If you are reading this article then I am guessing that like many people you would love to be our own boss working from home. To have the ability to make enough money to live the life you want to live without having to answer to a boss and to be the master of your own destiny.
The Internet has made this dream perfectly possible however you must you do it right. The path from working at your day job and working for a salary to managing an online business is an interesting journey but it is seldom a smooth one.
By just doing a Google search for Home based business ideas you will be staggered and maybe a little overwhelmed by the sheer number of so called “Opportunities” out there.
I myself have engaged in a few schemes in my time and more often than not I lost money rather than made it. Maybe it takes me longer to learn than most or maybe my desire was just higher to make money but eventually I came up with a few realisations.
Any “business opportunity” that relies on you bringing more people into the business and getting them to do the same is not sustainable, sure there are a few folks out there that have made good money in these kinds of schemes but they are in the minority.
You must deliver value and supply something that your customer actually wants or needs this may be either a physical or digital product as long as it fulfills your customers need.
I am both an Internet Marketer and Online Trader and I love both types of business equally but if someone were to ask me what is the fastest way to generate cash using the internet I wouldn’t even have to think about it eBay!!
Sure it is not as systemised and you don’t sell products which are automatically delivered to your customers while you sleep but you can start making real cash in 24 hours, if you combine this with a Dropshipping strategy and scale up as fast as you can then you have the beginning of an automated online income stream.
I personally use a mixed strategy of eBay, Amazon and my own shopping sites but to get going it’s a no brainer it has to be eBay! Why spend time effort and money trying to get people to your site just put your products where all the traffic goes and then funnel them into your site. Without doubt the benefits are great however there will be a lot of hard work that requires certain (learnable) skills. These including strategic, managerial and interpersonal skills but I believe most importantly discipline.
Are you able to live with a certain amount of risk, e.g., no regular salary, a downturn in the economy, or a product problem that’s not under your control?
So the message is, don’t quit your day job yet! The beauty of Dropshipping and Online trading in general is you can do both.
eBay has changed much since its birth over fifteen years ago, then it was a simple 2nd hand goods auction site where anyone could become a seller. eBay has now worked out that its revenue stream comes mainly from the largest sellers who offer primarily new products at low prices. eBay is a little less focused now on individual sellers because its policies are structured to support Power Sellers. However it is still a great place to start your online trading business.
What is there to lose?
A few years ago a friend of mine proudly told me how he sold his first item on eBay and promptly lost 4.50, not surprisingly he never carried on with eBay. In that instance he was selling some stuff from around the home and although it was annoying for him it wasn’t the end of the world.
This will be an experimental period for you. Yes you make some money, but it’s equally possible that you may lose money. Even if your plan is to sell your own items from around the home to generate a little seed capital for your new business, you will still experience some costs.
An example may be listing some items that don’t sell, but will still have to pay the listing fee. You may underestimate shipping costs and end up having to eat some of the cost (I know I have done this). Decide how much money you can afford to lose in this experiment. Failing to do this can result in getting yourself in trouble.
That doesn’t mean that when you hit your loss limit, you should quit. It means that it’s time to stop and re-evaluate and possibly change your strategy.
So remember – Set yourself a loss limit to avoid getting in over your head when you start selling online.
Sell some stuff!
Sounds obvious I know but many are always getting ready to start but forget to actually start (even confusing myself there) it’s called analysis paralysis
catchy hey!
Find some things to sell. Clean out your garage and your attic. Look for items that aren’t difficult to ship so that your shipping costs and logistics will be minimised.
If you do not already have one open an eBay selling account and also a PayPal account.
When I decided I was going to scale things up and approach my online selling as a business I opened a business account and linked my eBay and PayPal accounts to this, you do not have to do this straight away, however and I can’t really explain why but when I did this sales improved.
Visit a local auction house and bid on items that you can sell to someone for more than it will cost you to buy them. Another good strategy is to visit your local shops and identify items that are in low demand locally, but when resold on eBay they could experience much higher final sale prices due to a higher national demand or ask your local retailers if they have unsold end of line items, explain them that you are willing to help them get rid of their unsold stock.
One of my small victories was buying DKNY watches from a local outlet of a national jewellery chain and selling them for 50% more on eBay. Once you have sourced your first goods to resell, see how the reselling process works and how you feel.
• Are you comfortable responding to customer questions? Are you able to mail an item immediately?
• Are there items that have not sold and if so can you figure out why? Is there something different you could have done?
• How much time has this taken? Did you make or lose money? Did you subtract the administrative costs associated with eBay into your expenses?
Evaluate how well your first venture into selling goods that you bought to sell worked.
Points to consider.
• Your temperament for running a business
• Your discipline in following up on the details
• Your time commitment you believe will be required to scale this up to full time (if that is your goal?).
• How much money you can put at risk to set up a business.
Online retail does not necessarily require lots of cash, but it does take some. If you compare these set up costs to setting up a traditional bricks and mortar business then it really is minimal. You will need to figure out how to pay for this.
By starting on eBay you can use that revenue stream to supply the extra income needed to take your business to the next level.
Good luck and happy selling.
Jay Wright
