Starting an online business is no walk in the park. It takes guts and a lot of
skill. Almost all of those who have tried (and succeeded) can attest to this. Just like with
any entrepreneurial venture, it is vital that you have done your wide-scope research on the business
you intend to dip your toes in. This research will help you identify which skills you need
so that you can succeed in the world of business. And today we’ll be talking about exactly that!
Stay tuned to discover which skills are essential and how you can hone them.
1. Digital marketing and sales.
There is a market out there for everything. No, really. EVERYTHING. If you have an unusually
out-of-the-box idea, I can guarantee you there is a huge demand for it. But, this is all dependent
on how well you market yourself. You have to let your target market know you exist and (more
importantly) you need to keep their attention. Without a road map, there will be no way for your
target customers to find you and subsequently, nobody will buy your product or service.
There are numerous marketing strategies that you can employ. You should take your time to
thoroughly grasp the concept of each one. Some of the branches you should focus on include:
Inbound marketing Affiliate marketing
Native advertising Email and online PR
SEO
Let’s focus on SEO, which stands for Search Engine Optimization. This is the process of
getting your content as high up on Google (or any search engine) as you possibly can. By doing this,
you are increasing the possibility for your product to be discovered by customers.
You will also be increasing the amount of traffic drawn to your business’ website.
We won’t be going into the technicalities of SEO because it is quite intricate. We will,
however, remind you that SEO is your best friend. Everyone who uses the internet, navigates the web
mainly through search engines. This is why it is vital that you tweak your content in a way
which aligns with what customers will search online. There are three things you need to
keep in mind when optimizing your website searches: links, content and page structure.
Along with a specific algorithm, Google and other such search engines also use standard rules to
choose which content to show for search queries. The metrics mentioned above (links, content and
page structure) are used by these search engines to evaluate and rank sites depending on quality.
Links, in this context, are affiliate links. Sites which use these are preferred by search
engines and therefore, are more likely to be shown higher up on a search page.
You might be wondering why this is the case? No quality website would include affiliate links to
shady or dubious sites. Adding affiliate links (which take you to productive and useful sites)
shows the search engine’s algorithm that you have a top-quality website.
The next metric search engines focus on is content.
You need to analyse how relatable your content is to whatever key word the customer searches up.
Take your time putting together your content so that when a customer searches words that align
with your business and your site’s content, you are one of the first thing that pops up.
Lastly, you need the right page structure for your website.
It should be in HTML format and should include the relevant keywords in the title or header.
You have to make sure your site is easy for the customer to manoeuvre.
As said above, there are many strategies you can adopt and you might be feeling a
little overwhelmed with all this information. But fear not! There
are many online courses that will equip you with the skills you need for success.
2. Time management
In the business world, time is money. Each second is a precious commodity that shouldn’t
go to waste. With an online business, especially when you’re in your early stages of development,
you have to allocate sufficient time and energy to kick off your business. Draft a daily to-do list.
If you’re a procrastinator like me, a great hack that I found is writing your to-do list the night
before and set up your desk with all the things you’ll need the next day to complete the list.
When you wake up in the morning, you won’t be wasting valuable time figuring out what
you need to do and where your pens and papers are; you can get straight to work.
If you’re really struggling with time management, there are online courses you can enrol into.
Not only will you learn tips on how to manage your time, you’ll also be able to
delve deep into yourself to figure out the root cause of these time management issues.
3. Leadership and delegation skills.
With great power, comes great responsibility. All my Spider-Man fanatics know that one!
If you’re starting your business, it’s safe to assume that you want it to grow and expand.
You’ll have a lot of power with your successful business, but you’ll also be responsible for a
lot of things. This could range from coming up with new business ideas all the way to coding
your new and improved website. There’s only so much one person can do! This is where two
important business skills come in: leadership and delegation. You’ll need to hire extra arms
to help you with your successful business and as their leader, you will have to delegate tasks.
Personality matters as well because being personable is a big part of being a leader.
You want to be surrounded by people who feel valued and important by you
so that they can happily do whatever tasks you’ve skilfully delegated to them.
4. Handling money
Before I talk about this point, if you’re enjoying this video so far, go ahead and give it a thumbs
up. It really goes a long way in promoting these videos! So thank you, and now let’s continue.
So, when I was starting my own business, dealing with the business’ finances
was my least favourite thing. I had to do accounting, pay my taxes, renew my licenses,
stick to a budget, and the worst part - bookkeeping.
Just thinking about it makes me want to pull my hair out all over again. I made the rookie
mistake of jumping headfirst into the finances without any prior knowledge of accounting.
Hiring someone who has perfected themselves in this field is the goal. Unfortunately,
when I was starting out my business I didn’t have the luxury to do this straight away. You might
find yourself in the same position. My tip would be to keep a business journal where you write down
all the financial needs of your business. Do this monthly. This is another area where you can find a
surplus of free online courses to join. I would suggest completing these courses before running
your business so that you have some knowledge of accounting before you officially start.
