How To Start An Online Business Only For Local City Sales?

Online Business Ideas And More.

• Starting an e-commerce business in India is a great idea – with over 550 million internet users, India is the second-largest online market globally (behind China).
• The android revolution is constantly upgrading phones technologically, and market economics of volume makes them affordable at the same time.
• The ease of accessing the internet on the phone is a big reason for the increasing number of internet users in India.
• In turn, it improves the scope of online business substantially.

Is Going Local The Right Choice?

1. When you plan a local business venture, you begin with several advantages.
2. You will have a clear idea about the place and the areas, and in case you are on to a service product, you know the physical limits of the business and can plan accordingly.
3. When choosing a product, you will know the local preferences; another advantage is cost –from logistics to promotion, the local venture will cost less.
4. You need to promote your venture properly to stay ahead of the competition and get into the growth model for your online business.
5. How to do it?
6. Advertise in all local directories catering to your product range.
7. Use social media and create exciting content directed to the local audience.
8. Customise your website content to suit local preferences, tastes, and culture.
9. You can also use a blog strategy to create interest among the local audience.
10. Have an email strategy in place. Maintain direct contact with your customers (a loyalty program might help).
11. Use traditional cost-effective methods like radio spots, local outdoor media.
12. Never lose an opportunity to be in touch with the local community –from festivals to local events; your presence will reinforce your brand value.
13. Few simple steps and your dedication can make your e-commerce venture the best online business in the local area of your choice.

Planning For Your Online Business

• The e-commerce space is crowded, and you will find an online seller for any product you can imagine, even locally.
• But does this mean that there is no scope for a new entrant?
• A business's success, online or a brick and mortar set up, depends on many factors.
• A well-planned entry will always have a better chance to survive.
• You can look at two types:

1) Low-Cost Digital Marketing Options

2) Online Business For B2B / B2C

1. Low-Cost Digital Marketing Options

These services can start with minimum effort and cost but require a specific knowledge base to be successful.

Blogging

• A reliable online business opportunity where you need to create a website and publish your blogs.
• You can place ads to earn money.
• Blogging is an easy and quick option to make money without much investment.
• It would help if you bought a hosting plan and a domain name for creating your website (self–hosted).

Affiliate Marketing

• Once you register for leading sellers (Amazon) for the affiliate program, you can sell products using the link.
• All sales taking place through your site will receive a percentage of the sales value.

SEO Specialist

• Every website owner wants to rank higher than their competitors on Google search results.
• There is enough scope for an SEO expert in any local city to work with website owners to deliver the desired results.

Youtube

• Within your idea of local, you can start a local channel for information; or, maybe travel-related services; or, it could be local public transport-related information.
• Youtube has a payment system based on viewership criteria, and if your channel generates the required traffic, you win.

Educational Services

• Subject-specific teaching or support for competitive exams, options are many.

2. Online Business For B2B Or B2C

Selling products to a customer or another business will need careful planning.

The choice will depend on your interest, confidence, and investment.

• Finding your niche ( a subset of the market on which your selected product is focussed)
• Finding your specific market and product is the first step for your e-commerce site to be successful.
• Planning it for a local city increases the emphasis on particular products even more.
• Get product ideas by talking to people, visiting stores, social forums like Quora or Reddit.
• Use digital marketing tools ( Ahrefs) to determine the number of high domain rating websites (big brands) in your chosen niche.
• The research you do will give you an estimation of the popularity of the product and, at the same time, will also indicate the level of competition.
• Your passion for your chosen niche products and dedication can make your venture the best online business.

Getting On With The Process

Company formation:

Types of the company:

1. A sole proprietorship (No liability limitation)

2. Limited liability partnership (LLP)

3. Private limited company

The type is essential for future operations since you decide to run the company independently (all by yourself) or bring in partners for financial or operational reasons.

• Once you decide to opt for a partnership based or corporate structure, several mandatory regulations come into force from day one.
• You have to file returns and also have an Employer Identification Number.
• You need to register your company with the registrar of companies (ROC), have a permanent account number (PAN), digital signature certificate.
• Registration with GST is also mandatory.
• For setups having more than 20 people, registration for Provident Fund (PF) is compulsory.
• Similarly, for employing ten or more people, ESIC (Employee State Insurance) is also mandatory.

You need to open a bank account in the name of your business.

• Building your website

Two choices – Building it from scratch and using a pre built platform.

1. While the prebuilt ones (WordPress and Wix are familiar sources) offer readymade templates according to your business, the custom–made option gives you the freedom of having a website exactly as per your idea, the way you visualise it.
2. (Woo-commerce, Magento, Shopify, Kart Rocket are resources for custom-built websites.)
3. Once ready, the website is part of your brand and the frontrunner to your online business.
4. The selection of colour to fonts and content should sync with your products to offer a seamless experience to your customer.

Payment Gateway

• The next step is setting up the payment gateway.
• Customer payment options to appear on your website.
• Documents needed in support of your business- PAN card, certificate of incorporation, bank account details, Article of association, Memorandum of association, address proof, website terms of use, website privacy policy.
• Once the application gets through, you can choose from the several gateway options.

Promoting Your Website

1. You need to create traffic and ensure customer conversions for your website to succeed.
2. The right SEO techniques will put you ahead of your competitors on the search engine map.
3. Content optimisation with keywords is another necessary activity to promote your website.
4. With so many websites selling similar products and trying to catch the potential customer's attention, paid promotion on platforms like Facebook and Instagram will help your online business.
5. Word of mouth, one of the most successful promotion methods, is still useful in the digital age.
6. Locally you may also use outdoor media for brand recall.

How Much Does It Cost To Start An Online Business In India?

• It depends on the scale and choice of your product and business model.
• Considering the website hosting and other costs, you need at least Rs. 3 to 4 Lakhs initially.
• Besides, it will require a monthly working capital of at least Rs 1 lakh.

The Final Word

• What is the connection between Byju's, Make my trip.com, Pay Tm, OYO, TAC security?
• These e-commerce ventures are rated as the best online business in their respective fields of operation.
• The successful people behind these brands choose a niche segment of the market and pursued single-minded dedication.
• These brands operate in a competitive environment, but their passion for success has powered them to become market leaders.

Also Read:

1) 13 Best & Affordable Places to Advertise Your Small Business
2) How Does the Franchise Model Work?
3) How To Start Your Own Franchise?
4) How does a New Business Help To Generate Employment?
5) How To Register the Domain For Your Website?