7 min read

How to start a business online in 2022 – 8 easy steps

The internet has provided a great opportunity to start a business online and get it up and running fairly quickly. Much quicker than years before. But although it has made things quicker the processes and effort can be just as much as starting a brick-and-mortar business. But in this post, we are going to share 8 easy ways to start an online business in 2022 and beyond.

1) Assess your business Idea

How to start a business online

When setting up your business online, the first step is to assess if your idea is profitable. It doesn’t make sense to spend time and effort starting a business that won’t be profitable. Unless you are just doing a hobby or running a charity. Therefore, it is important to test your market to see if there are enough people interested in your product/services and are willing to pay for them.

Here are a few questions to ask to test the market:

Does your product or service solve a burning problem that enough people are facing? Check forums, and search engines and speak with people facing the issues you will solve.
Are people willing and able to spend money to fix the problem that you solve? Competitors are a great source when checking this.
How much will it cost to market and produce your product/service

With those questions in mind, you should be able to evaluate if your idea is potentially valuable or not.

2) Develop a plan for your business

The next step is to design a plan for your business. The most traditional way is to write a business plan for your business. But time has shown that that’s not the only way. The plan for your business does not have to be as formal as an official business plan when starting out. Unless you plan on applying for bank loans, grants, or investors for start-up capital. If not, then a simple plan will do.

A good plan will help you understand your market better, identify who you will be targeting, define your objectives, and implement a marketing plan. Because having a vision of where you are going, whom you are targeting, and how to get where you want is important.

3) Choose your business/brand name

Your business or brand name is up next to start your business online. This is a critical step because often this name will stick around with the business for many years. It is important to choose a name that you won’t hate a couple of years from now. It is also important to choose either a name that identifies what you do or a name that is short and easy to remember. Ideally, both would be good. After you have settled on a name or a couple of names it’s time to check if that name is available. Here are a few ways we have found it best to check if your business name is available.

Check if the name is available in your country or state – Visit your local business name registry to check if there is any business operating with the name you want to use
Check online domain name registries – places such as Namecheap, or Hostinger to check if the name you want is assigned to a domain.
Search google for the exact match of your name to see if the name is on any social media website. To search for an exact match of your name enter apostrophes before and after the name. e.g., ‘658designz’

If you realize that on any of the above platforms your name is not available, then you need to switch names or find a unique way to spell it if it’s a name you really like.

4) Choose your business structure

After you have chosen your business name the next step is to identify the legal structure of your business. As this will dictate how you register your business and the legal and tax requirements of your business. The most common forms of business are:

Sole trader/proprietorship – This is a business that is owned and controlled by an individual and is not s separate legal entity from the owner
Partnership – This is a form of business where two or more people share ownership and responsibility for managing a business. They also share the profits and or losses.
Limited liability Company (LLC) – as the name suggests, offers the owner limited liability without the complexities of setting up a corporation.
Corporation – This is a legal entity that is separate and distinct from its owners.

While we can provide general information regarding the structure of a business it is important to seek professional help. An attorney or chartered accountant can explain further the legal requirements and tax requirements for each in your specific country, state, or province.

5) Cover your legal obligations

You will need to register your business or service depending on the country or state that you are in. some industries may also require you to get legally certified before you can offer specific products/services. This may involve:

Registering your business
Applying for necessary permits or license
Meeting tax requirements for your area

Again, it is important to seek legal help or speak with your attorney so they can walk you through the process. Or provide more information.

6) Build your website

A website is the most important part of an online business. It is the equivalent of a physical location for a brick-and-mortar business. You should exercise much care and thought when setting one up. It will be the digital representation of your business and can make or break its success. While most business owners chose the cheapest way out it could in fact hurt their business in the long run. By damaging the reputation, repelling customers, and establishing bad credibility.

When looking at how to build your website consider the look and feel you want it to have. As well as the features and function your need it to fulfill. Will you need to sell products? Do you need customers to book online? How many products or services will you offer? For most businesses hiring a professional website designer to do the work is the sound option. As the time and effort required to successfully set up, design, and maintain a website can be immense. A professional web designer will be able to access your needs and build a customized website that meets them and attract customers.

7) Plan and implement marketing strategies

Marketing is the lifeline of any business as it is responsible for building awareness and attracting customers. You could have the best product or service in the world, if no one knows about it then you won’t make any sales. And we all know a business cannot survive for too long without sales.

It’s important that throughout all the previous steps you have been promoting your business and generating some buzz and interest as you build to launch day. Yes, pre-launch marketing is vital to the success of a business. Don’t wait until everything is set up and you are ready to launch to start marketing. Start from early as possible to give your business the best chance of taking off.

Some popular marketing channels for online businesses are:

Social media Accounts – Generate some buzz and attention with social media profiles and pages. Then link that attention to your website once it is complete.
Friend and family – spread the word about your new business with friends and families and those in your network.
Online groups and forums – Join online groups and forums specific to your niche or industry and help those that need help
Attend local networking events – depending on your industry local networking events is a great way to meet new people and expand your circle of influence.

8) Launch your new business

Now that you have put in the work to start your business online by:

Accessing your market
Testing the feasibility of your business
Registering your business name
Choosing your legal structure
Building your website
Marketing your business

It’s now time to launch your business. Your new website should be live, and you should be ready to start accepting customers. Announce it to the world and share it will your network. Here are a few ways you can announce your launch to the world:

Through social media platforms
In your network
Tell friends and family
Get some media buzz if possible
Online ads
Traditional ads
Flyers
Business cards

If you did the work in the pre-launch phase, then you will be repeating the rewards of that hard work now. Remember though this is only the beginning and by following these 8 easy steps you have established a solid foundation for your business empire. now you know how to start a business online in 2022 and beyond. If this post helped you, share it with a friend, remember each one teaches one so let’s grow online.

Need help building your website? Let us help your build a professional website so that your business is poised for success. Just contact us and we will schedule a time to speak so that we can learn more about each other.