How to start

an ecommerce
business:

The definitive
guide
Contents
Introduction 3

Step 1- Choose a sales platform 5

Step 2 - Choose a fulfilment method 8

Step 3 - Identify product market fit 12

Step 4 - Choose a product sourcing method 18

Step 5 - Set up your website or sales channel 23

Step 6 - Market your business 30

2
Learning how to start
an ecommerce business
from scratch can be
incredibly overwhelming.
If you’re thinking about starting an ecommerce
business, you probably have tons of questions like:

• “What products should Isell?”

• “How should Isource them?”
• “Should Isell through a website or online
marketplace?”
• “How can Iget my first sales?”

If that’s not enough to worry about, starting an

ecommerce business also carries risk. For example,
how can you be sure that your time and money is
invested well? Which type of ecommerce business
model should you invest in? Read on to find out.

I myself started my journey by joining DIGITAL

DUKANDAAR coaching,their online coaching at
the comfort of my home not only solved my
queries live but also boosted my confidence to
launch my own store.I am adding their link here
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What is an
ecommerce business?
Ecommerce businesses — also known as Reasons customers like to shop online
eCommerce, e-commerce, or internet commerce
Ability to
businesses — sell any type of products and shop 24/7
services on the internet. However, the term Ability to
compare prices
'ecommerce' is most commonly used to describe
the buying and selling of physical products on the Online sales/
better prices
internet. Ecommerce businesses have boomed
To save time
in the last 2 decades, and the global COVID-19
pandemic accelerated the widespread adoption Convenience of not
going to shops
of ecommerce by an estimated 5 years.
Greater variety
/selection
So, why is ecommerce such a thriving industry? Free shipping offers
The graph to the right illustrates the reasons
consumers like to shop online. Convenience of
everything in one place

To locate hard
As you can see, ecommerce allows consumers to to find items
enjoy 24/7 shopping, compare prices, and save To avoid crowds
time. So, how can you get in on the action? Key:
Products are not sold in
my city country Convenience
Here are 6 steps to starting an ecommerce
To avoid check out lines Ease of selection
business from scratch in 2021.
Free shipping
Price-related
Push from offline
Graph source: Global Online Consumer Report, KPMG International, 2017
Only option to buy
4
Step one

Choose a First things first: There are

two main types of ecommerce
businesses that you can start.
sales platform You can:

1. Sell through an online

marketplace

2. Build your own ecommerce

business website

Let’s take a quick look at

each option.
Option 1: Online
marketplaces
There are many ecommerce marketplaces that
you can use to start an ecommerce business.If
you’re wondering where to start, Tmall is the most
popular business-to-consumer (B2C) marketplace
in the East, and Amazon is the dominant B2C
marketplace in the West. You could also sell
through a business-to-business (B2B) marketplace
like Alibaba or IndiaMART, or a consumer-to-
consumer (C2C) marketplace like TaoBao or eBay.

The key advantage of selling through an existing

ecommerce marketplace is the platforms’ existing However, there are 2 main drawbacks to
customer base. In other words, you can expose ecommerce marketplaces:
your products to shoppers quickly and easily.
• Marketplaces aren’t free. Most marketplaces
charge a monthly fee to use the site and
additional costs for each item sold through
the platform.

• It can be challenging to develop substantial

brand equity and differentiate your products
from other sellers. Consequently, it’s common
to experience price wars that result in a ‘race-
Image source - Ecommerce Business Platform: Tmall to-the-bottom.’
6
Option 2: Ecommerce
business websites
The other way to start an ecommerce business is
to build your own ecommerce website. Most
ecommerce business owners who choose this
route opt to use a software-as-a-service platform.

For example, Shopify is a global ecommerce

business platform popular in the West, and
Shopline (below) is an ecommerce business
platform that caters to the Asian ecommerce ecommerce business often choose to work
market. Those with money to invest in a new with an agency to help establish an online
store and an effective marketing strategy.
For example, Wave Commerce is an agency
and Shopify Partner that helps ecommerce
business owners in Asia accelerate their
growth.

Building an ecommerce store allows you to

develop brand equity and avoid price wars
with competitors. It also allows you to avoid
the fees that most marketplaces charge. Still,
if you decide to go this route, you’ll need to
invest in sales and marketing more.
Image source - Ecommerce Business Platform: Shopline

7
Step two

Choose a There are 3 main fulfilment

methods to deliver
your products to customers:
fulfilment 1. Fulfil orders yourself

method 2. Dropship

3. Use a third-party service

Let’s take a quick look at

each option.
Option 1: Fulfil
orders yourself

Depending on your budget, it may make sense to

fulfil orders yourself and then hire people to help
as your ecommerce business grows.

