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How to Build a Successful Online Business in 2021

Online

Have you decided to ditch your 9 to 5 job in favor of an online business, such as an e-commerce website or a blogging business? Or have you decided to take up an online business as a side hustle to complement your 9-5 job, and rake in extra cash? Whichever way, these are great intentions.

The Internet and smartphones have changed the way we do business, and in 2020 alone, E-commerce sales accounted for over 25% percent of all retail sales online, according to Statista.

A great number of people are taking a stab at starting their online businesses, so why shouldn’t you?

But, do you have a real understanding of what it takes to be successful in an online business? While it is good to dream big and have big goals of generating a million dollars, do you have a full grasp of what you need to get to that point and ensure that you don’t get lost in the tide?

According to several sources, including Forbes, over 90% of all online business start-ups fail. Fortunately, you are reading this guide, which contains tips that can place you in the 10% successful online businesses. Let’s do this!

With this in mind, here are few tested and trusted tips that you must follow to stand out and succeed with your online business goals:

Understand Your Niche

How do others perceive your brand? What do people know about what you stand for? People like to do business with brands that they know, like, and trust. In your chosen niche, you have to be authentic, doing what works for you and your target audience.

This is why doing market research about the needs and wants of your target audience is important even before you start.

Are there particular demographics you want to attract? What qualities will they look out for in your product/service, and how can you meet those? This will help you with positioning your brand and creating the best marketing strategy for communicating your business with your target consumers.

For instance, if you want to start a blogging business in the fitness niche, you have to identify what aspect of fitness you are well versed in. In this vein, let’s say you decide to focus on workout routines and nutrition, your next step should be to identify the people you want to reach, and how best you can add value to their lives through your blog.

So, you have a niche now, what next?

Know Your Competition

Competition refers to brands that sell or market the same products/services as you. Except you are going into a niche with no existing businesses, which is almost impossible, then you need to evaluate your competition.

Why should customers choose you over others? This is even more crucial in the online business world.

Your strategy for Content Marketing, SEO optimization, and your User experience/interface (website/ mobile app) should position you ahead of your competition. You should be aware of the social media platforms your competitors are using. This will also arm you with knowledge on where best to engage with your potentials.

For instance, doing your analysis of your competition, you might discover that they focus more on Instagram because the majority of target consumers spend their time there. Needless to say, any social media marketing strategy you craft should then center more on Instagram.

Optimize your Web Assets

Web assets are what constitute your online business. They include everything from your website, social media profiles to your hosting accounts.

You need to organize these relevant assets and ensure that they are fully optimized for your brand.

For instance, your webpages and social media should always be completely updated with the latest information about your company.

Your website should be responsive with quick load time to improve the time consumers spend on it. A lightning-fast load speed increases visitor engagement and sales, and instant web response results in higher conversion rates.

According to a recent Aberdeen Group Research, every 1 second delay in page load decreases customer satisfaction by 16 percent, page views by 11 percent, and conversion rates by 7 percent.

Over Deliver

After examining your competitors, set benchmarks for your brand’s products and services, and try always to surpass them. Endeavor to meet consumers’ expectations on the value you communicated and even exceeded them.

The importance of delivering more value, especially for your initial offerings, cannot be over stressed. First impressions usually last longer, and a great one could mean several loyal customers.

Just imagine the glee on your consumers’ faces when they discover that they have gotten way more value from your brand than they expected. Priceless! This will keep them coming back for more.

Such a consumer will go ahead to tell friends, who will, in turn, tell friends, and your customer base will keep increasing till you become a leader in that niche, gaining the trust and attention of consumers.

Be Conscious of and Protect the Online Reputation of your Brand

Reputation is at the core and center of any online business. Even the slightest mistake can put your brand in a negative light and taint your brand for a long time. One way to remain conscious about mentions of your brand is to set a Google Alerts notification.

Have social media guidelines and strict branding rules. If anyone is posting about your brand, then you understand what you expect from them.

But even beyond brand mentions, how do you deal with and respond to complaints from your customers. It is highly recommended that you develop a serving, not selling mindset. Be interested in solving customers’ problems, and meeting them at their point of need.

Recent statistics show that 73% of consumers love a brand because of helpful customer service, and 89% of shoppers stay loyal to brands that share their values.