5. Customer service
There are so many products and services I love and I keep going back to again and again because
I feel like nothing else would compare to them. But, there have been a few times where I’ve,
quite heartbrokenly, had to let that product go because of terrible customer service. As humans,
we are emotional beings and when we are left with a bad taste in our mouth
because of a horrible experience, try as we might, we can’t let go of those emotions.
This is why you need to have top standard customer service. No matter how fantastic your product is,
you can lose all those customers at the drop of a hat if you treat them badly.
Respond quickly to your customer’s queries. Be polite and patient.
When faced with a rude or unhappy customer, stay cool as a cucumber
and cleverly direct them towards a better emotion. Answer their questions with an even tone
and maybe even throw in some jokes to lighten the mood (I personally love knock-knock jokes. You can
never go wrong with them.) A little kindness can go a long way, and you’ll be shocked that those
upset customers who you so charmingly helped, will be the first to sing praises about your product.
6. Adaptability
Flexibility, pliability, elasticity, po-tay-to,
po-tah-to. Different words which mean the same thing: adaptability.
While the end goal will always be the same, you need to have the skill to get to the finish line
through different routes. Let’s use the pandemic as an example. So many import business were under
great pressure. So many of these businesses sank because they didn’t have the flexibility
to reach their end goal by any other means. For example, they were reluctant to choose
other suppliers to help replenish their stock. This rigidity forced these business to close.
If you look at any successful business,
especially those who faced hard times during the pandemic but came out strong, you will,
without a doubt, see flexibility. This could be in the way of finding other stock suppliers,
or a brand-new way of advertising yourself, or bringing in a whole new product that
could be different from what you previously offered. Assess what your business needs,
and more importantly what you customers need and incorporate that into your business. Digging your
heels into the ground and saying no to change will lead to the inevitable death of your business.
7. Networking You’ll be able to go through the
prompts of registering an online business easily, but you’ll need some support and referral to help
echo your business online. I know that many times we feel compelled to go at it alone, but
it doesn’t have to be that way. You’ll need guys who will contribute great incite to your business.
We all need support sometimes, so it doesn’t sound like a bad idea,
anyway don’t let the opportunity to meet like-minded entrepreneurs slip your way
cause there are a handful of business forums and events scheduled year-round. Your network plays
an important role in your business therefore, I would recommend setting high standards. Networking
with great minds will secure opportunities also connecting you to the business community at large.
There seems to be a misconception that asking for help is a sign of weakness
and that you can’t proudly call yourself successful if you’ve used aid.
In the business world, you need all the help you can get. Whether it’s for investments or
to get into some fancy business conference, you need people who can guide you and vouch for you.
Networking is your friend. The more people you mingle with in your area of interest, the more
help you can ask for. These people will be the ones who will attest to your business’ success
and these are the people who will spread the news of your fantastic business savvy mind.
You can also learn tips and tricks of the industry from them to further boost your business.
Go to as many mixers and networking events as you can – you can spread the word of your
business and simultaneously gain a lot of insight.
8. Social media management
We live in the golden age of technology. There are so many businesses who are running solely online;
they don’t have any physical offices or shops. These businesses have perfected the
art of social media management. They know how to stand out online amongst all their
competitors. The online market can bring in a whole new stream of popularity and income.
At first you can manage the online presence of your business yourself,
but there are people out there who know exactly what online users want. They can clean up your
social media sites so that it attracts the right demographic. Not having an online presence in
today’s day and age is a death sentence so this is another area where you should put your attention.
9. Expertise in your business
Being in the business industry is a competition. If you are solely starting an online business for
money, than I’m sorry to burst your bubble but you won’t last long. In order to fight through
the competition and come out a winner, you need passion, confidence and interest in your craft.
If you are selling a service online, yes you need to know the business aspect of how to
sell yourself or how to advertise online, but you also need to actually know the service.
Find your passion first, become an expert in it, and then start the business.
10. Pricing
A big fear customers have with online businesses is being defrauded.
One example is having to pay ridiculously high prices for a subpar quality product. It
is your role to surf the web and see what prices are being advertised by business
who have similar products as yours. Then, adjust accordingly to what you think is right for your
business: should it be higher than the other businesses because your quality is better?
Or, the complete opposite: your product is better than anything out there but you want
to sell it for a lower price because you think the market is missing affordability.
Beginning anything is daunting. This is where you need to let your inner self confidence
guide the way. Start small but enrolling in online courses so that you can gain the skills you need.
Then set out a 6-month plan of action. Take it day by day and before you know it,
you’ll have a successful business!
Don’t lose faith; you have the million-dollar idea in your mind, now bring it to life.
If you found this video helpful, be sure to give it a thumbs up and
subscribe to our channel for more tips on how to improve your finances, and business skills.
Until next time, take care!