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7 Simple Action Items to Start an Online Business Fast

Anthony | January 27, 2021

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How to Start an Online Business

Are you eager to start an online business, but your not sure where to start?

Technology has rapidly improved with tools and apps at far lower costs than they once were, there has never been an easier time to put your business online and start selling your products or services.  You can quickly and easily establish a web presence, start driving traffic to your website and generate sales fast.

7 Steps and Recommended Resources

Let’s look at 7 fast action steps and recommended resources to get you up and running fast.

There are way more recommendations and resources that will follow in the Online Fast Start Challenge™  which is the course we have created for complete newbies.

Note: The Get Clients Challenge™ is the next step.   If you have established your business as per the  Fast Start steps listed below then you’re more than come and join us for the Get Clients Challenge™.

This is just to get you in the ball game with some simple beginner action items.

Please note, some of the links in the content below may be our partner or affiliate links, which means we may be paid a commission if
you decide to signup. Rest assured we only recommend what we use and love, and by using partners we’ve managed to keep the list ot tools and resources needed to get you started fast affordable, and actionable

Step 1: BUSINESS STRUCTURE AND STRATEGY

There are two key focus areas for every business: client/customer results and your lifestyle goals.  We’ll focus on these before you build out a marketing and sales plan.

Ideas:

  1. Get your domain name on Namecheap or Godaddy. Before you begin, you should secure your domain name to protect and establish your brand. You can purchase your domain on Namecheap or Godaddy and use WordPress to design and build your site.
  2. Set up your business entity, here in Australia we establish Pty Ltd companies for a business because being a sole trader is not the best vehicle to build a business.  In the US the equivalent is an LLC.  This is a crucial first step because creating your business entity will allow you to create accounts that are separate from your personal ones so you are protected.
  3. Look up your credit score go to Equifax / Veda if you’re in Australia or use myFico if you’re in the US.  Knowing your score (and cleaning it up!) will help with future loans or investors.

Step 2: IDENTIFY YOUR WHO

Who is your client or customer, how can you serve them, and how do you sell to them.

Ideas:

  1. Get an online system/CRM for your sales. Which one? Depends on what you want to sell…
    • For selling digital products or services, which is exactly what we do, then Experiencify will help you build the perfect website and subscriptions/membership sites, and make sales online
  2. For help to design your products you can use sites like Fiverr for help to design packaging and the layout of your website.  Fiver is a great place to start until you’re ready to hire full-time.
  3. For tracking, revenue look for an accounting package such as Xero or Freshbooks

Step 3: YOUR CONTENT STRATEGY

Your ideal perfect client is searching for products and services based on their intent.  Some prospects are looking, some are wanting to research the problem and looking to buy, and some want to buy right now!.  Every business should create and distribute content that draws attention and awareness to your brand and what you offer.

Ideas:

  1. For social media posts and graphics, you can leverage a tool called Canva.  To schedule and distribute posts you can then use Hootsuite which will also help you track your comments and engagement.
  2. For video, we recommend Wistia.

 

Step 4: CORE REVENUE DRIVERS 

There are 6 ways to increase your revenue. When you understand how to develop a strategy for each “revenue driver” you will be be surprised how quickly you can grow.

Ideas:

  1. Drive more revenue with happy client referrals. You can use a service called ReferralCandy to achieve this.
  2. Promoting other people’s products and services (ones you like and trust) as an affiliate to earn even more. We currently use and recommend Share-A-Sale.
  3. Hire a salesperson on Fiverr (for short-term contractors) or you can use a service such as ZipRecruiter (for hiring full-time employees), and then use Close.com to see/track their sales activity.

 

Step 5: BUILD YOUR DREAM TEAM!

What’s the best approach to hiring people? How to identify the best employees?

Ideas:

  1. Hire great people available on Fiverr or ZipRecruiter.  Hire people for short-term projects from Fiverr, and leverage ZipRecruiter for finding and hiring your full-time employees
  2. We recommend Basecamp to manage your projects and teams.
  3. Get Zendesk to manage all your customer support and train your team to create a list of FAQs

 

STEP 6: THE LEGAL SIDE AND PROTECTING YOURSELF 

How do you protect yourself, your business, and your ideas? Do you need insurance?

Ideas:

  1. To protect your Privacy and Online Data we use and recommend NordVPN. Use LastPass (the alternative is 1Password) to protect all passwords and make logging in easier. To protect against identity theft there’s Lifelock.com
  2. You will need Business Insurance.  Shop around and understand your options.
  3. Setup the right terms, conditions, and privacy policies on your website using TermsFeed.  Note: If you’re in Australia we recommend engaging your solicitor to complete
  4. Intellectual Property can be protected with the help from the right lawyer.  You can use LegalZoom

Step 7: INCREASE YOUR PRODUCTIVITY 

Discover how to get more done (while also maintaining positive well-being and relationships!).

Ideas:

  1. 90 Day Year by Todd Herman
  2. Upgrade your office furniture and get a stand-up desk to save your back, and save your sanity by muting the background noise on any of your calls or apps with Krisp.

This all seems overwhelming however there’s no need to worry.   The resources listed do not all need to be used, everyone starts from a different point.

If you’re on a budget, there’s even more reason to not worry, please do not think you need to signup for everything I’ve listed above. You can simply start with less.

P.S. WHENEVER YOU'RE READY...

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About the Author

Anthony

How would you like to attract more leads, convert these leads into paying clients and deliver more value to these clients? Join a team of like-minded entrepreneurs who are generating more money, delivering meaning and have more freedom to live the lifestyle they choose