A step by step guide to starting a new online business

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Starting a business online

With minimal start-up costs and the potential to reach millions of customers, there has never been a better time to set up an online business – and what a great way to begin life as an entrepreneur! 

This article will be looking at some of the most important things you need to do to start an online business, from having that fantastic business idea, choosing a name and business structure, building your website, and registering with HMRC.

Writing out a formal document, even if it is only for your use, will encourage you to think about what you are doing and how you will go about it. Also, if you are seeking funding or investors, you will need to present a well-thought-out business plan.

There is no definitive list of what to do or how to do it. Many famous entrepreneurs started their online businesses, but they all approached it uniquely. But, based on our experience working with many new online businesses, we’ve put together a comprehensive list to get you up and to run!

Your business idea

As with any business, the first step in starting an online company is to decide on a business idea and create a business plan. If you believe you have a great product there is a great demand for, or a niche service that will fill a gap in the market then there are a number of factors that you need to consider. As a business, you will either offer a product or service, and you need to carry out extensive market research to decide if your business is viable. Having a target audience and clear objectives firmly in your sights will help get your online business up and running quickly.

Market research can help you plan and map out how to set up your online business, give you an idea of the start-up costs and the type of funding that could be available to you.

Doing your research

You have chosen your niche, so the next question to consider is one around research as this makes up a great deal of your business plan.

Doing market research will help you establish:

  • Who your competitors are?
  • How they do business
  • Who are their customers?
  • What is their pricing structure?
  • How you can provide something different or be able to do it better.

If, whilst doing your research, you find you do not seem to have any competitors, you need to ask yourself why this could be? For example, does it mean that you are the only person who has ever come up with this bright idea, or does it mean there is no market for it?

All of these questions (and more) form a vital part of your offer, and if you do not get your research right, you could make a costly mistake.

Hubspot has a great guide and template you can download for free to help you research your online market.

If you have a minimal budget to put towards your research, there are a few ways of achieving it on little to no budget:

  • Use social media to engage with interested parties or ask trusted followers for advice/feedback on the idea. Responses will generally be refreshingly honest – so be prepared for some eye-opening honesty!
  • Attend industry-related events to see what is trending and use it as an opportunity to sound out other similar entrepreneurs/start-ups to get invaluable tips and advice.

Different types of online businesses

There are a number of popular business models entrepreneurs can use for a successful online business to make money instantly.

Online store – This is probably the most popular ‘go to’ option. Instead of buying or renting a physical premise, you sell your products or services directly to customers via an eCommerce website. Physical goods can be delivered to customers. An online store puts you in direct contact with potentially millions of customers and has fewer overheads than a traditional shop. You can take payments via credit cards or use banking systems such as PayPal to handle transactions.

Advertising – Advertisers will pay to place their advertisements on your website. You will need to be receiving large traffic visitor numbers to be profitable. This model works best if your website is either an online magazine with popular blogs or help and advice sites. The aim is to attract as many visitors as possible to make money from advertising.

Subscription – This business model is used by websites offering information, entertainment, or a specific service, but you charge a subscription fee. Current popular trends include beauty, books & magazines; arts and crafts and health and fitness. Significant examples include Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh, Netflix, Able & Cole and Britbox.

How to choose a business name

choose a business name

When naming your company, check if the name and domain are available. Making your website’s domain name the same as your brand helps customers find you. If they are not, there will be confusion and possible loss of business as many potential customers will click elsewhere.

It is best to choose a business name and do this in conjunction with registering a domain name for your website, as the two should match exactly. The proper name should be short and easy to remember. Your website’s domain name should be available and not too similar to another company’s.

If you are starting an online business from scratch, spend some time brainstorming a list of potential names and then whittle this down to just three or four. One approach is to register a domain name – or web address – that contains the keywords people will use to find a business such as yours.

