How to start an online business in 7 steps

I am so excited that you are wanting to start a business! Starting a business is so rewarding and there is no better time to start then now. 

In this blog post I walk you through how to start an online business in 7 steps. I broke it down to the 7 steps that I view as most essential to start and get your business going in the most effective and efficient way. 

1. Figure out what exactly going to do

This is going to be your starting point with anything that you want to bring out in your business. Figuring exactly what it is that you want to bring out to the world. When it comes to starting a business it usually starts with you having an idea that you are looking to build a business alive.

What does that idea look like for you? 

One you have all the details in place it's time to determine how this idea will be packaged. Usually I see ideas being packaged in one of three ways below:

• Service products
• Physical products
• Digital products

Take the time to figure out what that would like for you and what that would like for the person you are looking to serve. 

2. Do industry research to help validate and confirm your business idea

Research will help save so much time, efforts and money when you are first starting out. Unfortunately this is one of the steps that often times is missed and later is visited when things are not going as planned. 

This won't be you though because you are reading this post! I want you dedicate time to research and see if you idea exists what the competition is doing. 

As you do the market research as yourself the following questions:

• How can I provide unique leverage through my business?
• What are the current strengths and weaknesses of the competition I am analyzing?
• What opportunities do I see from doing this research?
• Are there any threats that could stop me from ultimately reaching my ultimate goal?

We call this a SWOT analysis which is something you can use to evaluate your business or for market research purposes. 

I3.Figure out niche and ideal client 

Now I am sure you have all heard people say niche down, you need to niche down and have a specific client. Am I right? You're probably wondering what does that mean and how do I know if I am niched down enough to serve a specific client.

This all comes down to knowing

1. Who you want to help

2. How you want to help them.  

That is it. Don't overcomplicate it. When you are starting out you want to make sure you are not speaking to everyone because that's where the business message can get lost. 

Niching down can be knowing specifically who you help, what you help them with or both! 

How you you know if are niched down enough:

If you can tell right away that this person is an ideal client and it’s specific you are niche down enough. If you can search online and quickly identify who you help .

When it comes to your niche I want you to be able to identify your dream client within 30 seconds or less.

Niching down to a specific ideal client does not mean you won’t get as many clients. We can’t serve everyone and we don’t want to serve everyone. so make sure that you take the time to niche down and figure out who exactly you want to serve as an ideal client.

4.Name your business name

5.Figure out how you want to way to monetize

Now that you have some of the logistics in place for your business you need to put a price on it and figure out how exactly you want to monetize your business. 

One of the biggest mistakes that I see people make when they are first starting their business is that they are pricing without considering profit margins. Incorporate profit margins (even if they are small at first) so that you are paid for your work, efforts and expertise too. 

When figuring out pricing I suggest to look at the industry standards and use that as a starting point to truly finding what feels most aligned for you. 

6. Get social on social media

Social media continues to be and will continue to be a great cost effective way of marketing your business to the public. When you are first starting out it's hard for people to hear and see what exactly it is that you are offering. With social media accounts they can act as store fronts for people to know, like and trust your business. 

My tip here is to find out what social media platform your ideal client is hanging out on and get yourself visible with your business there first. 

7. Spread the word

You have done the work to get your business going! Now time to spread the word on your new business! This usually starts with spreading the word with your friends and family. 

Often times this tends to be a a hold back for people because they get nervous and anxious to share it with everyone (this was me too). Trust me though when you are first starting out your family and friends can be some of the greatest supporters. Your close networks can be some of the people that first help spread word of mouth of you and get your message, business and vision out there.