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NOW ONThe first step that I want to talk to you about, really really quick one but incredibly important, you need to make sure that you have committed yourself to starting this online store and essentially starting a business. This is not something to take lightly. It's going to require potentially some of your funds and your resources. More than anything, it's going to require your time. Like, you're going to need to dedicate hours every day to making this work, and honestly, there's no point doing it if you're not completely sold on the idea. You've gotta want it, and you've gotta be excited to do it because it's gonna be testing it sometimes, you know, an online store isn't a get-rich-quick scheme, and it's going to take a lot of grafting, but it'll be so rewarding and so worth it. But I just want to make sure that the first thing that you've done is thought, 'Yeah, this is what I want to do. I'm committed to this idea.' So if you've done that and you're committed, let's just move on to step two.
So this step is all about finding your name and finding your niche. The reason why I group these two things together is because I think they go hand in hand. So when it comes to finding your niche, that's basically you need to figure out what you want to sell because online stores can be anything. You could be selling loads of toys, or you could be selling clothes. There's so many different things you can sell, and my niche is clothing. But within that niche, I sell bags in one separate boutique, and in the other boutique, I sell swimwear. So I've actually niched down quite a bit. You don't necessarily have to niche down that much, but what you do need is a clear idea on what your store is going to sell. Once you've got that, you can figure out what your name is because sometimes your name will be influenced by what you're selling. This part is actually really exciting, but also quite hard. And if you're struggling to come up with a business name, then check out this link to my video, which, as I'm saying, I'm like, I don't know if I'm gonna upload that video first or this one first. Either way, at some point, there will be a video from me talking about how I found my brand names and how you guys can find your brand name. So I recommend giving that a watch if you're struggling.
The reason why I put this step so high up is because one of the key things that you're going to need to do in the early stages of forming your business is check if your business name is available. So that doesn't just mean on your, you know, in England, it's .gov and it does that. That doesn't just mean, you know, checking to see if another business has your name, but you also want to check to see if your domain name's available. Because, you know, coming from experience, a lot of them are taken. And I recommend using a site like GoDaddy for that, and I'll link below if you've not used it before. But you need to make sure that your domain name's available, and then you also need to make sure that your name's available on Instagram or some kind of variation of your name. So for example, Lilo London, my swimwear boutique, not available on Instagram. Lilo London Swim is available on Instagram. And if you want to have a YouTube channel associated with your brand, if you want to have a Twitter page, like, all of these things are different channels that you need to make sure that you are able to set up or a variation of your name that makes sense so that when it comes to you forming all these pages, you're able to do it. You know, you don't suddenly need to change your name further down the line, which I've actually had to do before and it's not fun.
Okay, so next step. Also a bit of a boring step, but important. It's all the legal stuff. Sorry, I've... What's wrong with my eyes? If you see me just doing this, just mind your business. And the legal stuff is boring but incredibly important and it's going to be different depending on where you are. Like, even in America, it's going to be different depending on which state you're in. And I recommend doing some research, asking some people who know a thing or two about accounting, finance, and business structures. Because there's a few different options. Like, you can be a sole trader. I think in the US, that's called sole proprietor. You could be a limited company. You could be, you know, in partnership with someone. There's a bunch of different things you can do and each different setup requires different paperwork and different accounts. So, it's really important that you educate yourself on that decision and you make a really clear decision on that. I once started a business a few years ago when I was really young. I did not make the right decision. I didn't file the correct paperwork. I had, I got fined. It was a nightmare. I'll link to that video above so you can learn from some of my mistakes. But yeah, that's one of the third thing you want to do is register your company and set yourself up legally.
The next thing you want to do is get your finances in order. This is something you want to do regardless whether you've got business or not. You've always got to get your money in order. But when you're starting a business, it depends on who you are and what your financial situation is. But a lot of people fund their business or their online store with their own money. That's what I did and a bit of my boyfriend's money. And what you need to do is figure out how much money you need in order to get your business up and running. I have a spreadsheet that I used and I'm going to be selling on a lot of my spreadsheets and a general guide on how to start your business a bit further down the line. I'll put a link below so that you can register on my website to be the first to know once that's available. But I basically use a spreadsheet to figure out, 'All right, what is everything that I need to buy in order to launch? How much is that going to cost me? What are my continuing running costs?' And that helped me figure out, 'Okay, I need X amount of money to get this off the ground. Online stores aren't cheap. They're not the cheapest business or side hustle that you can start. But if you're clever and there's ways you can do it, if you're starting a clothing boutique, I recommend checking out this video that I recorded, which is basically all about how you can start an online clothing boutique with very little money. And, you know, unless you've got loads of money you just want to throw your money at it, in which case, you know, have a strategy in place but go for it.
