The privileged few used to be able to start their own business back in those days. There was a need for substantial early funds in order to get started, while outside funding was scarce (unless you had a family that was commerce-savvy).
Obviously, that will not be the case in 2021. It has become easier and easier than ever before for anyone to start and scale an online business, regardless of their experience or professional background.
However, it is also worth mentioning that while the entry barrier has been lowered, it isn’t completely gone. In order for your business to be successful, you still need to develop a viable product idea, determine your sourcing strategy and finally, develop your sales strategy.
Although all of these factors should not discourage you from starting your own online business, it might discourage others.
Here are some reasons why you should start an online business
There might be a question in your mind as to why you would want to start an online business. Instead of starting a brick-and-mortar business, why not start an online one?
The most important benefit of starting online business ideas that are buzzworthy is that it has a number of advantages.
Here are the three main ones:
- Start-up costs are relatively low.
The huge investment necessary to get a business off the ground deters many from starting one. Rent has to be paid, inventory has to be purchased, and employee salaries have to be budgeted. In the case that you invest all that money in your business and it doesn’t succeed, what will you do? This could be financially devastating.
You only need these things to start an online business:
- An electronic device. It’s very likely you own one already.
- An online domain name. Getting one costs under $10 per year.
- Plan prices start at $29.90/month for website builders.
To put it another way – $100 can be used to start an online business.
There will be more online business ideas available to you as you progress, of course. I’m sure that as you progress, you will come across more and more ideas for online businesses to get into, of course. What is important in this discussion is that there is no need to risk your whole life’s savings to become an online entrepreneur (and become a successful one).
- There is a great deal of potential for growth in this business
The limitations of the “real world” kick in when you’re running a brick-and-mortar business. Renting in prime locations is expensive, there might not be enough foot traffic some days as well as the local crowd is not always in the mood for certain items. Nevertheless, there is good news! As a business owner, you do not have to bear any of these limitations. No matter where someone is located, you are able to sell to them.
The pool of potential customers will continue to expand with each passing year since more and more people are getting accustomed to the idea of shopping online. It has been estimated that by 2023, the global share of e-commerce sales will equal 22%.
Moreover, the global population of Internet users is also growing at an exponential rate. The average amount of Internet usage on a daily basis has increased significantly between 2009 and 2020 alone in North America, with 73.3 million users in 10 years.
This isn’t even close to what is happening in the still-developing regions! Asia has seen a dramatic increase in Internet users from 764 million to 2.5 billion over the past few years, which means that 1,76 billion additional people now have access to the Internet.