Focus on Serving

When you focus on serving your customers to the best of your capacity and providing great value, sales and profit will come naturally.

Learn how to identify the concerns and problems of your consumers, and educate them on how to solve these issues as a freebie.

As an online fitness coach, for instance, if you notice that your customers are having issues with balancing their carbs intake, you can create a detailed blog post or YouTube video to address that.

People love free things. So, helping your customers with that issue for free will endear you to them. But even beyond that, it will also go a long way to show that you are very knowledgeable, and stand you out among other fitness coaches.

What’s more, research shows that brands which blog generate 67% more leads. So, serving customers will eventually lead to more gains.

Conclusion

If you want to enter the business world, you have to learn how to be persistent. If you continue to do all the right things we’ve discussed above, staying consistent, you can realize your goals.

Access our network of Investors, get instantly matched with a Lender, or get a business plan by visiting us Funded.com

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Think of Funding When Writing Business Plans

One of the mistakes made during the writing of business plans is treating business funding as if it is a completely separate section with no real relevance to the rest of the plan. In other words, you write your executive summary, business description, market strategies and analyze the competition in a funding vacuum. Then the financial section gets tacked on, and it basically states you need money and here’s how much money you need.

But investors read business plans closely, and they are looking for a particular type of company that fits their requirements.  The words you choose to describe your business and the presentation counts. For example, if you are looking for a business loans from traditional lenders, they are not going to be impressed with hype in the least. You may have the most “stunning” invention ever created that will change the way mankind lives once your product hits the market, but a bank is going to see that kind of claim as marketing hype.

Professional From Beginning to End

Business plans are unique products. They must be interesting, professional and well written while being interesting, entertaining and exciting. That’s not easy to accomplish which is why so many entrepreneurs decide to get professional help writing their plans. Yet one of the most important features that a business plan should have, yet is often overlooked, is funder appeal.

In other words, the funders you plan on appealing to need to be attracted to what you say in your business plan from the beginning all the way to the financing plan.  It’s easy to get carried away while writing because you’re excited about your business and finding startup funding. This can lead to the use of a lot of superlatives that make your business plan look like a lot of hype without substance.

Polish the Product

As a entrepreneur you are not a huckster, so the business plan should not make you look like the equivalent of a snake oil salesman. The business plan that makes a lot of wild promises is not going to attract equity partners. Unsubstantiated claims will not get you approval for business loans. Statements that portray you as a gambler will turn angel investors away.

Business plans should be polished products that are consistently honest and give the right impression throughout the entire document. You can’t write a plan that is sassy and reckless and then expect venture capital funding to be approved because you decide to get serious in the section on financing.

Payment and Plan in Full

Polishing business plans also means making sure the plan is complete. You are in a hurry to get your plan done and to find financing, but a condensed plan won’t get you anything except rejected and especially when looking for startup funding.  Business plans prepared for venture capital firms or equity partners need to contain all of the important information about your business.  The same thing is true for angel investors. If your plan is missing essential information including marketing plan details or financial projections or only summarizes an operational plan, then the assumption will be you have not bothered to work through these details.

The original business plans that entrepreneurs use to find business funding need to be comprehensive plans that are consistent and always keep potential investors in mind. It never pays to skip the details.

More detailed information and useful advice can be found at Funded.com. it offers expertise and assistance with developing and funding your concept. If you need to access a network of angel investors or business plans for start-up funding visit  Funded.com

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Business Plan Starts with a Mission to Succeed

Business Plan

Business plans are intended to be flexible plans for succeeding, not just surviving, as a company. Yet, according to a famous Harvard professor John Kotter, 70 percent of business initiatives intended to bring organizational change will fail. That is a remarkable figure because it means efforts to adapt to a changing marketplace is failing. There is a barrier between the business plan founded on a mission and the real world.

The setbacks are sometimes one of losing sight of the company mission and weakening to plan. The purpose of the mission statement clearly states what your organization seeks to accomplish: It has a philosophy underlying it that does not change. The mission statement is a reflection of the nature of products or services sold, potential for growth, pricing strategy, customer service, and role in the community, competition and others.

