Introduction
It’s never been easier to start a new business than now, and there definitely isn’t a shortage of great online business ideas. All you need is to create a website, and you can reach potential customers all over the world.
All successful businesses require research, planning, and a fabulous marketing strategy. With just under a month and a half left of this year, it’s the perfect time to get ahead so that you can kick off 2023 with a bang.
So if you’re finally contemplating starting your online business, you’ve come to the right place. We have great resources to get you up and running, from advice on search engine optimisation and the best methods to build website traffic to the best ways to market your business for all budgets and which features make your website stand out.
Starting your online business – the basics
But before we get going with our top 8 online business ideas, let’s look at the key steps to running a successful online business.
Your ideal customer
Identifying your target audience and ideal customer is the first step to creating a solid foundation for your business. Every aspect, from branding and content creation to your marketing strategy, is based on your target audience!
Creating your website
Your website is effectively your online or virtual storefront, so optimising your site is crucial to your success.
- Create a functional website – initially, you want to keep it simple, and all you need to open your business are 3 main pages. Your About Page, Products and Services, and a Contact page. And an FAQ (frequently asked questions) is always beneficial.
- Search Engine Optimisation – this is often overlooked by new businesses and is key to your customers finding your business. A study by BrightEdge, half of all web traffic comes from search engine results.
- Building credibility can be achieved by including customer testimonials on your site, allowing customers to post reviews on your product page, creating a business profile on Google, and being active on social media.
- Analytics provide invaluable insights – many businesses make the mistake of creating a website and believe that it is a once-off action. Tools like Google Analytics can provide those all-important insights into what is and isn’t working, allowing you to improve your site accordingly.
Operations
Taking care of basic operational aspects will save you time and money in the long run.
Streamline your processes – There are a multitude of tools that can simplify your life and automation is your best friend when starting your new business. Automating tasks will lighten your load and prevent unnecessary errors – we are human, after all.
Creating a daily plan or a process document with all the relevant tasks you need to perform is another way you can increase your efficiency and limit errors. This is especially useful when you first start your business.
Map out your business’s workflow and identify potential problem areas or bottlenecks. This is especially applicable if you are dealing with suppliers.
Online payments – this is critical to your success. You don’t want to make it difficult to deal with you, and sites that don’t accept online payments will be at a distinct disadvantage.
Marketing your business
Spend time defining how you want your brand to be perceived and ensure you are consistent across all your pages, including social media.
Content – whether you are starting a blog, newsletter, or using social media platforms, your content or posts are key. To keep your current and potential customers engaged, you need to produce original, exciting and consistent content.
Social media is the ideal way to give your brand a personality, and our article on social media advertisements is definitely worth a read!
Blogs and newsletters are a great way to add value to your customers and will go a long way in making you the go-to source for all their needs. Asking customers to sign up for your newsletter is also a clever way to gain leads.
Our top online business picks for 2023
As we said earlier, it’s never been easier to start an online business than now; the main challenge is deciding which business is your best fit. Although your objective is to make money, you won’t be successful if you don’t choose a business that resonates with you on some level. Successful businesses tend to have passionate people behind them!
Dropshipping
Dropshipping is often the first business we think of when it comes to online businesses. Dropshipping has significant benefits in that you can easily set up an eCommerce store on platforms like Shopify, and a major advantage is that you don’t need to pay for inventory upfront. Have a look at our recent article on starting a dropshipping store on Shopify.
Dropshipping provides flexibility in choosing which products you want to sell and determining your margins. The biggest challenge is often deciding which products to sell. Fortunately, there are plenty of resources out there to help.
Amazon Best Sellers page is great for identifying products with the highest sales in a specific category, which will give you a great idea of what is currently trending.
Google Trends is another great resource for discovering the best products to dropship, as it analyses the popularity of search queries and topics. It even offers the flexibility to search by country and compare different queries to each other.
TikTok may not be your first instinct when deciding on products to sell, but #tiktokmademebuyit is where people share all the cool and trendy things they have recently bought. So it’s the perfect place to get some great ideas for fun and creative products.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is about helping businesses increase their brand awareness, promoting their products, and increasing their online sales.
Businesses often use this strategy as it substantially reduces their marketing budget while increasing their customer base. It is probably easiest to think of this as a performance-based marketing strategy where affiliates and businesses work together through a revenue-sharing partnership.
In other words, brands that want to increase their sales offer a financial incentive through affiliate programs. And on the upside, you are able to make money without the headache of managing your own products. This strategy is purely performance-based, and you receive payment once customers have made a purchase on the back of your referral.
This is a great option for anyone without experience; however, you will need to be on top of marketing strategies. Attracting potential customers to their landing page is implemented through advertising, blogging, and using various social media platforms.
Creating online courses
This is the perfect option for anyone who is able to leverage their experience, expertise, and knowledge in specific areas. It’s all about focusing on your strengths and imparting your knowledge in a “teachable” format.
The biggest advantage of this model is that once you have created a course, you generally will have a reliable passive income stream. However, staying up to date with the latest trends is important, from updating your content to your format. Outdated layouts and content will lead to a lack of credibility.