Okay, so the next step is the shipping. I kind of alluded to this in the previous step. Um, I feel really high for today. (laughs) It's so... shipping. There's a bunch of different things you can do in this realm. Um, I, for example... For Lila London, I ship in just plain white boxes, which already come with, like, a seal so that I can really quickly ship all my bags, seal them, done. I don't have to mess around with tape and all that stuff because that gets messy and it's long and, you know... I pay a little bit more for those boxes, but, in my opinion, they're worth it. Um, and I have different size boxes so that I can fulfill different size orders, like one bag versus someone who wants to buy five bags. On the other hand, for Lila London, I have... compostable mailers, which are basically more environmentally friendly, and poly mailers, so I use those for Lila London because I sell swimwear, and... you know, if you're only buying one bikini, you don't need a whole box. But then, oh, I also use boxes as well because, you know, sometimes people buy, like, five or six bikinis. Shout out to you people who are buying five or six bikinis, because I love you guys. Um, and I can fit them all in a box. I wrap them in tissue paper, I put a nice customized sticker on it. For Lila London, I've got, like, tape... show what's ... tape there. I'm gonna go get it. Hold on.
Okay so the next thing you're going to want to do is set up your website. I use Shopify. I always recommend Shopify. I've tried others in the past, and whilst they might be good and really work well for some people, I find for e-commerce and online stores, Shopify is the best. Being biased, but you know that's what you're watching this channel for, for my opinion, right? I mean, I hope so. I recommend Shopify. It's super super easy to use. Have a play on it. It's fairly cost-effective and it's about, I think it's about 25 a month or maybe that's 25 pounds a month. It's more like 28 a month. So it's not the cheapest one out there, but in my opinion, it's completely worth it. So yeah, set up your website. And I will put a link to someone else's video talking about how to do that for the time being, just so you guys don't have to wait for me to do mine, and then I'll swap it out once mine's done.
Final step, and this is, I'm going to say, this is the most important step for me because I work in marketing. So I'm incredibly biased, but it is an incredibly important step. It is marketing your business. And I've purposely called it marketing because marketing is all-encompassing. Marketing includes your social media strategy. It includes your brand positioning. It includes your look and feel. It includes your logo. It includes so many different elements. And sometimes people make the mistake of just saying, 'Okay, you've got to do all these other steps. You know, you're financing, you're website, and then you've got to do branding.' And that's it. And that's not the case. That's just one part of the very big marketing pie. So I'm going to have to do a separate video on this. I know you're going to hate me, but I'm going to have to do a video on this because there's so much stuff to cover. But I'm going to quickly give you a whistle-stop tour. That's a hard phrase. Oh God, I don't want to use that again. And on the main things that you need to be considering before you launch. First thing, social media. Hopefully, if you listened and you've done step number two or three about finding your name, you would already have found your name and registered on a bunch of different social media sites so that no one else has a chance to steal your name. So hopefully, you've got your Instagram set up, your Twitter, whatever else you're going to use. I recommend starting posting on these channels as soon as possible. I don't care if you don't have your products yet. It's not a problem. Use it as an inspo page. So, you know those Instagram pages that just basically repost other people's content? Use it as an inspo page and repost content which is going to be similar or related to the product that you're going to be selling. It is never
Q: What is the first step in starting an online store?
A: The first step is to commit yourself to starting the online store and essentially starting a business.
Q: Why is finding your niche and business name important?
A: Finding your niche and business name is important because it helps you identify what you want to sell and how you want to be recognized in the market.
Q: Why is checking business name availability crucial?
A: Checking business name availability is important to ensure that the chosen business name is not already in use and that the domain name and social media handles are also available.
Q: What legal requirements should be handled when starting an online store?
A: Legal requirements such as registering the company and setting up the business structure need to be addressed when starting an online store.
Q: How important is planning your finances when starting an online store?
A: Planning your finances is crucial as it helps determine the initial investment needed, ongoing running costs, and how the business will be funded.
Q: How do you select products and manage inventory for an online store?
A: Select products based on your niche and manage inventory efficiently to ensure smooth shipping processes and customer satisfaction.
Q: What platform is recommended for setting up an online store website?
A: Shopify is recommended as a user-friendly and effective platform for setting up an online store website.
Q: Why is marketing your online store essential?
A: Marketing your online store is crucial for creating brand awareness, attracting customers, and driving sales. It encompasses various aspects like social media, branding, and positioning.