In this digital era, everyone wants to feel independent and financially secure. From housewives to students, everyone is having the great idea to build an eCommerce empire which gives them the freedom and flexibility to work and enable them to work on something they truly enjoy. Creating and sustaining an eCommerce business is more than just becoming rich. It is a way to pursue your passion and fulfill your dreams while contributing to the society. These days, starting an eCommerce business has become a cakewalk, provided you know how to pull all the right strings.
However, many people step back because they think that eCommerce business needs huge investments! If you are one of them, then you have been the target of the biggest myth! You can start your eCommerce business (store) with ZERO investment! Yes, absolutely zero investment. Note that basic costs such as office space, computer/ mobile, and the internet are not included as you would already be paying for it (or you can even run it from CCD or StarBucks!!). I have explained below the steps for eCommerce business journey:
PRODUCT IDEA/ PRODUCT LINE:
Sell routine and ever-in-demand products like electronics, home appliances, fashion wear, gifts, flowers, chocolates or some offbeat products like handmade craftworks, painting, hobby products or a product which are available for a low rate in the local market, but can be sold for a higher price in other markets. Your product will NEVER be perfect. Focus on finding people who want it and then you can evolve your product to be better over time. Think about the first generation Nokia 1100 vs the current iPhone 6s! No product is 100% perfect.
CREATING AN ECOMMERCE STORE
Orchidkart provides fully featured eCommerce store for free. Yes, absolutely free. No setup fees, no hidden charges. Nothing, they just charge 2% as service fees on completed orders, whenever the sale occurs in your eCommerce store. Isn’t it great? only 2%, when other marketplaces are charging up to 30%.
BUILDING CUSTOMER BASE AND PRODUCT PROMOTION
Too many people spend too many hours scouring social media and online marketplaces, doing market research and wondering if people will buy the product they want to sell. Well starting the online business with zero investment helps in removing the financial risk and boost the online business journey.
Word of mouth, use of your free SMS packs, email, WhatsApp – can all be used to spread the word about your eCommerce store! Once launched an eCommerce store, update prospective customers about the products in your eCommerce store. There are several ways of promoting your products online for free! Social platforms such as Google+, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc are the simplest places where you can post a picture of your product and leave your contact or you can also post in the classifieds like Quikr, OLX, Craigslist, etc. or you can start with mailers.
Understanding your target market and planning your product promotion accordingly can give your eCommerce business a head start. You may even start making money sooner than you had expected. All you need to do is display your products that you have to offer in a way that attracts your target audience and generate enough interest.
COLLECTING MONEY ONLINE
Asking people to do transfer money via net transfer or requesting them to do the cash deposit is old school method and dull idea, plus, many customers doesn’t like this and may stop purchasing from you. Payment gateway charges higher TDR fees from the retail customers, however, CitrusPay (India’s one of the most loved payment gateway) has reduced their fees and collecting only 2% TDR from the Orchidkart free eCommerce store owners.
ORDER PROCESSING AND SHIPMENT PARTNER
You don’t need to create the invoice, shipping label on your own in excel/word or write it manually in illegible fonts. Orchidkart has taken care of the same, for every order, Orchidkart will generate the shipping label and invoice on its own. {Even you don’t need to pay for sending the order confirmation emails/ texts. Everything is been done by Orchidkart. Every month, Orchidkart refills your account with 10,000 text message and 25,000 emails for running your eCommerce store. Yes, this is also available in the free eCommerce store} * limited period offer only.
Pack the order well, affix the shipping label to the final package and ship it with your preferred shipping partner. You can either choose the local courier guy/ speed post or can avail the Orchidkart’s shipment service. If you choose, Orchidkart as your shipping partner then one of the representatives will come to your location, pick up the parcel and deliver it to your customer’s doorstep. Thinking about the cash on delivery service, yes, Orchidkart provide that too.
That’s it! You need to create your free eCommerce store, list your products and start selling online with ZERO investment. Still, have questions about other things or did I miss out anything, drop me a message and I will be glad to help.