Creating a successful course is obviously dependent on your expertise, but there are other factors you need to consider. If this sounds like the ideal option for you, we suggest you take the following factors into account:
- Research your niche to identify if there is sufficient demand
- Have a clear picture of who you are targeting so that your content is positioned at the right level
- Identify which platforms will are best suited for your business.
- Define which type of format is optimal for lesson plans, for example, video, slides, notes, etc. Most courses use a combination as engaging content is crucial. And ensure that your course is easy to navigate.
- Ensure that your brand is consistent. This includes all marketing platforms, as well as throughout your course content.
The following businesses fall under freelancing, and when researching, you are most likely to find recommendations pointing you to platforms like Fiverr and Upwork.
Although these might be a great way to test your services, your end goal should ultimately be establishing your own business. After all, you just need a website and some clever marketing strategies.
The challenge around using platforms like Fiverr is that you are not growing your own business. You will be sharing a % of your earnings with the platform and are reliant on their client base. And you will have to work within their framework.
By creating your own site and marketing your product or services, you are more likely to attract quality clients who turn into loyal and repeat customers. It will also provide you with the freedom and flexibility to define how you work and interact with your customers. This will definitely take more time but will be far more rewarding and sustainable in the long term.
SEO Consultant
Search engine optimisation is imperative for businesses to feature in search rankings, attract that all-important organic traffic and grow their online presence. Unfortunately, many small businesses underestimate the impact of SEO on their business and lack knowledge when it comes to the technicalities of search engines like Google.
If you are wondering if this is a viable option, just have a look at the statistics. According to Oberlo, “The global ecommerce growth rate for 2022 is forecast at 9.7%, bringing global ecommerce sales worldwide to $5.7 trillion.” Additional research showed that the total number of websites is over 1.9 billion, but before you get excited, in reality, only 200 million are active, but you only need to capture a fraction of that to be successful.
The advantage of being an SEO consultant is that you are adding value to any business you interact with by helping them improve their website content, thereby increasing their conversion rates. And with all the available analytical tools and resources, it is a great online business opportunity.
Social Media Consultant
Social Media platforms all have their own nuances from how you position your content through to how you target your audience. The majority of small businesses can’t afford the cost of hiring an agency to manage their social media and, as a result, handle it themselves. Social media consultants are, therefore, the perfect solution.
Similarly to SEO, social media is often overlooked and can significantly influence the way their brand is perceived in the market. As a social media consultant, you are best positioned to develop and implement an optimal social media strategy.
In our previous article on how social media advertisements benefit your business, the number of social media users has experienced exponential growth and has become an integral part of any marketing strategy.
Depending on your skillset and knowledge, becoming an expert on one or two platforms may be advisable instead of trying to master all of them.
Website designers and developers
Before you read on, this online business option requires technical knowledge and is certainly not a business venture you can start with no experience.
Web design is best suited to creative digital professionals who have an eye for visually appealing layouts, themes, fonts, and colour palettes. All businesses should have a website; otherwise, they will lack credibility. According to Siteefy, 175 new websites are created every minute!
Translating a brand’s corporate identity into a visually appealing website is an important skill, as you are responsible for injecting the brand’s personality into their site. Keeping up with the latest trends is key; there are no second chances at creating a great first impression!
For those of you who are passionate about coding, offering website development is another skill that is always in demand. HTML, CSS, or Javascript knowledge combined with a creative approach to problem-solving will soon have you on the path to success. As mentioned above, websites are crucial for all businesses, and hiring a permanent resource is something that most small businesses can’t afford.
Whether you are a web designer or developer, your best course of action is to build an impressive portfolio and showcase your abilities on your own website to attract those potential customers.
Content Creation
Content is one area that many businesses don’t prioritise. Creating original, engaging content is key to any marketing strategy. Every aspect of marketing contains some form of content from websites and social media platforms to blogs and articles.
As a professional writer, you are well-positioned to provide optimal content, ensuring that their brand’s message is consistent across the board. Businesses that provide value-add content to their customers are more likely to be successful.
Believe it or not, blogging can still be a revenue generator, despite the fierce competition. Gaining a following can be challenging, but if you provide consistent content that either educates or entertains your audience, you will be able to capture a loyal audience. Most bloggers generate revenue by selling advertising space or sponsored posts which is dependent on the size of your followers.
Establishing a successful blog is not an overnight success and will take time and patience. But with quality and consistent content, you can turn your blog into a viable business model.
Virtual Assistant
The demand for virtual assistants has grown since the pandemic, and many small businesses are taking advantage of this type of service. This is an ideal online business opportunity for those of you who have exceptional organisational skills and task management abilities.
And fortunately, there are a multitude of resources and tools that can assist you in effectively managing all of your client’s requirements.
Virtual assistant’s services generally centre around basic administrative tasks, data research, diary management, and travel arrangements.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are many options for starting your own online business. However, we can never emphasise enough how important research and planning are to the success of your business.
Remember building a business takes time, but if you build a solid foundation and provide a consistently high-quality service, you will be successful; just add a bit of patience!
