Start an Online Business (See How)
Category: How Tos
Written by Adedayo Charles Oluyori
Since the revolution of internet and mobile age, a lot of people have been successful using different online platforms to run their business.
I
have seen a number of people who started from nothing, using Facebook
posts to promote their small businesses and in no time have made a
turn-around in their business without necessarily spending any extra
money.
The
same airtime, and time used by some other people to chat and read posts
that doesn't make sense, some others have used such resources to boost
their businesses and are making lots of profits from it today!
I
am not against anyone posting their beautiful pictures and lifestyles
on social media, but I really want to encourage people to use these
platforms to enrich themselves, create jobs and wealth for themselves
and others they can employ.
I
know it's not easy using online means to do your business, neither is
it easy doing your business through a shop or an office. I even think,
it takes more time, money and other resources setting up your physical
shop or offices, than having an online shop, store, platform or online
business.
This
is because you must either have so much money to start, rent a big
shop, buy a lot of items to put in the shop and employ staff to assist
in the shop. It is even more if it is an office, aside paying rent for
the office, you must also pay government taxes, employ staff, and lots
more.
Of
course, having an online business doesn't mean that you cannot have a
physical office, as a matter of fact, you need a physical office, or at
least a physical office address for your online business to be
successful. Apart from the fact that as your business grow, you will be
needing more technology, like new laptops, printers, workers and more
space for your business, but you also need people to trust your
business, alot of clients would have more confidence in you, when they
know you have a physical address than when all you do is just hide
behind an online name.
However, everyone must start somewhere. I started my online business and media years ago, when I started I
had my office inside my house sitting room, I later got an office space
after a year(rented), I currently have my permanent office(built by
me). It all takes patience and perseverance. I wont try to deceive you
that it has been easy, no it has not, even up till now!
But you start somewhere!
If
I was waiting all these years until I was able to get an office, buy
somethings I wont be up to where I am today. I am still very very far
from where I want to be, but I am making progress.
This is one of the opportunities created by using online means to do your business.
When
I started, I had a lot of ideas, I was a prolific writer, I love to
write fictions, inspirational stories, biographies and help people
develop themselves.
When
I started, I was still in my twenties, the internet was not popular
then, a few people use it for anything. Not even many people had emails
then.
I
wanted to write my stories and get them published, but no publisher
would publish my stories for free, at a time I had written so much, I
started getting discouraged. After several years, I started a magazine,
but because there was no sponsor, it didn't last beyond the third
edition, as I single-highhandedly funded it.
It
was after then I went into online publishing, which gave me several
options, to publish my stories, get more people's stories to publish,
promote people's talent like music and lots more.
There
was again the issues of "niche". You are always advised before starting
an online business to have a niche. A niche is a small focus area, for
instance if you are going into entertainment business, "Entertainment"
in itself is too large as an area, you have to look for a smaller niche,
like maybe music, which is also large, and you may have to create your
niche in smaller terms like "Music in Lagos" etc.
I
find this very difficult because I had too many ideas and I couldn't
just let go of some and keep some. I started creating different websites
for my ideas, "News", "Entertainment", "Inspiration", "Business" and
"God Things", because I was also privileged to have worked as a pastor.
Also See: What is an Online Business?
In
less than a year I became overwhelmed, managing five websites, aside
the time, there was money involved, managing five domain names, then
sourcing for materials for the five websites was also not easy as an
individual.
So
I thought of an idea, "categorizing" one single website to cater for
all these. Alas! I had to start taking back all posts in the five
websites into one. So here we are today!
Aside the business I do, my websites also gives me the opportunity to get paid adverts and also google adverts (Adsense).
One
of the troubles people have, starting an online business is how to
create a website. Honestly it is not an easy task. I am also a past
student of coding, so I know building a website is not an easy task. But
you don't have to go through all that. There are platforms that have
made it easy for people like you and I to do our businesses online,
without having to learn coding, like Blogger, and WordPress, there
usable customizable templates that you can adopt that will look like a
graphic website.
Aside
from being easier to manage, they are also cheaper compared to building
a website from the scratch, especially if you can't code.
If you need me to coach you on how to create your own website, using a blogger, please chat with me
(234)08105649346, and if you need a website built from the scratch, like
a Car Listing Site(Car45), or an online store like (Jumia), please
contact me for details on how you can get one.
With your website you can do any business that you can do in a physical shop or office, you can even run a church online.
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