This method is suited to small boutiques, people

selling small batches of custom products, and
those selling through C2C platforms like TaoBao
and eBay. This method has a very low barrier-to-
entry, but it’s extremely challenging to scale.

“Depending on your budget, it may

make sense to fulfil orders yourself”

Image source - Ecommerce Business fulfilment Services: eBay

9
Option 2: Dropship
Dropshipping is a hands-off method that you can
use to source products and fulfil orders.

Here’s how it works: First, you would partner with

a supplier and list their products online for sale. 1. 2.
C ustomer places an Forward the order to
You would then focus your efforts on marketing order and pays you your supplier and pay
and sales. Whenever a customer places an order, retail price ($200) wholesale ($150)

the supplier will be notified and will ship the order

to your customer — taking a cut of the money in
the process.

The image to the right illustrates the

dropshipping ecommerce business model.
Customer Supplier
This type of ecommerce business model
allows sellers to avoid logistics and fulfilment Your store
entirely. However, there are very few options for You keep $50 profit

customisation and branding.

3.
Supplier ships the
product directly to
your customer

10
 Option 3: Use a
third-party service
Perhaps the most popular way to start an
ecommerce business is to outsource order
fulfilment to a third-party specialist, such as
Floship, Fulfilment Bridge, and NextSmartShip.
Some ecommerce business platforms and
marketplaces also offer fulfilment services,
such as Amazon FBA.

These services provide storage, packaging, and

shipping services tailored to your needs. The
benefit of these services is that you’re able to
tap into an established fulfilment network run
by experts. What’s more, these services are
particularly useful for cross-border ecommerce .

“Some ecommerce business

platforms and marketplaces
also offer fulfilment services”

Image source - Ecommerce Business fulfilment Services: Floship

11
Step three

Identifying The next 4 options will help

you define your target market:

product- 1. Choose B2C or B2B

market fit
2. Niche down

3. Conduct market research

4. Identify winning products

12
Once you’ve decided on the type of ecommerce
business model you’d like to use, it’s time to start
developing your business plan.

The first step is to identify a promising target market

— or, to put it another way, who do you want to
serve? You then need to identify profitable products
to sell to them. It’s crucial that you complete this
step effectively.

As the marketer Philip Kotler once said, “There is

only one winning strategy. It is to carefully define the
target market and direct a superior offering to that
target market.”

Let’s run through 4 tips on how to identify a

product-market fit for your ecommerce business.

“The first step is to identify a

promising target market — or,
to put it another way, who do
you want to serve?

13
Option 1: Choose “When considering which
option to choose, think about
B2C or B2B your skillset, knowledge,
experience, and network”
To start, you should decide whether to serve
businesses or consumers — in other words,
do you want to sell B2B or B2C?

There are many differences between B2B and

B2C ecommerce to consider, such as:

• B2B ecommerce businesses typically rely

heavily on salespeople to nurture individual
client relationships and land high-value orders.

• B2C ecommerce businesses rely more on

digital marketing funnels that automate the
sales process and scale sales volumes.

When considering which option to choose,

think about your skillset, knowledge, experience,
and network. For example, if you have plenty
of knowledge and contacts in a particular B2B
industry, a B2B ecommerce business may be the
way to go. However, if you’re more interested in
a consumer-based industry or digital marketing,
B2C could be a good choice.

14
 Option 2: Niche down
Or to put it another way, you can’t be all things
to all people. So, if you want to start a successful
ecommerce business, you must clearly define a
target market. Doing this will allow you to tailor
every aspect of your products, branding, and
messaging to one particular niche.

Undoubtedly, the most effective strategy is to

ensure that you are part of your target market.
This way, you can follow the advice of the
business consultant Peter F. Drucker, who said,
“The aim of marketing is to know and understand
the customer so well the product or service fits
him and sells itself.”

So, when choosing a niche, consider what you

“Undoubtedly, the most like, need, and want. For example, Kristi Soomer
effective strategy is to started the travel apparel brand Encircled after
she solved a personal problem. Soomer explains:
ensure that you are part of
your target “As a management consultant, Iwas travelling
about 100,000 miles a year and constantly
market.” frustrated by the lack of stylish, versatile travel
apparel. While packing for a trip to Costa Rica, I
dreamed up the idea of the Chrysalis Cardi: one-
Image source - Product-Market Fit Example: Encircled
piece that can be worn over eight different ways.”
15
Option 3: Conduct
market research

Once you’ve chosen a well-defined target market,

it’s time to dig deeper and conduct market
research.

