Quirky Bird Blog

Things are tough. The economy is in the can. Getting a loan is near impossible. So can you start your own business? Yes, you can. We’ve compiled some tips to provide a few options so you can live the dream and start your own business.

Keep your costs low

Services
What can you do that has low overhead? Offering a service is one of the lowest cost businesses you could kick up. It’s not as easy to make stick though, and you may have a hard time finding clients with things being tough. Unnecessary services definitely get cut when times are hard. Your biggest cost would probably be your website and advertising. Most costs you can pass off onto your client, until you need to hire help.

Retail E-commerce

If you’re really dreaming of opening a retail store, you have a lot of options but your overhead is going to be higher. You’ll need a website and a budget for advertising, but also you’ll also need to purchase products. The good news though is that you don’t have to buy ALL of your products to open!

For those of you that don’t know about it, there is a common practice out between manufacturers and retailers called Dropshipping. You become the middle man between the manufacturer and customer. The customer buys from you, you purchase from the manufacturer, and the manufacturer ships directly to the customer. You will probably receive a lower percentage off compared to wholesalers that purchase in bulk. Some Dropshippers will still require you to make an initial purchase, but most won’t.

One downside of Dropshipping is that there is little or no quality control. This is especially an important thought to note if you’re selling handmade goods from a small manufacturer. When the sample is sent to you, it’ll be perfect, it’s a sample after all. There’s no way to approve what the Dropshipper sends to your many customers though. They may even sneak some of their marketing material into the packaging to try to drive the customer back to their own website rather than yours. This, I should add, isn’t all Dropshippers. You may have a friend be your secret shopper to help keep the control and make sure the packages our are meeting your specs and requirements.

Wholesale/Manufacturer E-commerce

For those of you that have a great idea and want to start production on it, this section’s for you. You’ve got the idea, now you have to get it going. If you’re hand making goods, this is pretty simple. You may think, holy cow…how am I going to make enough to have in stock? Where will I put it all?! The answer is, just get enough materials for a handful of each style of product and make one of each style. Take a phenomenal photo of it and get it on your site. When someone buys, make it to order. This will keep your time, space, and material cost down.

Now, if you need to go into factory manufacturing, that is pretty heavy stuff. It’s going to be very hard to keep your costs low unless you’re able to purchase large batches at a time. It’s definitely the most expensive of options in opening an online business.

Getting quality traffic to your site

Again, as we all know, times are rough. So you’ve figured out how to start your business, now you have to get people to your site.

Carry brands that are popular. Now, I don’t mean popular like you’d find in a department store. Do some research if you haven’t already on some online stores that have interesting brands, but brands that you see in other stores. Keep in mind though, normal joe’s aren’t out buying items over $100 that they don’t need. Just use that good sense that your mom set you up with and choose interesting, known brands that offer reasonable pricing for average people. Then offer incentives. Free shipping. Coupon codes. Buy one get one. People google for the items they want plus free shipping, or sale, those kinds of tag words. Use that to your advantage.

You can live the dream, even though the economy smells like an old shoe. Just be smart, be aggressive, and make good choices and you’ll come out the end of this smelling like roses.

So it happens that many women, upon having their bambinos, have a giant shift in their perception and decide that corporate life isn’t for them anymore. The want to stay home leads the go getter to think, I should start a business, and what better than an online boutique? It’s something we come across more and more often and we can relate. Staci lived the story herself.

Boutique web design is near and dear to our hearts here at Quirky Bird. We pride ourselves in having an edge on other designers with our practical knowledge on owning and running an boutique online. We understand how to help you streamline and organize your boutique, the best shipping options, all about wholesaling, getting marketing through coupons and sales and so much more.

So are you looking for a new job? There is so much that you can do to be successful owning a boutique online. Find a good niche for products. Brand yourself well. Choose a good, smart domain name and register it as soon as you can. That’s just the start. Being an entrepreneur is fun and exciting, it’s full of joy and sense of accomplishment. It’s something to be proud of. It’s not easy and it’s not passive income, it’s a lot of work but you get out what you put in. If you want a successful boutique online, you have to put in the time…if you build it they don’t just come. We’re here to help give you all of the tools and knowledge that you need to be a success, we’re happy to share it with you.

Our boutique web design package is designed for you. You get anything and everything you need to get up and out the door, all wrapped up in a package price with no hidden fees. We’re excited that you’re ready to start your journey as an entreprenuer or take your online boutique to the next level, and we’re even more excited that you’re considering us for your web design!