Business plan for your online store
September 30, 2024 12:35Any business starts with an idea and a desire, but to move forward to implementation, a business plan needs to be developed. It's important to understand how we envision the business, what steps need to be taken, identify potential risks, anticipate small details and pitfalls, and most importantly, know where we're headed. The same goes for creating a business plan for an online store — it's the key starting point that drives future growth and is something you must do.
A business plan is a document containing essential information for launching a project, and it's necessary for any business niche. That's why we will go through the stages of analysis and creation together. We will thoroughly examine what aspects a business plan for an online business should cover.
Why is a business plan so important?
A business plan serves not only as a visualization of the owner's idea but also as a tool for attracting investors.
For an online store, it addresses:
⦿ organizational matters;
⦿ financial calculations;
⦿ competitive analysis;
⦿ potential challenges and solutions;
⦿ marketing strategies;
⦿ investment assessment;
Steps for creating a business plan for an online store:
First of all, if you want your store to be well-developed, function smoothly, and bring satisfaction to both you and your customers, it's best to consult professionals. Especially if you have no prior experience in building an online business — they will assist, guide, and recommend the best solutions. You won't lose anything by doing so; instead, you'll come out ahead. You'll save both time and resources, which you might otherwise waste reworking things or creating something of subpar quality due to a lack of knowledge.
Intent Solutions has a wealth of experience, methodologies, and expertise in developing online stores of any complexity. We provide high-quality web development services.
Our team of developers can bring any of your ideas to life, and our manager will always be in touch, acting as a central link between you and the specialists. This ensures peace of mind, keeps you informed at any point, and makes communication and project progress easier to track.
Let’s take a closer look at the stages of creating a business plan.
Choosing a Product for Your Future Online Business
If you don’t have an existing offline business that you want to transition into online sales, you’ll need to decide on a niche for your online store. The online marketplace is filled with a vast number of sellers and buyers, and regardless of your business specialization, be prepared for heavy competition.
Let’s select the product category you want to enter the market with:
⦿ Clothing, footwear, underwear;
⦿ Jewelry and accessories;
⦿ Sporting goods;
⦿ Skincare and makeup;
⦿ Home goods;
⦿ Electronics and accessories;
⦿ Children’s products;
⦿ Food products;
⦿ Pet supplies;
⦿ Auto parts and accessories.
You need to assess the competition in the market, and whatever niche you choose, you must stand out. For example, if you choose the clothing category and want to attract more customers, offer not only high-quality materials but also a wide range of sizes (from standard to plus sizes).
If you have concerns about low sales or few customers, don’t worry. There are traffic and promotion experts who can fix this issue and help bring your online store to the top of search results.
Our company has over 10 years of experience in promotion and marketing. You can reach out to our team for SEO promotion services.
Naming: How to Choose a Name for Your Online Store?
A great name is a large percentage of success for any business. It’s a crucial and influential step for your online store. The better and more original the name, the more interest you’ll generate. The key is that it should be memorable.
A domain name is just as important. In most cases, it matches the business name, but this isn't mandatory. Like with the name, it’s best to choose something short and easy to understand, so it sticks in people’s minds.
Technical Aspects
Once you’ve chosen a company to bring your idea to life, you'll need to settle on a few technical details:
⦿ CMS (Content Management System);
⦿ Layout and structure;
⦿ Design.
From there, additional questions will arise, which technical specialists can help you with, such as:
⦿ The number of site blocks;
⦿ Photos and videos for site content;
⦿ Payment methods on the site;
⦿ Delivery options;
⦿ Contact forms;
⦿ The number of required fields;
⦿ An online chat feature if desired, and much more.
Of course, the development process goes much faster if you’ve already thought through all the details—how you want your online store to look, what features you want, and your vision for the final result. Experts can then advise on what will work best, suggest changes, or recommend additional features.
For help choosing the right content management system (CMS) for your online store, check out our article Which CMS to Choose for an Online Store. In it, we explore the most popular e-commerce platforms and their pros and cons.