The business plan needs to be developed so that each and every segment drives the business towards fulfilment of the mission. A change of proposal is merely a strategy for keeping the business on track to fulfil the mission. Leading change requires first turning to the mission statement and the business plan. A business that needs to change must be able to write a sense of urgency all through the organization because staying true to the mission statement is needed to succeed. If a change idea is needed, it means the business has gotten off course from its mission and its vision.

The business plan goals and strategies may need to be revised, but that should always be a step in the change process. In fact, business plans can serve as the direction for change as each section, from the Executive Summary to the Financial Statements, are reviewed in light of the need for change. Leadership will identify specific strategies for incorporating change and then communicate the revisions on an organization-wide basis. The change process must be empowering and encompassing, meaning employees at all levels should be embraced as change agents.

Business plans begin with a mission statement and then serve as a living breathing document. Leading organizational change is not always easy, but it can be impossible unless there is buy-in to the mission and the business plan. The strategies used to get that buy-in can vary, but staying on message cannot.

More detailed information and useful advice can be found at http://www.funded.com Created by Mark Favre, it offers expertise and assistance with developing and funding your concept, including a private forum for queries and discussions. If you need access to investors and funding providers, please do check our website.http://www.funded.com

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Writing a Sure-Win Business Plan

Entrepreneurs often look into their business plans as the heart of the startup. This is, according to most of them, the most important document that would ensure that the business is running towards achieving its ultimate objective.

Some business owners, however, fail to see beyond this point. The reality is that business plans are not just important in the day-to-day operations of the company. It is also important in terms of securing the most important element of a business – the funding.

A lot of entrepreneurs think that business plans do not contribute to the decision of a potential investor in funding the business. Some think that investors rely only on the pitch documents that were given to them.

Unfortunately, this is far from the reality. Most investors rely on the business plans when deciding whether or not they should fund the business. The reason is that they would not want to base their decision on documents that they know were tailor-made to impress them. These are intelligent people, and they often look for signs that the person whom they intend to partner with are also intelligent enough to make the business profitable.

This is where the need for a sure-win business plan comes into place. Instead of just writing a bland plan on how the business is expected to operate, the document should also include portions that would pique the interest of a potential investor. These include ideas on how the company will implement crucial projects, as well as handle potential problems that it would face in the future.

The bottom line is this: The business plan should not show the weakness of the company. This does not mean that the document should avoid mention of negative aspects. It should. But instead of leaving it like that, the document should also feature a “plan” on how the management would and should address it.

Instead of featuring the pessimism of the owner, the business plan should showcase the ability of the people behind the business that they are capable of handling every single problem that the start-up may face in the future.

This approach to writing a competitive business plan is an effective way of luring potential investors. It shows potential, and highlights the capability of the owners in thinking through with their plans.

Business plans are not just internal documents that are written for the sake of the employees and the main players of the company. Rather, it is a document that provides an overview of the business to external groups, most importantly the potential investors.

 
More detailed information and useful advice can be found at Funded.com Created by Mark Favre, it offers expertise and assistance with developing and funding your concept, including a private forum for queries and discussions. If you need access to investors and funding providers, please do check our website.Funded.com

 

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Mistakes You Should Avoid in Writing Your Business Plan

Mistakes You Should Avoid in Writing Your Business Plan

Ideally, all business startups should have business plans. These are the documents that detail the objectives and goals of the company. And while many believe that writing plans are not difficult, there are things that entrepreneurs must remember when it comes to producing business plans. These are:

Mistake #1: Not all startups need business plans

In reality, all businesses – including startups – must have business plans. These things are not just materials that can be used when trying to secure financial support from potential investors. It can also function as a “handbook” that can guide all the employees as regards the operations of the business.

Having a business plan will give an entrepreneur the opportunity to look into the positive and negative aspects of the business. Moreover, the plan will assure that the company will always remain on track

Mistake #2: Business plans have to include extensive description of the product

Business plans are not about promoting your product. And while it contains the visions of the owner for the company, the document should also contain a truthful representation of the problems that may face the company in the future.

With this, it must be emphasized that the plan should contain not just an extensive description of the product, but also a thorough explanation on how the owner wants to achieve his or her objectives and vision for the company.

Likewise, the business plan should also talk about the relevance of the product to its potential market.

