds of online businesses that can bring you success. Do some soul-searching and think about how you’d like to spend your time and what services or products you can successfully provide to people. Identify your passion and expertise, and consider what problems you are particularly skilled at solving.
Conduct Market Research
Start with some research on your target audience and on your competitors. You want to understand the demand for your service or product, and you want to identify what gaps currently exist in the market. Consider why those gaps exist and how you can fill them.
Choose a Business Structure
There are different types of business structures that you can choose from, each with different levels of personal liability and legal requirements. Here are a few of the most common:
- LLC (Limited-Liability Company) – In an LLC, the owner and business assets (and debts) remain separate, while taxes can be filed individually. They are generally easy to set up and make changes to.
- Corporation – In a corporation, the owner and business assets are likewise separated. Unlike an LLC, corporations are subject to corporate income taxes on their profits, and shareholders might also pay taxes on their personal income tax for income received. Setting up a corporation and complying with the legal requirements is more involved than an LLC.
- Nonprofit corporation – Nonprofits have educational or charitable aims rather than profit-driven ones and are expected to operate for the public benefit. Any earned profits are redistributed into the organization. This kind of entity can get access to public and private grants and looks attractive to potential donors.
Create a Business Plan
Your business plan helps you define your ideas and serves as a roadmap for how you will achieve them. There are plenty of available business plan templates and examples that can help get you started. Your business plan will include your goals, your target audience, your marketing strategy, and your financial plan.
Creating an Identity
Now that you’ve nailed down what your business does, it’s time to create an identity for your business that can become a recognizable brand. Keep your target audience at the forefront of your mind and consider the best way to create a great first impression.
Name Your Business
Choosing a name for your business gives it a face for your potential clients and business partners. You want a name that is easy to remember, easy to spell, and clearly reflects your brand’s values and offerings. Gather a few potential names and test them out on friends and family.
Register a Domain Name
Like your business name, your domain name should be memorable and should appeal to your target audience. Some people combine this step with the task of naming their business, considering only business names that can be made into domains that are short, snappy, and available. Claim your domain name early with Epik to ensure that no one else can nab it out from under you.
Build a Professional Website
While creating a website can seem daunting, it’s beyond simple these days due to website-building services, secure payment gateways, and other e-commerce tools. You’ll want your site to be user-friendly, visually appealing, and secure. Epik provides web hosting, site-building services, and security certificates that make website creation simple for everyone.
Form Your Business
Now it’s time to make it official. Find the website for your Secretary of State and research what (if any) rules and restrictions they have for the kind of business you’ll be forming, and find out what information you’ll be asked to provide in the required forms.
Get a Registered Agent
Called different things in different states, a registered agent is required for all businesses in the United States. A registered agent is a person or business that is available during regular business hours to receive communication, especially any service of process, on behalf of a business owner.
Register Your Business with the State
This process can look different in individual states, but to register your business you will usually navigate to your Secretary of State’s website and find the area of the site dedicated to forming businesses. You’ll fill out forms that will ask you about management, ownership, your registered agent, and your official address.
Request an EIN Number
Before you can open a business bank account, you’ll almost always have to have an EIN, or Employee Identification Number. This is your business’s tax identification number, similar to a social security number. You can request an EIN for free from the IRS.
Open a Bank Account
A business bank account allows you to maintain limited liability by keeping your personal and business assets legally separate. Find a bank that operates in the state(s) you’ll be doing business in, and become familiar with their business account offerings.
Connect with People
In addition to simply providing excellent customer service at all opportunities, there are ways to connect with customers, business partners, and potential investors in ways that reflect well on you and your business.
Develop a Strong Online Presence
If you can, get handles that are pretty close to your domain name or business name on sites like Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram, or anywhere you want customers to find you. Develop a content calendar to maintain consistency with posts, reply to people who reach out to you, and consider hiring someone to keep these accounts active.
Engage with Marketing Strategies
Find ways to bring people to your site. Optimize your site for search engines using SEO strategies from the start. Research keywords related to your industry and work them into your website content. And, if you have the budget, purchase ads wherever your target audience will see them.
Go Live!
Let the world know that you are open for business! Post and promote yourself on your social media pages, collect feedback from your site users, and start profiting from your skills and effort. Keep an eye on what draws online engagement and continually use SEO to improve your site’s visibility.
Starting an online business requires dedication, strategic planning, and flexibility. Following these steps will help you lay a strong foundation for your venture and allow you to anticipate the challenges of running an online business.
Once your site is up and running, request a business email with Epik and learn more about ways to keep your website (and customer information) secure.