7 Reasons to Start Your Own E-Commerce Website
Monday, October 12th, 2009E-commerce is a booming trend and one that does not appear to be going away anytime soon. More and more people around the world are using the internet to make purchases on everything from music, to home goods, to clothing, to auto parts, and anything else you can think of. The world of e-commerce gives the average person or small business the opportunity to business worldwide and to compete in a way that was never possible before.
In this article we’ll look at the benefits of running an e-commerce website and we’ll list seven of the leading reasons that you should consider starting your own e-commerce site.
1. Low Risk and Expense
If you want to own a traditional brick and mortar store, the costs and risks involved will be very high. Each month you will have expenses related to the rent or mortgage, upkeep of the property, other overhead costs, salaries of employees, inventory, and that is just the beginning. Anytime there are high costs involved in running a business, the risk is also going to be pretty high.
Quite the opposite, with e-commerce you could possibly start an online store with less than $100 and you could be in business the same day. That’s not to say that it is easy to have a successful e-commerce business, but the risks are astronomically lower because you’ll need to invest so much less.
2. No Employees
One of the biggest headaches of owning a traditional store is dealing with employees and all of the headaches that go along with it. Managing employees is a full-time job, and then some. And that’s not to mention the costs that are associated with having employees.
If you run an e-commerce business you won’t necessarily need any employees at all. Most small e-commerce businesses could be run just by one person, or with a partner. Depending on the growth of the business and on your goals, you may eventually hire some employees for various jobs, but this is not a necessity to have a successful e-commerce business.
3. 24/7
Traditional stores will have hours of operation, and they’ll be closed at certain times. Some stores are open 24 hours a day, but they also have added costs for doing so.
As an e-commerce business owner you will benefit from having your online storefront available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There will be no need to close up and lock the doors, and customers can come and do their shopping at their convenience.
4. Low Barriers for Entering the Market
If you want to start a traditional business there are all kinds of things preventing you from getting started, and even more preventing you from being successful. Startup costs, acquiring financing, competition. It’s all more than most people are able to overcome.
Starting an e-commerce business presents very low barriers to entrance. You’ll need very little money to get started, and you may not even need your own products to sell. You will face some competition in e-commerce, but you will not need to be able to compete with the major players in order to be profitable.
5. Lack of Geographical Barriers
As a traditional store owner, in order for customers to buy your products they will have to be close enough to your location to come to the physical store. Obviously, this limits your market to those who live or work within driving distance, or those who are traveling through the area.
However, as an e-commerce business owner you can easily do business with people in all corners of the world. Anyone with internet access can shop at your store. Yes, there are some disadvantages including shipping to other parts of the world, but it can be done if the buyer is willing to pay the added shipping, or you can sell electronic products that don’t require shipping.
6. You Don’t Have to Be #1 to Be Successful
Because of the costs associated with running a traditional store, you’ll need to outperform your competition in order to be able to turn a profit. Stores that are not one of the leaders in their industry will usually go out of business.
On the other hand, with an e-commerce site you will have very low expenses, so almost everything that you make will be profit. Because of this, you won’t need to have the number 1 site for a specific industry, you can easily survive and remain profitable with just a small piece of the pie.
7. Flexible Working Hours
Running a traditional business means that you will probably need to be there and working just about every hour that it is open. Store owners usually have a very hectic schedule with long hours each week.
Running an e-commerce business no doubt requires real work, but your schedule will be much more flexible as opposed to running a traditional store. Most of the work that you will need to do can be done around your schedule, during the hours that you choose to work.
