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10.Shipping
One key to understanding how to start a small business online is operating with a smart shipping strategy. Once products are ordered, how will they get from Point A to Point B? Make sure you have a shipping strategy in place that covers key details like:

9.Hiring help for your business
If you don’t have the time or skill to DIY how to start a business online, hire help. You can find a virtual assistant for ongoing, routine tasks or work with an expert for more involved projects, like creating your website or your marketing plan.

8.Managing your workload
Once you have a good understanding of what needs to happen and who will be completing the work, it’s time to add a bit of project management to make your life easier. Consider using a time management tool like Trello or Asana to write down, assign, and track tasks. Time management tools are especially helpful for keeping teams on schedule but don’t underestimate the value of structure for yourself as well.

7.Launch your business
At this point, you know everything there is about how to start a business. You’re ready to take the last and most exciting step: launching! The preparation you’ve already done has laid a solid foundation to support your launch, so you can focus on marketing activities and making your first sale. However, a plan of attack, especially as you’re trying to build traction, can help make your launch even more successful.

While every launch will be unique, there are some elem

6.The journey of a lifetime
The lead-up to launching your business always has a certain thrill to it. Why?

Many new business owners have told us that it's setting sail into the unknown that they find so thrilling; in the planning steps to start an online business, they have so much control, but once a business is out in the world, you are now in completely uncharted territory. That's not the most comforting thought, but the call to adventure is just too strong to resist—so they answer the call, even when the voice in their head tells them otherwise.

That's what we respect the most about entrepreneurs: they're willing to leave safe harbor to pursue their dreams. And while starting a business isn’t easy, you shouldn't let go of a purpose left unrealized just because it's hard to do.

It's only out there, in the unmapped territory of your own personal growth, that you'll discover who you can become.

5.Pick a business structure
There are many ways to start a business with different incorporation structures. Your business structure influences key parts of your business, from taxes to operations to your personal liability. Choosing the right structure is about balancing the legal and financial protections you need with the flexibility offered by different options. It’s an important decision, and it’s one you should consider carefully before you launch your business.

Business structures vary based on your country and area, but two common types—that may go by different names in your country—are sole proprietorship and incorporation. A sole proprietorship is great if you’re the only person involved in the business and is usually the lowest-effort structure to pursue, but it leaves you personally liable for the business and its activities. You can hire employees as a sole proprietor, but you'll need an employer identification number to do so, which means registering your business.

On the other hand, if you opt for a more formal structure, like a corporation or a limited liability company, it’s easier to involve multiple owners and you’re not personally liable for the business. At the same time, there’s more paperwork and steps involved in starting and maintaining a corporation.

4. Curate a selection of products
Dropshipping is a way to sell existing products without holding inventory. With dropshipping, you partner with a supplier of existing products who ships and fulfills your customer's order only after you've made a sale; your job as the dropshipping is to handle marketing and customer support. This model is highly accessible and can be competitive in certain product categories, but it gives thousands of entrepreneurs the chance to start their business immediately without shouldering a huge upfront investment for inventory.

One last thing: as you develop your product, keep your total costs in mind when figuring out your pricing. While your product’s price is not solely driven by costs—and there are many factors that influence pricing—it’s important to price your product profitably.

3. Customize an existing product
Various print-on-demand services let you add unique designs and branding to white label products, including t-shirts, leggings, towels, backpacks, and much more. This option is popular for categories where most of the differentiation comes down to design; coffee mugs can use a variety of materials, for example, but many customers are actually buying the witty phrase or branding, not the build quality. If you have an existing audience as a content creator, this model is also great for selling merch to your fans—once you know what they want.

2.Create your own product
Whether you’re making items by hand or sourcing an original product from a manufacturer, developing your own product to sell can help you stand out in the market.

Ideation. The SCAMPER model is a useful tool for quickly coming up with product ideas by asking questions about existing products. Each letter stands for a prompt: Substitute; Combine; Adapt (e.g., a bra with front clasps for nursing); Modify; Put to another use (e.g., memory-foam dog beds); Eliminate; Reverse/Rearrange (e.g., a duffle bag that doesn’t wrinkle your suits).
Prototyping. Prototyping involves experimenting with several versions of your product, slowly eliminating options and making improvements until you feel satisfied with a final sample. These days, with the innovation of 3D printing, designs can be turned into physical samples at a much lower cost with a quicker turnaround time.
Costing. Costing is the process of taking all of the information gathered thus far and adding up what your cost of goods sold (COGS) will be, so you can determine a retail price and gross margin. We have a free spreadsheet you can copy for your own product.

1.Develop your product (or service)
You’ve done the legwork, understand the financials, and, ideally, have begun to validate your idea with early interest from customers. Now, it’s time to go deeper into how you're going to build what you sell. For a product-based business, developing your product could mean taking one of three general approaches: