There are many different opinions on how to start an e-com business. This is my journey (sink or swim) on how I am trying to accomplish a business on-line.
Some background of my experience.
I am a teacher in Western Washington and I am an optimist/realist, meaning that I keep a good attitude but I always have a plan B. I have had 2 businesses in the past as well as the one that I am currently running, which I have had for 3 years now. My first business I started while I was in college, I went to massage therapy school and was certified. I became a massage therapist! I lasted for approx 8 months before I burned out and moved out of the area to continue my schooling.
The second business I started was with a friend right out of college. It was a mobile auto detailing business which lasted for about 6 months before my partner decided to take the checkbook out for a night on the town.
Back to the job on hand. Starting out! These are the steps that I used to start up an e-business. Are there different ways? (of course there are).
- Get an account and a domain on a webhost. I went with Lunarpages because of their good prices and good customer service. Check the Web host page for more options and information. Don’t forget to choose a good domain name for your store!
- Get an account with a product sourcing guide or a wholesale/drop-shipping source. I signed up for Worldwide Brands because of their reputation and size. Once you get an account it is for life. There are cheaper lists out there but this site has a good reputation.
- Sign up for paypal if you haven’t done so already. I went to a bank and got a free checking and savings account and set up my paypal to that.
- Download Zencart. If you have cpanel on your webhost look for fantastico and download it that way. It will save you a lot of headaches. ZenCart is an open source program that is for free. It runs with Paypal and many other merchant account providers (we will go over that later).
- Set up your ZenCart store. I suggest that you buy a book called. “Zen Cart – Building an Online Store the Zen Way – For Beginners” You can find it at http://www.zencartstore.com/. They have both the paperback and the ebook. I have the paperback and still use it. Check the security settings to make sure you are set up safely. ZenCart Forums has the info you need.
- As soon as your account with your dropshipper/wholesaler has been confirmed you can begin to stock your store. Follow the instructions in the book mentioned in step 5.
- Get a dedicated ip address for your stores domain, have your web host set this up.
- Configure your paypal merchant account. When starting out use the standard merchant account. It is free to set up, the customer does not need a paypal account and you will not need to purchase a SSL cert for your account until later. It directs your customer to their site to finish the transaction.
- Test your site. Have a donation item to make sure the cart works.
- Sign up for a domain submission service. You can submit this for free but it is better practice to sign up for a service like. Best of the Web. http://botw.org/helpcenter/promo-LP.aspx
- Write a blog about your items and store.
I hope this information helps you out. I am on step #10 and will be continuing this blog on a weekly bases. If you like what you see please help me out by donating to help me pay down my debt.
I will soon update my pages which will include more information on specific directions about maintaining your site.