The “shopping cart” is a staple feature of almost any site builder these days, and yet even in that knowledge we find ourselves impressed by the professionalism and business-like appearance of some of the websites we see selling items from an appealingly long list and offering a range of payment methods through a dedicated portal.
Anybody setting up a small business in retail ought to be mindful of the opportunities provided by this wonderful facility. With the minimum of knowledge of how to create a website – uploading photos and placing them, etc. – you could be running your own valid enterprise by this time tomorrow. It really can be that simple, although some general business acumen applied in the cause of looking after the company’s housekeeping is always welcome.
Never Be Afraid to Interact with Your Clients
A useful addition to any online shopping resource is some form of blog or community through which to interact with your customers – and to encourage them to interact with one another. If the service you are providing is a good one then others will be happy to reflect upon that fact and to spread the word on your behalf. Click here to see an example of a simple shopping cart and small business website in action.
The real beauty inherent in creating your own online shopping center is that you don’t actually have to store any of the products that you sell. Yes you read that correctly – despite the fact that you sell an impressive range of merchandise and supply it to order you are only actually the person in the middle, receiving the order for the client for whom you are an affiliate and passing it electronically to them to process. Your payment is a commission on the order paid by the real supplier. Simple as that.
The Magical World of Drop Shipping
This concept is known as drop shipping and in effect it establishes you, the entrepreneur, as an agent of distribution for a much bigger and more established supplier. You advertise that supplier’s products as though they were your own and, once the order is placed, you sit back and allow the supplier to provide the goods to the customer. Your role is merely as an agent who at first advertises the wares and in closing facilitates the transaction.
Because this is an operation which can be performed entirely remotely this method provides an ideal business opportunity for any budding business person operating from their own home. Without the holding of any stock it can quite literally be organized by a man or a woman with a laptop operating out of their rented bedsit. Nothing else is needed other than your own boundless enthusiasm.
There are a whole load of suppliers out there looking for affiliates and your role is simply to sign up with them and to trade the goods on their page as though they were your own.