Start by asking questions like:

• “Which businesses are currently dominating

this niche?”

• “How can Idifferentiate my brand from

competitors?”

• “How can Iprovide a superior offering to this

target market?”

• “Where does my target market spend most

of their time online?”

Make sure to evaluate the competition in-

depth and learn all you can about why they are
successful. There are plenty of online tools that
you can use to research competitors, such as
SimilarWeb, Alexa, and Facebook Ad Library.
Image source - Ecommerce Business Research: Facebook Ad Library

16
Option 4: Identify It’s also good practice to consider practicalities
— for example:
winning products • Certain products are heavily regulated

• Some products break easily in transit

Once you’ve niched down and conducted
some thorough market research, you can start • Heavy or bulky products will increase your
researching products. Product research tools like shipping costs
JungleScout or Helium 10 can help you discover
what’s already selling well. Lastly, make sure to calculate your estimated profit
margin and ensure you’ve accounted for expenses
Remember, every product you sell should solve a and marketing costs. You can use an online profit
painful problem or satisfy a compelling desire. You margin calculator to help — check out Shopify’s:
should aim to provide an offer that’s superior to
your competitors in a way that your target market
cares about.

“Remember, every product you

sell should solve a painful problem
or satisfy a compelling desire”

Image source - Ecommerce Business Research:

Shopify profit margin calculator

17
Step four

Choose the Before you can source your

winning product, you need to
evaluate different product s
right product ourcing methods.

sourcing method In short, there are 3 types of

ecommerce suppliers that you
can partner with:

1. Manufacturers

2. Wholesalers

3. Dropshipping

Let’s take a look at each method.

18
Option 1: Manufacturers 2.C ustomise existing products:
You can partner with manufacturers to customise
and improve the products they make — this is
called ‘private labelling.’Sourcing products in this
It’s important to choose carefully — just like your way allows you to acquire unique products without
sales platform and fulfilment method, choosing a the hassle associated with creating new products.
product sourcing method will affect every aspect
of your business. Before we explore these methods, 3. Rebrand generic products:
it’s important to note that you should always verify You can partner with manufacturers to sell generic
suppliers and test products before placing a large products with your business’s branding — this is
order. called ‘white labelling.’

There are 3 main ways to work with a manufacturer:

1. Create a new product:

If you have an idea for a product that doesn’t
exist yet, you’ll need to partner with a manufacturer
to turn your vision into reality. This is the most
challenging form of product sourcing, as it requires
you to manage product design, prototyping, and
development. However, creating an innovative
new product is the best way to stand out from the
competition and capture market share.

“Choosing a product sourcing

method will affect every aspect
of your business”

19
Working with manufacturers can prove
challenging for those new to ecommerce. If you
partner with manufacturers in a foreign country,
the process can be even more challenging thanks
to the language barrier, time zone difference, and
differences in business customs and etiquette.

Plus, many manufacturers have large minimum

order quantities that require a substantial upfront
investment.

On the other hand, working with a manufacturer

will enable you to attain the lowest cost per unit
possible, which will increase your profit margin.

The easiest way to research and connect

with manufacturers is to use B2B marketplaces
like Alibaba, Global Sources, IndiaMart,
and eWorldTrade.

“Working with a manufacturer will

enable you to attain the lowest cost
per unit possible, which will increase
your profit margin.”

Image source - Source Products with Alibaba

20
 Option 2: Wholesalers
Wholesalers are traders that purchase goods in
bulk and sell them to retailers and ecommerce
businesses in large quantities.

The cost-per-unit is typically slightly more

expensive than if you work with a manufacturer.
However, sourcing products from wholesalers is
often more straightforward than working with
manufacturers.

Also, some wholesalers offer white label products

that you can sell under your brand. Just like with
manufacturers, the best place to find wholesalers
is to use the B2B marketplaces mentioned above.

“Some wholesalers offer white

label products that you can sell
under your brand”

21
Option 3: You can contact dropshipping suppliers directly on
the B2B marketplaces mentioned above, or you can
Dropshipping sources use a tool like Oberlo or Dropified. These tools allow
you to add dropshipped products to your store and
start selling them in minutes.
As noted earlier, dropshipping is both a method
for sourcing products and fulfiling orders.
And it’s by far the easiest type of ecommerce
business to start.

This ecommerce business model allows

entrepreneurs to bypass the need to develop
a product, invest in inventory, and manage
fulfilment logistics. However, dropshipping
offers very few ways to differentiate products
from competitors and develop a brand. Plus,
the profit margins are typically very slim.