Find your niche

This is the starting point for any business, and many people already have a general area that they would like to trade-in. It also forms the backbone for your business plan that everything else hangs off.

We often find that people tend to start with too wide an area, and instead of being great at one thing, their business starts being just ‘OK’ at lots of things.

Understand that the internet marketplace is full of great companies in their field, so the trick is to find that niche where you can excel.

Instead of being an OK shoe retailer, why not be the best on the web at selling ladies’ formal shoes? Or instead of being an OK graphic designer, why not be the very best at designing science fiction book covers?

Being a specialist gives you a much smaller market to aim for (which makes your marketing more focused) and means that when you come up against general graphic designers or so-so shoe stores, then you should win every time.

Take time over this stage and be prepared to have a couple of false starts because choosing and understanding your niche is vital to everything that follows.

Find your suppliers

Firstly, consider if what you are offering is available as goods you can import, or do you need to manufacture yourself? You do not necessarily have to reinvent the wheel, so you can buy what you need and maybe even re-label it with your branding.

In other situations, the fact that you manufacture it yourself is all part of your unique selling point. Still, whichever way you go, finding reliable, reasonably priced suppliers is going to be necessary.

It is a good idea to start looking around and engaging with people early on because, in many industries, suppliers will help new businesses get going. They may give you help and advice about marketing, provide assets for you to use or give you links from their site. Building a solid relationship with quality suppliers right from the early days of your business is vital if you are to get off to the best possible start.

You may become a preferred partner or a specialist consultant for their brand for service providers.

Choose your channels

How will you communicate with your customers? Some channels are more suitable than others, depending upon the type of product or service that you are providing.

Entrepreneur magazine wrote that start-ups have a distinct advantage in social media marketing since users love what is new – and start-ups are new by default. If you sell craft tools, you are likely to find your buyers on the more ‘visual’ social media platforms like InstagramYoutube or Pinterest. Still, for a cleaning service specialising in corporate offices, you may be better off targeting certain Facebook groups, Twitter or Linkedin.

The critical point here is to make sure you match your channel to your customers and make sure you are good at it. Then, you will be able to engage far more quickly with customers, build instant relationships, answer their questions, promote any new stock or offers to them and deal with any complaints.

Investors and funders will want to see that you have thought about how you connect with your customers, so make sure this is featured in any business plan that you do.

choose your media channels

Finance your business

Most of what you’ve done so far has been free or very low-cost, but as your start date approaches, you’ll need to consider financial affairs. Decide how your company will grow and what it must do to survive.

If you are providing services, you will probably not need much in the way of stock or equipment, so your financing needs are only going to be down to advertising and marketing.

But if you are manufacturing to sell, you may need to buy machinery, packaging, and even a van to transport your goods.

If you are an online retailer, you may need money for stock, and as working capital, the finance section of your business plan must be as detailed as possible. It should analyse your start-up costs, a profit and loss and a cash flow forecast for the first couple of years and clearly show your funding requirements.

Build your website

build your websites

Now having finalised the look and feel of your logo, colours, fonts and tone of voice, you can now create an attractive, functional website yourself, with no need to spend money on web developers or hosting, by buying an off-the-shelf solution from reasonably priced platforms such as WordPressWix123-reg, or Shopify without having to have any knowledge or design or coding. 

You could use a free theme or pay for a premium theme that may offer more features such as SEO add-ons that will help you be found. Do worry about getting all of your functionality in place from day one, though. You may decide to start with a primary site to showcase your ideas and include some blog content. Then, when you get nearer to launch day, you can switch on the extra functionality.

Alternatively, hire a website designer to create one for you if you do not have the time. If you choose to outsource this, make sure you still have some money set aside for marketing your business. 

