The advantages of an e-commerce business over traditional retail businesses

People who want to start a retail business have a choice between traditional retail and e-commerce. Traditional retail means having a physical store, actual products on hand, stocks of those products, staffing, and logistics. E-commerce, on the other hand, allows entrepreneurs to do everything behind their work desk. This includes creating their very own website, doing marketing, buying and shipping products, and setting up a payment scheme. For entrepreneurs who haven’t made up their minds yet, here are some advantages e-commerce has over traditional retail.

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Cost effective

Retail stores cost a lot of money. You have rent, employee salaries, utilities, taxes, and possible bank loans. You can eliminate most of these by doing everything online. Even if you hire people for your operations, you can still cut costs by letting your staff work from home. All they need is good internet connection.

Seamless transactions

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E-commerce allows you to make transactions without ever having to talk to a customer in person or even touching the products you are selling. At the same time, customer feedback can be achieved through chat boxes or emails. Although it may seem impersonal, communicating online is still effective.

Ease of use

Because there are websites that help you make your own webpage, starting your very own e-commerce business is a breeze. Some e-commerce websites even let you host your store on their own domain, making setting up shop much easier. In fact, they even let you use their payment systems, which allow you to start selling and profiting on day one.

Founded in July 2001 by Brian Dougherty and his wife, Jenny, Dougherty Marketing offers mentorship and training services to people who aim to improve their entrepreneurial and leadership skills. The company has already helped hundreds of groups and individuals in starting their business and achieving success. Visit this website to learn more about the company.

How to market your very first business

No matter how life changing your services or products are, letting the world know of their existence and availability is the work of marketing. Corporations spend billions on marketing each year trying to outdo each other with onsite advertisements, events, promotions, commercials, and every other marketing tool known to man. Depending on how you market your business, your endeavor can fail or become a booming success. If you are just starting your first business and don’t know a thing about marketing, here are some tips to help you out.

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Digital marketing is the best tool for a nascent business. Currently, the best digital marketing tool is social media. Having a social media account on Facebook gives people easy access to your company’s basics; a list of products and services, the location of the office or store, work hours, phone numbers, and so on.

Inasmuch as you can cram considerable information about your business on a Facebook page, social media apps are also a direct line to potential customers. Through the built-in messenger systems, one can easily interact with your brand and you can respond just as quickly.

Since everyone is on Facebook or Instagram, paying for targeted ads could reach many potential clients. Their algorithms ensure that the right demographics in a specific area see your ads. And these ads don’t cost as much as other marketing efforts like radio commercials or print ads on newspapers.

For Brian Dougherty, people who want to start a business should be prepared to fight an uphill battle. This is why he, together with his wife, Jenny, started Dougherty Marketing, a company that offers entrepreneurial mentorship and training. To learn more about the company, visit their website.

Some Tips for Launching a Successful Home-Based Business

There are two common misconceptions about home-based businesses: it is uncommon, and it is not a “real” business. Numbers say otherwise, though.  

 

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In the U.S. alone, there are nearly 40 million home-based entrepreneurs who either work from home or sell online.  And surveys show that these businesses generate big bucks and have long-term potential – the sector has a total annual revenue of $427 billion and 70 percent of them are successful within three years of establishment.

Those who plan on starting a home-based business should follow these tips to increase the likelihood of achieving success:

· Be organized. Running an own business without a supervisor can sometimes result in a lack of planning or procrastination – especially with many hindrances or distractions at home. Creating a long- and short-term plan (and following it) and structuring daily tasks are necessary to keep the business running smoothly.

· Look for free or low-cost services. Use services that are not financially crippling to reduce expenses. For example, there are accounting and productivity apps that can be downloaded for free.

· Prioritize marketing. While cost-cutting is essential in home-based businesses, an area that should be allotted with significant resources is marketing. A quality marketing campaign can result to a wider customer base and increased revenues.

 

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Brian Dougherty and his wife, Jenny, find joy in helping other people attain success. Through their company, Dougherty Marketing, they train their clients to develop and grow the successful business they wish to have, including more than 6,000 people who have started their home-based business. Learn more about the couple and their firm here.

How Entrepreneurship Brings Freedom

Independence. It is one of the major reasons many people dive into the world of entrepreneurship. Some forms of control and flexibility can only be experienced by business owners, which is corroborated by a poll by TD Bank wherein 96 percent of respondents agree that freedom is the best part of running a business.

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Some of these freedoms, other than the all-important financial freedom that helps motivate entrepreneurs to become strong leaders and successful in their endeavors, are the following:

Work freedom

Those yearning to escape the monotonous life inside the four walls of their office get another option to earn a living via entrepreneurship. It offers a choice wherein one calls the shots and “be his own boss,” determining the tasks he needs to work on.

Lifestyle freedom

For some people, they have no other choice but to build their life around their job. When one is an entrepreneur, there will be more freedom to decide on where to live, what car to drive, where and when to vacation, and other lifestyle choices.

Time freedom

One of the downsides of working in a corporate setting that certain people frown upon is the daily 9-to-5 schedule. There is a need to get up early, endure rush hour traffic, and have recreational activities be contingent on free time from work.

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Brian Dougherty worked formerly in the corporate world as a telephone service technician for a couple of years, but established his own business after discovering it allowed him to be in control of his own time and finances. With his wife, Jenny, he manages Dougherty Marketing, which has helped many entrepreneurs attain success. Visit this website for more details.