Still, if you want to know how to start an

ecommerce business with no money,
dropshipping is for you. Seriously, you can get
started for next-to-nothing — for example, you
could sign up to Shopify for $29USD per month
and use the free dropshipping tool Oberlo to
connect with suppliers.

Image source - Start a Dropshipping Ecommerce Business with Oberlo

22
Step five

Set up your
Let’s run through 5 things
you need to do before you
can launch your ecommerce

website or sales business.

channel
These steps apply whether
you sell through a website or
marketplace, but we’ll focus
more on websites in this guide.

1. Choose a domain/brand
name and get set up

2. Create your brand

3. Design your website

4. Optimise your product pages

5. Set up shipping costs

23
1. Choose a domain/brand
name and get set up
If you plan to sell through a website, you’ll need
to choose a domain name. And if you plan to start
selling through an online marketplace, it’s still a
good idea to secure a domain name for your brand.

A domain name is a web address used to identify

a website, such as “neatcommerce.com”. Because
websites are so essential to ecommerce brands,
it helps to research available domain names while
choosing a brand name.

Ideally, you want a great brand name that

represents your products and resonates with your
target market while also securing a suitable domain
name, such as “brandname.com” or “brandname.
hk.” Most ecommerce website platforms will
help you purchase a domain name as part of the
account setup process. For example, you can use
Shopify’s domain name generator (right):

Image source - Shopify’s Domain Name Generator

24
 Alternatively, you can use a domain registrar,
such as Domain.com, Only Domains, or GoDaddy.

When searching for a domain name, consider

these tips:

• Avoid including numbers or hyphens

• Try to keep it simple, memorable, and short

• Avoid purchasing a domain name that features

a registered trademark

Now is also an excellent time to set up social

media channels for your marketing efforts — try
to secure usernames that are the same as your
domain name.

“Ideally, you want a great

brand name that represents your
products and resonates with your
target market while also securing
a suitable domain name”

Image source - Only Domains Domain Name Generator

25
2. Create your brand
Next, it’s time to create your brand assets,
such as your logo and banner images for your
website, social media profiles, and/or merchant
account.

As with everything, consider your target

markets’ preferences — what colours, fonts,
and styles will appeal the most? For example,
the fitness apparel brand Gymshark (below) sells
fashionable gym wear using a minimalist black
and white aesthetic —even the company’s office
is minimal and black and white.

On the other hand, if you’re selling party supplies,

it may be best to create a funky and colourful
brand.

To create some initial brand assets, you could

hire a designer using a freelance marketplace like
Upwork or Freelancer. Alternatively, you could
use free online branding and design tools, such as
Canva and Hatchful (above).

Image source - Gymshark and Hatchful

26
3. Design your website When designing your website, it’s vital that you
ensure it’s optimised for mobile devices. Why?
Because mobile commerce is expected to
account for 72.9%of total ecommerce sales
Once you’ve set up your accounts and website, in 2021.
it’s time to customise their appearance. Most
ecommerce business platforms have premade If you plan to sell through an online marketplace,
website themes that you can use to do this. be sure to take advantage of the business
profile options available and populate your seller
To continue with our two examples mentioned account with eye-catching brand assets.
earlier, Shopline and Shopify provide numerous
themes for you to install and customise. If you
need professional images, you can source Retail Mcommerce Sales Worldwide, 2016-2021
free photos for commercial use from Burst or trillions, % change and % of ecommerce sales
Unsplash (below). $3.556

$2.910
67.2%
63.8% 63.5%
58.9% 72.9%
70.4%
$2.321

40.3% $1.804
52.4%

$1.357
$0.967
33.0%
28.6%
25.4%
22.2%

2016 2017 2018 2019 202 2021

Retail Mcommerce sales %change %of ecommerce sales

Note: includes products or services ordered using the internet via

mobile devices, regardless of the method of payment or fulfillment;
Image source - Source free imagery from Unsplash
includes sales source: eMarketer, Jan 2018
27
4. Optimise your • Detailed specifications and extra information
• Warranty information
product pages • An emphasis on trust signals in the form of
reviews and a star rating
At this point, you should be able to add your • High-quality lifestyle images
products to your website or marketplace profile. • Chat contact option
Now, your product pages are one of the most
important aspects of your ecommerce business
— after all, these pages are responsible for every
sale you make. So, be sure to optimise them
thoroughly.

What does a fantastic product page look like?