Decide on pricing

A really important part of launching your new business is to decide what you are going to charge. Essentially the main methods of setting the prices for your business are:

Market pricing – This is particularly relevant if you sell products online on platforms like eBay or Amazon, as it essentially sets your price at what the market as a whole is charging. If everyone is charging £10 for a phone charger, then you can choose to sell for £10 to maximise your profit or £7.99 to maximise your sales, but you are unlikely to sell many if you price them at £11. The problem is that if the market is buying at a lower price than you, you will find it challenging to make a profit. 

Value pricing – is crucial if you are selling services online and what value you are adding for the client? If a customer faces a business-critical issue that you can solve, your price goes up. If you have limited time to provide the solution, your service becomes even more valuable. Some companies may go as far as to set their price at a percentage of what they make or save their customers. This can be a desirable offer for customers, but as a service provider, you do need to be confident in what you do. Otherwise, you could be doing a lot of work for no money.

Start your marketing plan

Once you have successfully set up your business website got your pricing in order, it is time to invest in social media activity. If you already have an existing ‘personal’ social media account, you may want to create new ones that promote your business services separately.

Your marketing plan should have some pre-launch ‘teaser’ activities (EG: coming soon …etc.). Set competitions and incentives to get followers to visit your website to generate early interest in your product or service so that your business gets off to the best possible start.

Register your business

Once you are ready to go then you should register your business. Are you going to be a .co.uk or .com?

Firstly, check if the name has been registered at Companies House – just type into the box at the top, and click the link below. If you believe you have a trademark you can search at the Intellectual Property Off website. If you would like to talk through your options and processes, please do contact us for assistance.

Online business regulations

Overall, the act lays down conditions that goods sold must meet. For example, they must be as described, of satisfactory quality, to an agreed price, and be fit for purpose. If the goods do not meet these requirements, the Act lays down conditions that goods sold must meet. For example, they must be as described, of satisfactory quality, agreed price, and fit for purpose. Suppose the goods do not meet these conditions. In that case, the buyer should have the right to a refund to any online and offline purchases, ensuring that work must be carried out to a standard or price agreed beforehand and that the professional has a duty of care towards you and your property.

The Consumer Contracts Regulations: Amongst other things, sets out:

  • Information a trader must give to a consumer before and after making a sale.
  • The right for consumers to change their minds when buying at a distance or off-premises.
  • Delivery costs and arrangements, and exchange details
  • Where goods are faulty or not fit for purpose, consumers have different rights depending on where and how they purchased the goods.
  • An accurate description of goods and services including description of your goods or services and prices including VAT.
  • Payment details
  • Cancellation rights and relevant time limits
  • Costs of returning an item.

The Data Protection Act 1998: Is designed to protect personal data stored on computers and laptops etc., into an organised system where it is safe. You can find more information on the Government website about the types of regulations that affect starting an online business in the UK.

For example, you will need an official company address to be the same as your registration location, where you will be sent communication. Some people choose their accountant’s address or sign up for a ‘virtual office’ that will deal with the post for you and looks more professional. Speak to us if you would like us to set up a registered office address and mail forwarding service.

Cost of starting an online business

The costs you need to consider for your online business will vary depending on the type of business you are starting and the scale of it. Here are some of the costs you will need to consider when starting your online business in the UK:

  • Company formation costs – if you decide to go with a limited company structure.
  • The costs of the actual products or services you will be selling.
  • Cost of building the website, whether you hire a web designer or use a website building tool.
  • The cost of the domain, which will likely be an annual fee.
  • The equipment you would use, for example, you would need a laptop, an internet connection, camera (if needed).
  • Marketing costs – will you by doing the marketing yourself or outsourcing it?
costs of starting a business online

If you need further assistance

Being in business is a great learning experience and opening up your online store can be a vibrant and exciting time, so above all, make sure you enjoy yourself!

We are experts in helping eCommerce start-up businesses and can help you with all aspects, including setting up your systems, registering your company and outsourcing your bookkeeping and payroll. Having the opportunity to play our part in helping your business grow is something we would enjoy doing, so please give us a call and let us see how we can help you start your new online business.