Checklist for starting an Online Business

Have a Business Plan

- Define your niche market. - Develop your business identity. - Write brief mission statement. - Have a reliable source for your product- manufacturers/suppliers. - Have a reliable source to deliver your product- direct delivery or drop-shippers.

Address your Web Logistics

- Choose a web hosting provider. - Address costs, liability and your plan on how to handle service interruptions, denial of service, or risks associated with the products and/or services you offer. - Designing your e-commerce site: Will you contract a web designer and/or graphic designer? - Address web-marketing & Search Engine Optimization for your website and products - How will you ensuring that your clients find you on the web?

Address your Business Logistics

- Establish your phone & fax service. - Establish PayPal/Google checkout accounts or a merchant account (direct credit card processing)? - Create your business procedures, fees and dispute mechanisms. - Information Security: Determine what services are offered/needed to establish security for payments and/or the personal information of your customers/site users. - Contract with a preferred shipper: set up shipping provider accounts; establish fixed & discount shipping rates. - Purchase shipping supplies. - Contract with suppliers/vendors.

Legal Issues

Create the Terms & Conditions of Use for your website: - Consider disclaimers & limitations of liability. - What state's laws will apply? How and where will disputes be litigated? - How will you require customers/users to read these Terms & Conditions and make them legally binding? Warranties/liability for products, services, content: - charge backs, consumer disputes, procedures for returns - responsibility for shipping and handling costs - Liability for 3rd party content (product descriptions, endorsements, comments) - Liability and use of copyrighted materials/trademarks- Will you monitor copyright issues and complaints? Safeguarding Privacy: - Establish procedures for safeguarding certain non-personal information. - Determine marketing practices: Will you sell website user information? - Certain industries and certain information require privacy notices. - Ensure compliance with applicable Federal and state laws (particularly if kids under 13yrs use your site).

When do you need a Merchant Account?

When it comes to e-commerce, businesses large and small require a method that allows them to collect and process credit card payments.  If this sounds like your business, then you need a payment gateway which is generally provided by a merchant account.  Finding a merchant account provider can be somewhat of a challenge yet anything can be overcome when doing a little research.

How Much Will it Cost?

For the most part, merchant account providers will charge you a fixed rate per month along with a certain percentage for each sale.  Keep in mind that there may be other fees as well.  When dealing with a reputable provider, these fees will be for maintaining your shopping cart, verifying customers, processing monthly statement, etc.   Having a merchant account is vital in the realm of e-commerce as most consumers today prefer to shop online with their credit cards.  If you can’t accept this form of payment, you may as well not even open up a storefront.

How Can I Get One?

When searching for a merchant account, you will find that most providers are pretty reasonably priced.  The catch is that you must qualify.  Some of the qualifications for a merchant account include background checks, credit checks and proof that you are actually running a legitimate business.  Additionally, some will require that you commit to their service for a certain amount of time and charge cancellation fees for breaching the contract.  Others do not have stipulations and will allow you to part ways at any given time without taxing on fees.  This is why it is very important to look into a particular merchant account provider before deciding on a service.   As with most web-related processes, it is best to find a company that is in good standings and has been in the industry for a while.  This gives you better assurance that the provider will be around and won’t cause you to miss out on crucial sales.

What Should I Look For?

When comparing merchant account providers, don’t hesitate to grill them with hard questions.  One thing you definitely want to known is the estimated time frame for depositing funds into your account following a sale.  Retail sales generally do not take long to process, therefore, there is no need to wait an ungodly amount of time for your money.  You should look over the merchant account contract with a fine-tooth comb because the sooner you get paid, the better.  Always keep your eyes peeled for all the standard charges such as monthly fees, setup fees and cancellation fees if they apply.  You also want to look for any hidden fees that might deduct from your bottom line.  After all the fees have been tallied, you should then calculate the overall cost of service to find out if this solution actually works for your business.

A merchant account is a vital tool in the world of e-commerce and when signing up with the right service, you will find that it can save you noteworthy fees in comparison to a service like PayPal.   The key is finding a reliable provider that is going to be around and won’t try to nickel and dime you to death.

How to Build an Online Dropship Store With Products

Starting an online drop-ship store with products involves several key steps. Most drop-shippers sell to small retail or wholesale customers, or to people who own online stores. These retail, wholesale or Internet businesses use drop-shippers so they can purchase items in low quantities. They also may need you to ship products for them. You will need to find your own wholesale or manufacturer supplier for your online drop-ship store.

Step 1

Create a name for your online drop-ship business. Register your business name as a DBA (doing business as) through your city or county administration office, according to Business.gov.

Step 2

Decide what types of products you want to sell and drop-ship online.

Step 3

Search the NAW (National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors) website at Naw.org. Call and ask the NAW if they can supply a list of wholesale suppliers that sell the products you want. The Thomas Register of American Manufacturers lists potential manufacture suppliers.

Step 4

Call several wholesale and manufacturer suppliers. Find out which one sells the products you need. Make sure your wholesaler or manufacturer also offers drop-shipping so you can order small quantities if necessary. Select the wholesaler or manufacturer supplier that offers you the lowest unit cost, as you will need to buy products inexpensively as a wholesaler.

Step 5

Obtain a merchant account through your bank so you are able to accept credit card orders.

Step 6

Create your website by using online store-building software. Obtain pictures of the products from your wholesale or manufacturer supplier. Order samples of the products if the wholesaler does not supply pictures. Take a picture of the products and post them on your website. Follow the format of the software in setting up the descriptions and prices of your products. Add a shopping cart for customers to check out when they are finished shopping. Add a button for customers to purchase by credit card. Include an "About" page that describes the benefits of buying products from your company. Create a "Contact" page on your site with your business name, address, phone number and email address.

Step 7

Create a URL (uniform resource locator) or website address for you online store. Determine whether that address or domain name is available by visiting domain registration websites. Register your domain name.

Step 8

Find an ISP (Internet service provider) or someone to host your website. Note that some providers also offer web hosting.

Step 9

Follow the instructions of your web host in getting your website live on the Internet.

Step 10

Submit your website to various search engines. Find a search engine optimizer through a web design firm or Internet consultant. Use your search engine optimizer to achieve a first-page ranking in search engines when people search for your products.

Step 11

Order products from your supplier when people place orders through you. Pay your supplier only your wholesale cost. Keep the rest of the money as profit.

Step 12

Ship the products out for your customers.