Here’s a great example from the travel gear brand
Minaal:

Take note of the:

• High-quality product images
• Bold and strong call-to-action (CTA)
— “ADD TO C ART”
• Thorough description highlighting the
product’s features and benefits
• Expandable menu with more details

28
 5. Set up shipping costs
Lastly, before you can start selling, you need
to set up your shipping costs. There are 2 main
ways to do this:

1. Provide ‘free shipping’ and increase your

product prices to account for the different
shipping costs you’ll incur.

2. Offer different shipping options (e.g.

overnight, next-day, etc.) for varying prices.

Either way, make sure to find out exactly how

much it’ll cost to ship your products and ensure
that you’re still able to make a reasonable profit.

29
Step six

Market your Now it’s time to start generating

sales with digital marketing.
Here are 3 ways to generate
business your first sales fast:

1. Run Ad campaigns

2.Partner with influencers

3. Start social media marketing

30
1. Run Ad campaigns
Undoubtedly, the easiest way to market your
products is to use paid advertising platforms
such as Google and WeChat.

This strategy works for all types of ecommerce

businesses, including B2B and B2C. Plus, most
online marketplaces also have a built-in tool
that you can use to advertise on the platform
also.

Although paid advertising requires cash to

produce sales, the potential returns are often
worth the investment. For example, Google
estimates that, on average, businesses receive
$8 in profit for every $1 spent on Google Ads.

“Most online marketplaces

also have a built-in tool that
you can use to advertise on
the platform also.”

Image source - Ecommerce Business Marketing: Google Ads

31
2. Partner with influencers Now, if you’re wondering how much influencer
marketing costs, the average sponsored
Instagram post costs $180 on average — the
image below shows the average for different
If you plan to sell products to consumers, you may niches:
want to consider influencer marketing. This is when
you pay social media influencers to promote your
brand and products to their audiences. Average rate per instagram sponsored post
Travel, entertainment, and home/lifestyle have the highest
sponsored post rates
For example, in the image below, you can see the
influencer Melo Lo promoting the Italian legwear
Travel $220
brand Calzedonia to more than 100,000 followers
Entertainment $209
on Instagram.
Home & Lifestyle $204

Health & Fitness

It’s best to start by working with micro-influencers —
$193

Fashion
those with 5,000 to 100,000 social media followers. $173

Photography $171

Food & Drink $169

Beauty $160

Art & Design $148

Business $134

It’s worth noting that you don’t have to partner

with influencers on Instagram. Depending on your
target market, it might be better to partner with
influencers on other platforms, such as YouTube
or TikTok.

Image source - Ecommerce Business Influencer Marketing Costs

32
 3. Start social
media marketing
You can also use social media platforms to
interact with your target market and build a
community around your brand.

This marketing method doesn’t need to cost

money directly. However, it does require
time and work to create and share content,
join discussions, and reply to comments and
messages.

Before you start social media marketing, evaluate

which platforms your target market spends the
most time on and focus your efforts there. For
instance, TikTok is a great place to connect with
Generation Z, and Instagram is ideal for reaching
millennials.

33
More ways to market • Email marketing:
your ecommerce business Capture website visitors’ email addresses and
nurture these leads with email sequences.

• Web push notifications:

Here are 6 additional digital marketing methods Prompt website visitors to sign up for web
that you can use to generate sales for your push notifications and nurture them with
ecommerce business: messages.
• Search engine optimisation (SEO):
Rank your website higher in the search engine
results pages (SERPs).

• Content marketing:
Produce and promote content to attract and
engage your target market.

• Affiliate marketing:
Incentivise third-party marketers to promote
your products for a commission.

• Referral marketing:
Incentivise customers to promote your products
to their personal or professional networks for a
small reward.

34
Start a successful
ecommerce
business today!
Learning how to start an ecommerce business
involves a lot of moving parts. So, take it step-
by-step and learn as you go. In summary,
here are 6 steps to follow when starting an
ecommerce business:

1. Choose whether to sell through your own

website or an online marketplace.

2. Decide whether to fulfil products yourself,

hire a third-party to do it, or dropship
products.
6. Market your business with paid ads, influencer
3. Define a target market, conduct market marketing, or social media marketing.
research, and identify winning products.
Remember, logistics, finances, and branding are
4. Choose to source products from important. But the most crucial factor for success
manufacturers, wholesalers, or suppliers. is a winning product-market fit. So, be sure to
thoroughly research your target market’s needs
5. Set up your website or sales channel, create and desires, then identify a way to offer a product
a brand, and optimise your product pages. that’s superior to your competitors’.

35