In this episode, we talk about the cost of getting an online shop up and going. Maybe you're wondering what the cost of an online store is to see if it's even worth it for you.

You probably want to know the hidden costs, the unexpected things that might throw you off.

Is it easy to start an online store? Honestly, I try never to use the word “easy” in business-building and if I do, let me know. Building something that you are proud of takes time and effort, especially at first. 

It follows the easy hard rule. What is that? Well, if it is easy now, it's going to be hard in the future. And if it's hard now, it's going to be easy in the future.

So, how much does it cost to start an online eCommerce store? Well, I suppose if you're going to launch a competitor to Amazon, it's going to cost you a lot, right?

Well, you can go into debt, spending thousands of dollars in inventory, having custom built eCommerce websites, hire a team to handle all your customer service and all your shipping and all that stuff. 

Or you can grow your business one profitable sale at a time. Reinvesting those products to buy more inventory to expand your business. Does it take longer? Yeah, but it works. So if you are stressed out about the money, guess what? There are ways that you can make this work. 

If you have money to go into it, great. You're just going to be able to grow faster. You've either got time or you've either got money and those are the two things that can help you grow your business faster. If you don't have money, you're going to have to spend more time.

If you are a stay-at-home mom who needs some extra income to support her family, you can get started by using basically dryer change, some garage sale proceeds and a little imagination.

We talk about what you need to pay for and what you don't.

We delve into your product offer too.

Just get cash for the stuff that you already have lying around in your house. Take that cash and buy some inventory to sell to your products, and remember - Buy small - You need to test it out. Get your online booth or shop. I use Shopify and recommend Shopify to get started - It’s $30 a month.

Stay tuned as we dig deeper into what it takes...

Key Takeaways:

• When you feel you just broke even or lost money, look at what you learned (8:02)
• Is it easy to start an online store? (11:06)
• How much does it cost to start an online eCommerce store? (14:30)
• Dryer change, some garage sale proceeds and a little imagination… (14:56)
• Get a business license (15:09)
• LLCs or sole proprietors? Find out what’s right for you (15:36)
• Sell something you’re not using anymore to pay for your business license (16:27)
• You need something to sell - Look at what’s gathering dust in your house (16:39)
• Invest that cash into some inventory to be able to sell to your customers (18:39)
• Don't buy a ton of inventory - Test your products (19:33)
• Start on Shopify. It's going to save you so much stress and frustration (20:29)
• Shipping: Amazon’s there; someone else can ship out products for you (22:24)
• You want some pretty branding on your packages; go to VistaPrints.com (23:14)
• If you are selling on other people's sites, make sure you know their rules (25:10)

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