Many working professionals lost their job during this COVID-19 pandemic. Many had to go through furloughs announced by their companies after the lockdown was imposed.
Many of them and several aspiring entrepreneurs looking to quit their 9 to 5 desk job and start something of their own have a golden opportunity now. This is an ideal time to start an online business and gradually scale it up as residents in the UK will be apprehensive about stepping out, especially after the new strain of this virus was detected in the UK.
Many direct lenders are present online in the UK who are offering loans for unemployed to many such budding entrepreneurs. These are no guarantor unsecured loans given to borrowers without letting them pledge any of their assets as collateral.
Also, these loans come with an instant decision which means that the loan approval/rejection decision is given on the same day it is applied for. The loan amount is transferred to the borrower’s bank account minutes after it is approved.
There are many considerations before starting an online business which is discussed in this blog. Here it goes:
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Decide Your Niche
It is essential from the online business perspective as there would be many competitors who will continuously give you sleepless nights.
Thus, it becomes pertinent to agree upon your niche to safeguard yourself from ever-increasing intense competition. Even if you are serving a very small market with few buyers, there should be no other online business catering to your audience with similar products and services. This will ensure healthy margins for your online business.
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Market Research
This is another prime component before starting your online business as it tells you what to do and what to avoid differentiating yourself from your competitors. You can hire an independent market research agency to do it for you to get better insights and results about the industry and your target segment.
You should know what your audience wants from you, where the existing players are failing, and what you can do differently concerning customer service or policies. Market research is of utmost importance before entering a new territory or starting a new business.
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Employ Technology
Don’t just focus on employing people, and instead, you should also emphasize employing the right talent. The right technology is a one-time investment initially but goes a long way in saving operational costs for your online business.
Be it automated order placing or contactless payment, or online ordering and delivery tracking, you should have everything to provide ease to your customers.
As an entrepreneur, you can apply for guaranteed acceptance loans offered by direct lenders to spend on the latest technology.
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Marketing & Advertising
No matter how good your online business is or how fantastic your services are, it is useless unless the customers know about it.
You should make a conscious effort to spend on both forms of marketing, i.e. online and offline promotions and advertising, to let more people know about your business and its value offering.
You need to have a social media presence and a dedicated team of professional posting frequent and relevant content on it. You should also print pamphlets and do conventional marketing to spread awareness about your business.
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Customer Service
You and all your employees should strive to provide world-class customer service to your customers to make them your loyal customers.
First, there are two advantages of doing that first: these customers will come to you only and thus more sales, upselling and cross-selling opportunity for you. The second advantage is that they will get more customers for you via word of mouth marketing and therefore, more business.
Thus, start treating your customers as if they are god and try to resolve their queries and grievances quickly.
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Website/App
An online business is as good as its website or its app, which will be used by the customers to view their products and services and also book appointment or place order online.
Thus, hire the best web developer to design your website and application as it is usually the first step where a customer interacts with you. They say the first impression is the last impression, and this is your chance to impress the website visitors and potential customers.
Your app and website must be user-friendly, compatible with all operating systems (iOS, Android, Windows). Above all, it should be mobile friendly as most users will access it using their smartphones.
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Warehouse Location
This is one area where you can trim operational cost and also reduce delivery time if done correctly. You need to find a strategically important location which is in proximity to where your customers are. And even if that place is somewhat away from the main road, its rent would also be less than a commercial complex.
Choose this place even more wisely if dealing with perishable products that come with a limited life. Think from your vendors and suppliers perspective before taking the business decision of finalizing the warehouse location.
If the rent of the warehouse being leased is higher, then, the business owner can apply for the loans from direct lenders.
