Category: Business Blog

Getting into the ecommerce business is something that a great many people want to do because they think it will be easy. It won’t. Don’t get me wrong, it is very possible to set up a successful ecommerce company, but those people who think that because it is online, it will be easy are kidding themselves. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to set up and build up an online shop and a lot of the people who attempt it will fail.

If you don’t want to be one of the failures, here are some common ecommerce mistakes that you should aim to avoid:

Not Doing the Math

Lots of entrepreneurs rush into setting up and launching an online shop without really taking the time to fully crunch the numbers. This is the biggest mistake that any entrepreneur -online or off – can ever make because if you haven’t crunched the numbers and you aren’t confident that you can make a profit, you are going to fail sooner, rather than later. So, give the whole profit = demand x (revenue-expense) thing some real thought before you go rushing in.

Not Finding a Competitive Niche

If you sell the same old dropshipped t-shirts or pet accessories as countless other companies, then you’re going to have to work really hard to stand out and snatch a slice of the pie from them. Unless you have a huge amount of time and money to sink into developing and marketing and irresistible brand, then you are likely to sink without a trace, If you want to be successful, you really do need to find a gap in the market and a way of filling it.

Finding a gap in the market doesn’t necessarily mean your products have to be totally unique (although that might be ideal) it could also mean that you offer unique value, perhaps by bundling goods together, that you do have a unique brand, or that you offer information that other ecommerce companies do not – it all depends on what you want to do and what you’re trying to achieve. But one thing’s for sure, you need to stand out and offer something different if you want to succeed.

Not Using Magento

This might be a controversial one, but to my mind, Magento is the best ecommerce platform out there. It is so much more secure and customisable that it’s foolish not to use it because it will keep your customers safe and if you work with a Magento Development Agency to create a really unique shop it will work wonders to build your brand. It’s pretty easy to learn the ropes and play around with it yourself too, which is probably why it is so popular.

Selling Too Many Thing

You could be forgiven for thinking that the more products you sell the more products you will make – Amazon is a good example of that being true – but for the average online shopkeeper, having a smaller, well-curated stock is the way to go because you can focus more on promoting it and more precisely target your niche.  

Avoid these mistakes, and although success is not guaranteed, you will be on the right track with a fighting chance!

There are many difficult decisions to make when you start in business. You’ll need to choose between logos, employees, and of course, whether to buy or rent a commercial space.

None of these decisions is easy, not least the battle between renting and buying. The main problem is that there are strong points on each side. You might think you can view more properties from each team to make your mind up, but even that’s unlikely to help. When it comes to what’s on offer, there’s not much between the two. Whether buying or renting, there’s sure to be some strong contenders on the market.

Hence, it’s essential to get deeper into the matter. Arguments on the rental side lean towards lower upfront overheads and an ability to move around if you need to. But, getting into the nitty gritty often reveals buying as the apparent winner of the battle. Why? Read on to find out.

Costs are easier to manage

When you commit to renting, you tie yourself to a set monthly payment for a determined duration. The trouble with this is that profits in new businesses rarely remain at an even rate. As such, there may be months where you struggle to make the rent. By comparison, buying ensures those payments are easier to manage. If you’re lucky enough to pay up-front, you’ll only need to worry about bills. And, that will take a tremendous amount of pressure off your profits. Even if you have to get a mortgage, you may be better off. This way, you can be sure of how much you’ll pay each month for the fixed-term of your mortgage. Rent, on the other hand, can shoot up at your landlord’s discretion.

Freedom to use the space how you want

You’re also  limited in what you can do with a rented space. Unless you get your landlord’s permission, you won’t even be able to decorate. Given that you need your business to stand out if you want to success, this is far from ideal. When buying your commercial property, you’ll be free to do as you please. You could paint the building pink if that’s the colour of your logo. You won’t even need to think twice about hanging hefty signs outside your door. That’s important given that steps like these are essential for getting your company seen.

A nice slice of collateral

Perhaps the best benefit of buying is that you then have collateral. When you rent, there’s nothing to protect you. If your business starts to struggle, you’ll have nothing to fall back on. At least if you own the building, you can sell that and use the profits to prop your company. Even if you have a mortgage to pay, it’s likely you’ll see some return after selling. Collateral like this is also essential in the business world as it brings some level of respect. You can be sure you’ll need all the respect you can get when first building your reputation.

There’s a time in every entrepreneur’s life where things start going really well, and whilst this can be an exciting time filled with optimism, it’s also a phase in your business that should be approached with caution.  This time of prosperity is somewhat precarious for a fledgling business and the most important thing to consider at this stage is outsourcing key tasks in order to keep you in the position to working “on” the business rather than “in” the business.

See, no man (or woman) is an island and if you feel the need to do everything yourself – you’re robbing your business of the growth it craves and denying yourself any kind of life outside of working.

Today, there’s a plethora of specialist companies you can offload specialist tasks onto, as an example AM 18 Consultancy could help with all your data analysis needs; or if you’re on a together budget you could choose to work with virtual assistants.  

The great thing about virtual assistants (VA’s) is that they often live on faraway shores where the price of living is much lower, thus offering you great value, and they can help with a wide variety of time consuming tasks such as content marketing, social media management and business research.

The question, is whether you should hire a virtual assistant (most likely a lot cheaper and an overseas country such as the Philippines or India) or a local based physical assistant?  

The answer will most likely boil down to an equation of budgetary constraints, what you require the assistant to do, working hours, and your personal working style.

On the one hand, there’s a feeling of reliability knowing someone is available in the next room, yet this ‘traditional’ way of hiring a personal assistant comes with a substantial administrative and financial burden in the sense of sick pay, holiday pay, taxes, and specialist equipment.

Working with a ‘virtual assistant’ is easy to set up.  Essentially, you offer them the job and they are good to go.  There’s no set-up cost in terms of supplying equipment and there is a sense of flexibility about the relationship, in that you can have it as on-demand service where you are only charged for the work undertaken each week; whereas with a physical assistant would most likely require a minimum term contract.

Communication can, of course, be much easier when dealing with someone face-to-face and there are social benefits in terms of the camaraderie and friendship that can come from having a live assistant; however, flip this on its head and the social vibe could head toward ‘office politics’ and resentment.

There is a sense of commitment from a physical assistant that you are unlikely to feel with a virtual assistant, in part because you are sharing the same physical space, but that does not mean a virtual assistant cannot be equally, if not more, committed to you and your business.

Your concern is possibly more justified that the virtual assistant may not always be available when you need them, whereas, the live assistant in the next room to you – is reliably going to be around for when you need them, but the fact that someone is local does not in itself mean they are better qualified.  Indeed, many virtual assistants in countries like India have Master’s Degree and charge a fraction of the cost of a more local inexperienced assistant.