Zachary DouglasMany people dream of turning their beloved hobby into a business, and one that will eventually (or very quickly for those more impatient individuals) replace their current 9-5 employment. However, enjoying what you do is not enough to ensure that you will be financially comfortable, or that your business venture will be a total success.
In fact, there are some steps that you’ll need to take to ensure your hobby-turned-business venture takes off and keeps flying high and that your dream does not turn into your worst nightmare. Continue reading to find out more.
1.Research demand to make sure you have a full-time business
Before you even make the first step to turning your hobby into a business you need to carry out some very important research:
- Demand:ensure that there is enough demand for your products, if there is no market then you will be hard-pressed to sell anything.
- Price: if there is a market and a demand, then how much do the products sell for?
- Quality: what are the product’s quality standards like and can you replicate them to keep a large volume of customers happy?
- Source: will you be able to source enough of the raw materials so that you can supply the number of products you want to?
- Cost: how much is it going to cost you to purchase the necessary materials, create the products, market, sell, and package them? Of course, there will be other factors that you will also need to calculate your profit but if this number leaves you with a deficit, then your hobby-turned-business venture is not a good idea.
2. Hire specialists to upgrade or design your website
However, assuming that it is a good idea and that there is ample profit to be made, you need to start thinking of how you are going to sell your product. You could use the popular selling platforms online that already exist—such as eBay or Amazon; or,in order to maximize sales, have your own website with a Shopify store.
Although you can opt for a WordPress site and try to do it all yourself, you will find that to get that professional shop that fits the bill, going to a Shopify website designer such as magecloud.agency is a far better idea. This is because they will not only be able to present you with a perfectly working online store, it will be fully scalable so it can grow with your business and be able to cope with an influx of traffic should your business rapidly take off.
3.Make sure you have the physical room to run your business from home
As it is likely that your new business venture will require room to produce and store the products you intend on selling, you need to make sure you have enough room free. Many people who start running an eCommerce business from home often convert a spare bedroom into an office with a storage and packing area, or where funds allow, construct a home office in the garden. However, only you know how much room your eCommerce business is going to need,and obviously, small products will take less storage space or packing materials than large ones.
4.Sort out shipping arrangements
You will also need to think about shipping arrangements. At first, you may be happy to take a few parcels or packages to your local post office, but when that trip becomes every day (or in some cases twice a day) or the few parcels or packages turn into a car full or more, it may be a different matter altogether.
To get around this you might want to contact your local postal services or three letter shipping companies to see if they will collect from you at a prescribed time each day. Not only does this save you a trip if your volume is large enough,but they will provide you with a dedicated printer to use for your labels, therefore saving you money.