Mistake #3: Business plans are easy to craft

Planning is an easy task, especially for business owners who’ve already thought of the things that he or she wants for his or her business. Unfortunately, while it is easy to write a business plan, crafting something that would be effective for the company is a different thing.

It must be emphasized that a business plan is only effective when it serves its purpose for the company – that is, if it assists the owners and the employees in achieving the goals of the business startup.

Business plan writers, therefore, must consider all the necessary aspects of the company in order to produce an output that could function well for the business startup.

More detailed information and useful advice can be found at Funded.com Created by Mark Favre, it offers expertise and assistance with developing and funding your concept, including a private forum for queries and discussions. If you need access to investors and funding providers, please do check our website.Funded.com

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Is It Time To Apply For A Startup Accelerator?

Following the rise of startup accelerators, the number of new entrepreneurs who want to get a position within these incubators has also significantly increased. Wall Street Journal reports that the applications to more than 200 accelerators around the world have almost doubled in the past two years.

According to Marc Nager, Chief Executive Officer of Startup Weekend, an accelerator may be good for those who are new on the field of entrepreneurship. However, in isolated cases, some of the terms may not be as acceptable. Nager provided some information that might help those who have yet to apply for an accelerator.

Understand the Basics

For Nager, would-be entrepreneurs must start with understanding the basic terms of the deal. He said that before applying, they should look at the benefits that they will get once they participate in this venture.

In the world of startup accelerators, a lot of value will come from the network that will be established amongst the students, mentors, and program leaders. Nager added that the applicants should also use to their advantage the possibility of having one-on-one experience with experienced entrepreneurs. He stresses the need for applicants to identify at least three mentors who have had experience on the industry that they are working on. This will ensure that the sessions will be maximized and will result in a highly beneficial experience.

Choose Wisely

Nager advises that when applying for startup accelerators, would-be entrepreneurs should consider signing up in well-known programs. He said that these will ensure better results that will be advantageous for the participants.

Unfortunately, well-known start-up accelerators usually have very low acceptance rates. With this, applicants can also try signing up in local versions of the accelerators provided that they have high quality program, mentors, and leaders.

Nager also noted the rise in the number of accelerators that offer specialized programs. There are those that focus solely on providing programs that help healthcare startups, civic startups, and startups that use a specific technology, among others.

The specialization may be advantageous for some startups. However, it must be noted that there are also things that one may miss if he or she decides not to sign up in one of the traditional accelerators that offer a wider range of coverage. Because of this, would-be applicants should know how to weigh the benefits before deciding to participate in specialized programs.

 Work on that Application

As stated, the chances of getting admitted into a well-known accelerator are very slim. Because of this, would-be entrepreneurs should toughen up their applications if they want to get the nod of the evaluators. 

One thing that they can do, Nager says, is to understand how the applications were evaluated by the accelerators. He also said that having a good team that will shine above the rest will boost the chances of getting selected.

Finally, he said that the applicants must do all their best to impress those who will decide on the applications. He suggests the use of human element, among others, to get the approval of the decision makers.

More detailed information and useful advice can be found at www.funded.com Created by Mark Favre, it offers expertise and assistance with developing and funding your concept, including a private forum for queries and discussions. If you need access to investors and funding providers, please do check our website.

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Funding Your Own Business

Say you are planning to have a business and, furthermore, you know the know-how to bring it into development.  The only thing you are losing is the cold money to get started.  What are your options?

Suppose you do not have a ready line of credit, an extensive bank administrator, rich family members or a significant store of retirement savings you are willing to risk, you are going to have to do some serious preparation and hard work.  Luckily, there are a number of sources of finance for the Business startup owner, at least one of which may be right for you.

SBA LOANS

Available only to U.S.-based businesses (but if you are outside the US you can look for something that has a similar program), the SBA (the U.S. Small Business Administration) has served a large number of business owners begin their own Business.  The SBA does not issue resources (money you do not have to pay back) or create financial loans straight, rather, it assures financial loans made by personal loan organizations thereby decreasing or removing the danger natural in new organizations and making loan organizations more willing to offer.

The main concern for the SBA is reimbursement ability from the income of the company as well as “good personality, control ability, security and owner’s equity”.  You will be expected to individually assure your mortgage.  This implies your personal belongings are at risk.