Choosing Payment Methods, Delivery Options, and Return Policies
If you don’t plan to act as a middleman and prefer to manufacture or purchase products for sale yourself, you'll need a warehouse for storage. You also need to decide whether you’ll have a separate space for processing and preparing orders for shipment or incorporate these tasks into your warehouse operations.
If at the start you need a larger team (managers, packers, shippers, your own courier, etc.), a separate office may be more convenient and practical for both you and your employees.
What Kind of Team Is Needed to Run an Online Store?
The size of your future team depends on the scale of your business and the volume of products. If you don’t plan to carry a large inventory or manage a warehouse at the outset, you can probably handle things on your own. As your business grows, you'll need to hire a manager (to process orders), a shipping and delivery staff, a content manager (to update the website), and an SEO specialist (for promotion). Additionally, if you’ve never managed taxes or employees before, you might also need an accountant (preferably with legal knowledge). Some of these tasks can be outsourced to specialized companies, saving you the hassle of hiring and managing staff.
As your sales and customer base grow, the size of your team will need to grow accordingly.
Financial Component of the Business Plan
You can’t go anywhere without a financial plan—this is the most important aspect to address, so you must carefully evaluate, plan, and assess real numbers.
List all the initial expenses: purchasing equipment and products, renting a space, website development, business registration, etc. Estimate how much investment is required to launch.
Also, calculate ongoing expenses: utilities, salaries, taxes, website promotion, etc. Always have a small reserve for "unexpected situations."
Determine which products you’ll sell and in what quantities. Establish an average order value (monitor your competitors) and estimate your expected expenses and revenue.
Create your financial plan with three possible scenarios: optimistic, stable, and pessimistic. This will prepare you for any situation.
Marketing Strategy During the Business Planning Stage
Every business needs a proper marketing strategy, which is an integral part of growth. You must plan your strategy for running your online store.
First, you should analyze the market and your niche competitors. This will help you shape your vision, understand what you need, how you want your store to look, what products are in demand, which ones aren't, and so on.
To plan your online store’s marketing strategy, consider two key points:
Promotion Channels – Choose the channels you'll use for promotion: SEO, SMM, Google Ads, YouTube, social media, outdoor advertising, etc.
Competitiveness Assessment in SEO and CPC – Evaluate how competitive your niche is in SEO and paid ads.
A more effective and fail-safe option is comprehensive online marketing, which eliminates ineffective efforts by focusing on all the necessary methods for your business. You can read more in our article on Comprehensive Online Marketing: Tools and Advantages for Business.
Intent Solutions can also help you achieve results and provide comprehensive online marketing services.
Risk Assessment
When creating a business plan, it is essential to evaluate all potential risks that you might encounter down the road.
Let's go over the main ones you may face:
⦿ shortage of products and delivery delays;
⦿ increased costs for logistics, rent, utilities, procurement of goods, etc.;
⦿ increased competition in the niche;
⦿ market irrelevance of the product;
⦿ reputation and product returns;
⦿ financial issues;
The list could go on, but we advise you not only to identify the difficulties you might encounter but also to think through possible solutions. This way, you can evaluate whether it's worth starting now or if adjustments should be made for better implementation.
It would also be helpful to conduct a SWOT analysis to assess your strengths and weaknesses in the market.
In Summary
Today, we discussed the importance of a business plan for an online store. This step is essential and helps you create a realistic picture of your idea: assess risks, analyze the market, estimate financial investments, think through strategies, and decide on a team for implementation.
If you want to bring your idea to life and create an online store that not only breaks even but also generates good profits—do it right, don’t cut corners, and plan everything down to the smallest detail.
Our company provides comprehensive services, enabling you to address all your needs for setting up a store from scratch, as well as any type of website promotion. This is a huge plus because, in the future, if you choose development and marketing services from different companies, you may face communication difficulties, coordination issues between specialists, and significant time losses. Choosing a company where you can get all the necessary services at once will simplify your life and help you achieve your desired results for your online store faster.
Intent Solutions will help you build your online store, from website development and launching advertising campaigns to optimizing and automating any business processes!
We are about business, efficiency, and results!
We are about the Client!
For consultations and pricing inquiries, contact us via the available messengers.