What business plan does this website have ? I would like a similar website?

[fuggles]

Hello.

I have a very simple business plan.

Start a website, selling 2 products that are not very well known in the UK but have a niche market.

My reason is because I have a contact who could supply me with the goods at a good price, and I could resell them in the UK.

Like this.

b12spray dot co dot uk


That isn't my website, but that is how I want my business to be.

Simple, only one or two products available, buy it, there you go.



But I am a very business newbie !

So I have many questions.

If I bought the product, where would I store them ? A warehouse I presume ?

How do orders get processed ?

How do orders get shipped ? Obviously I couldn't go to the post office with 100 parcels every day. (optimistic sales figure I know)

How much is a website to buy ?

Do I register as self employed if I start this ?

Thanks for any help you can give me. If you think I should give up before I start, be honest and let me know.

 

[DavidAshdown]

All your questions are quite straight forward to answer but before you think of these questions, the main one is, do you have a budget to market this website ?

 

[fuggles]

All your questions are quite straight forward to answer but before you think of these questions, the main one is, do you have a budget to market this website ?

Yes, I have savings and money I am prepared to risk on a business.
Surely storing the product (presumably in a warehouse) and buying the product also need to be considered into my budget ?

Actually my website would be selling one product.

So I consider my business, for now, a simple idea that could work.

But my questions, I don't know the answers to them and I am new to this.

 

[DavidAshdown]

What sort of budget are you prepared to spend on marketing and have you tested for demand of your product ?

 

[fuggles]

What sort of budget are you prepared to spend on marketing and have you tested for demand of your product ?

Budget for marketing ? I don't know how much I would need, but I do have money if I needed it.

The only research I have done is read about people wanting the product from internet forums, and seen the product selling well on amazon.com, it isn't on the UK amazon website. So I think there may be demand ??

I don't know how to professionally test for demand.

 

[Alan]

If I bought the product, where would I store them ? A warehouse I presume ?

Depends on quantity and value and whether they are hazardous. In your shed, in your bedroom, in a rented store room.... up to you

How do orders get processed ?

On your website

How do orders get shipped ? Obviously I couldn't go to the post office with 100 parcels every day. (optimistic sales figure I know)

Yes you can go to the post office with 100 item. If it is regular you can pay them to collect from you, or you can contract a courier company. If your goods are hazardous / dangerous you have a different problem.

How much is a website to buy ?

Depends whether you are creating the text content or not, but £1-2k should be plenty. Another cost factor to the website is payment, if just PayPal thats easy, but is=f you want credit cards, costs go up.

Do I register as self employed if I start this ?

Yes you have to, unless you form a limited company.

 

[astutiumRob]

I have a very simple business plan.

You have the start of a business *idea* ... The questions you're asking and much more would be explained in detail in a *plan*.

My reason is because I have a contact who could supply me with the goods at a good price, and I could resell them in the UK.

What gross margin ?
How many sales per day/week/month/year ?

If I bought the product, where would I store them ? A warehouse I presume ?

Somewhere secure and insured.

How do orders get processed ?

Through your e-commerce website, by phone, bu fax, from your shop ...

How do orders get shipped ?

You package them up and take to your courier or call them to come and get them - its called "logistics"

Obviously I couldn't go to the post office with 100 parcels every day

Why not ?

How much is a website to buy ?

Anything from free to tens of millions, depending on what you need it to do.

Do I register as self employed if I start this ?

Something to ask your accountant.

And good luck

 

[DavidAshdown]

Budget for marketing ? I don't know how much I would need, but I do have money if I needed it.

The only research I have done is read about people wanting the product from internet forums, and seen the product selling well on amazon.com, it isn't on the UK amazon website. So I think there may be demand ??

I don't know how to professionally test for demand.

You need to find out how much you will need. To me, this is one of the most important questions. Before you look at your other points which fundamentally are much less of a problem, you need to carry out some market research and also try and calculate how much you will need to market yourself.

Building a website does not bring people to you. Marketing it does. You won't have to worry about all the other points if:

a) You haven't sufficient funds to market yourself and

b) There is no demand for your product.

You say you can't find it anywhere over here, is it because no one has thought of or because there is insufficient demand or even because it can't be sold here? How do you know it is selling well on Amazon and how many positive sets of feedback on forums have you had? What sort of budget (i.e. amount of money), do you have to spend on marketing?

Once you can answer these questions, you can start to build your business plan and assess the cost of marketing.