As for the types of organizations qualified for SBA financial loans, the SBA enforces the following criteria: the company must be “for-profit” (it only indicates that your company has a revenue reason, not that it has actually produced a revenue yet), ), be engaged in business in the United States, there must be “reasonable” owner equity (what’s reasonable will depend on the circumstances) and you are expected to use alternative financial resources first, including your own personal belongings.

The SBA also enforces restrictions on the use of loan proceeds. For example, although the proceeds can be used for most company requirements (the cases given by the SBA include “the purchase of real estate to house the company operations; development, remodelling or leasehold improvements; getting furniture, furnishings, equipment; buy of inventory; and operating capital”), you cannot use the loan proceeds for financing floor-plan needs, to pay current financial debt, to create expenses to the business owners or to pay past due taxes etc.

As a common concept, loans for working capital must be repaid within seven years and loans for fixed assets must be paid for by the end of the economic life of the assets (but not to exceed 25years).

ANGEL INVESTORS

Angel Investors are good spirits with a healthy sense of self-interest. Determining they can get a higher come back if they are ready to take a bit of a risk, they are also often effective business owners themselves and want to give other a hand up. Think of financing from angel investors as a link or gap-filler between being a start-up and preparing for venture capital.  The kinds of money we’re referring to here are between about$150,000 and $1.5million.  Beyond this point you are in low venture-capital area. The SBA reports that there are around 250,000 angels in the U.S., financing about 30,000 organizations a year.  So, how do you connect with one?  Not a easy task, unfortunately.  It comes down to networking.  Begin by speaking with professional and business associates – they will often know someone who knows someone etc..  However, we at funded.com can help you in this.

VENTURE CAPITAL

You’re in the big teams now.  Usually you are in the ballpark of millions (of money that is) rather than a thousand.  Venture Capital organizations look for their return on investment from capital appreciation rather than interest (unlike banks, for example).  They’re generally looking for a return of 500-1,000% on exit. It will not shock you to learn that vc’s are particularly hesitant of internet-based organizations right about now and not surprising.  It also provides them right.  But if you have a powerful Business Plan and powerful development potential, this could be an option for you longer term.

One of the common issues about this form of financing, however, is that you have a limited control over your business. Venture Capital usually wants to have control on your business, in return for their risk. A venture capitalist will have to seat as a board member, for example. Always remember, that it’s in the vc’s best passions for your company to be successful, so providing up some control in return for outside skills may well be something worth thinking about.

For this, your best bet would be to begin out by analyzing the various loan program provided via the SBA (or your local equivalent).  But do not ignore, close to home sources first.  If you have household resources at your convenience (for example) and you are assured that your business will be effective (and unless you’re assured about that, don’t get into financial debt with *anyone*, let alone household members), better to begin out slowly and convenience into outside sources of financing as your company (and, furthermore, your company’s cashflow) can support it.  After all, Uncle Jack is much more likely to know about the temporary income meltdown than Uncle Sam.

More detailed information and useful advice can be found at www.funded.com Created by Mark Favre, it offers expertise and assistance with developing and funding your concept, including a private forum for queries and discussions. If you need access to investors and funding providers, please do check our website.

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Business Plans Need to Incorporate Best Practices

In a sense, ‘best practices’ is a euphemism for business plans. Developing business plans is critical to success because it is focused on what makes a business successful. The term best practices is tossed about quite a bit, but what does it specifically mean for a business plan?

The business plan best practices means building a convincing case that your company is an excellent proposition that efficiently and effectively serves the market by providing products and services that the market will embrace. The primary way the business case is built is by differentiating the business in some manner. The business plan must leave no doubt as to why the company is selling particular items and how those items will appeal to the target market.

Forward Thinking

To determine the best practices for marketing, the competition must be thoroughly analyzed. The analysis is not just a case of listing competitors selling similar products or services. The competition must be assessed as to what it is doing now to succeed and how it plans on succeeding in the future. In other words, best practices are forward thinking, and the plan preparer does not get mired down by focusing only on the past. In addition, businesses that can easily become competitors need to be considered also.

A best practice in business plan development is to develop a thorough understanding of competitor specifics. Exactly what sets your competitors apart? Each company has something unique about its products, marketing strategies, management, customer service practices, or product and service delivery. You need to understand these differences in detail to position your company correctly.

It can be fatal to underestimate the competition as many businesses have learned. Even seasoned companies like RIM and Blockbuster found themselves struggling to survive because they failed to understand what the competition was offering the niche market. Your goal in the business plan is prove the competition is not addressing a problem you are able to solve, and then develop a strategic marketing plan to implement your particular solution.

Honesty Counts

In addition, best practices in business plans dictates establishing realistic financial goals. A new business will need to make a profit with a couple of years in most cases in order to remain viable. Projecting unreasonable sales or underestimating expenses will be detected by experienced angel investors, banks, venture capitalists and equity funders. There must be evidence or documentation that the business plan marketing and financial goals make sense based on industry performance. You can project sales and expenses for brand new products and services, but they still need to be based on market research.

There are many other best practices that include developing a flexible business plan and analyzing best case/worst case scenarios. Ultimately, the business plan is about honesty – honest descriptions, honest research, honest analysis and honest assumptions.

Browse www.funded.com for more advice about getting your business funded.

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Business Plans and Benchmarking

Benchmarking can be an important concept in business plans. Benchmarking comparisons can be used to compare your business goals to the domestic or foreign competition. The comparisons can show how your business idea is viable in comparison to other successful businesses. The benchmarking can make your business plan more credible and prove that you have identified the best practices for marketing products and services.

The benchmarking process has one ultimate goal which is to evaluate your current competitive position. It is a method for taking your focus on the internal business to the external environment. How does your business fit in the industry? Are you competing locally, nationally or internationally? How have other businesses achieved success, and what will you do the same or differently to achieve excellent performance? If performance gaps are apparent between your business and the competition, what are the plans to close the gap? How will you measure success?

There are different ways to perform benchmarking analysis. You can review the marketing strategies other companies have used to succeed, compare products or services, complete a functional analysis to identify where you are innovative, and so on. In reality, you can benchmark in any way that makes sense for your particular business in terms of market performance.  Business success requires serving a niche market more efficiently and innovatively than the competition. If you don’t understand how successful competitors have performed, then you have no comparative information for competitive assessment.

Benchmarking is an important step in business plans. Before starting the analysis, the first step is to identify the most logical type of benchmarking. From that point on, it’s a matter of research and then identifying the best practices that suit your business.

More detailed information and useful advice can be found at www.funded.com Created by Mark Favre, it offers expertise and assistance with developing and funding your concept, including a private forum for queries and discussions. If you need access to investors and funding providers, please do check our website.

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Spin Out with a Business Plan

Business plans are a bit like tornados. There is a core that is tightly woven and concentrated and from that core there are a number of spin-offs even as the tornado keeps moving. An effective business plan is always concentrated on the ultimate mission, in constant motion, and ready to spin-off whatever is needed for a long-term successful business.

The power of tornadoes has been witnessed by thousands of folks over the last couple of years. They can wreak incredible damage if anyone or anything in its path is not prepared. The business plan can be a powerful tool for business success but can also cause a lot of damage if it is never amended to take into account what blocks its path. For example, a new competitor enters the marketplace and your business fails to respond because it’s not in the business plan.

High quality business plans are never really completed because they need to keep moving with the market, the customers, the competitors and the economy. One of the reasons so many companies failed during the Great Recession was due to inertia. They insisted on doing business according to the business plan that was not updated to accommodate the new economic conditions. There are also thousands of business that have failed or are failing because they did not respond to changing consumer buyer habits.

Right now there is national big box company relying on showroom floors that is struggling to survive in a market where customers have changed from buying computers and equipment locally to buying online. If the company had stay tuned to the marketplace, and revisited and adapted its business plan, there is a good chance that management would have developed alternative selling strategies that improved its competitive position.

The business plan is the core plan and from it you need to spin out changes, market responses, new opportunities and so on. The core of the business plan does not change from its inception, but the details will change with the competitive environment. The business plan should not be like a tornado wreaking savage damage because it refuses to change course. The path should always be well-defined and obstacles removed through strategic planning.

Browse www.funded.com for more advice about getting your business funded.