Posts Tagged business to business
Starting your own online business
Posted by Dan Blacharski in Home Based Business, eBusiness on June 23rd, 2009
How many times have you heard somebody say, “I’m going to sell stuff on the Internet!” The rough economy has made this proclamation even more common, as out-of-work and marginally employed individuals come out of the woodwork, looking for something to generate income.
The competition is fierce, and there are more people than ever trying it–but at the same time, starting your own online business has never been better. Yes, you read that right. Even during today’s recession, Internet sales are booming. There are plenty of advantages to having a retail outlet on the web, not the least of which is that Internet-based shopping save the customer time and money as compared to shopping at the mall. The price of a gallon of gas is going up again, and consumers are looking to keep those trips to a minimum. And in the middle of the financial crisis, the advantages of online shopping are even more pronounced. As a result, the business of Internet retailing has both a downside (lots of competition), and an upside (consumers looking for bargains).
There are millions of retail outlets on the Web today looking to get in on the rising business model of a home-based business, but only a relative handful are successful. Far too many others go out of business for one reason or another, and in the end, are stuck with a basement full of inventory that gets used as Christmas presents for the next ten years.
One of the most important elements of success is finding a good network of wholesale suppliers, and finding a niche product that isn’t already being sold by thousands of other online retailers. Come up with a short list of retail ideas, and do some quick searches on that concept. See who else is selling it, and for how much. If there are five or ten other retail shops selling it online, then you’re still in good shape–but if your search turns up thousands, then you’re going to be invisible. Even if there are a few other outlets selling the same thing, don’t give up. The idea here is to make your idea different enough to make a difference in who gets the click-through that gets the sale.
Internet marketing is about getting the right product, creating the right image, and specifically targeting your potential audience effectively. If you can reach your audience effectively, you are nearly there. Now all you have to do is give them what they want with solid choices to choose from and a way of enticing them to buy, such as with sales and other attractive techniques. Starting small and then building upon your idea step-by-step will help those sales increase in this bewildering virtual marketplace–and it will get you the experience you need to build your business later with more product and more targeted marketing techniques. Getting the web to work for you rather than being intimidated by it is much of the battle for the new home based entrepreneur.
International or local sourcing?
Posted by Dan Blacharski in Wholesale, Wholesale Sources, eBusiness on June 23rd, 2009
The internet is a fascinating world all its own. A bewildering array of sites can be had on virtually any topic, but what about getting product for your new Internet-based retail shop? It’s an intimidating prospect. Should you go local, or should you go international, where there are countless wholesale outlets that can get you the product you want and at unusually low pricing compared to their domestic counterparts here in the states?
The good news with importing lower cost goods to your outlet is that they are often at much lower cost than the same item even at a local wholesaler’s bargain basement prices. And many of them are of very good quality and visually appealing. Foreign retailers cater to their local markets, and their items are often marketed visually to their clientele in different ways than their American counterparts. And that difference can make them more appealing to an American audience with slightly different tastes. But the bad news with foreign sources is that there are taxes, customs, and higher shipping costs associated with buying their products, and there is always the worry that the items you want to sell might not be legal to sell in America for different reasons. Radioactive uranium-based jewelry looks great, but it will never get past the Geiger counter in customs! And then there is the issue of time with foreign sources that enters the picture as well. Your product will take longer to get to you. Overseas shipping is complex. If you are shipping small, lightweight products, you may be able to use a flat-rate FedEx box, which depending on what you’re shipping, can be very cost-effective. You can fit a lot of earrings, bangles and necklaces in one of those boxes! But if your product is larger, the flat-rate FedEx adds too much cost to shipping, and you may need to purchase enough volume to ship by container.
On the other hand, local sources have their positives and negatives as well. The local source can skip the shipping costs altogether if you can pick it up yourself, and you can inspect the product and get a general feel of the quality of the merchandise by looking at it yourself, rather than a picture on a web site. And you don’t have to worry about time to get your product to market. And even better, you can develop a relationship with the local wholesaler that is far more personal than a foreign merchant, and that can pay big dividends in the long run.
Should you use a local or an international source for drop shipping? Take your pick, but it is buyer beware in both cases. Do your homework and be careful. Get some advice from wholesaler forums for more information.
Starting An Online Business With Drop Shipping
Posted by Bob in Bulk Drop Shipping, Drop Shipping, Home Based Business, eBusiness on June 19th, 2009
If you’ve ever seen a commercial on television advertising that you can sell products without ever having to handle them, it’s probably talking about a drop shipping online business. The good news is that you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars paying for information from the people on TV. Instead, you can start an online business with drop shipping with a relatively small investment, some hard work, and a little bit of knowledge.
The first thing you need to do if you want to be successful is to plan appropriately. While you might be anxious to jump right in and get started, you need to approach your online drop shipping business the same way you would any business. You need to work up a good business plan. While drop shipping means that you don’t have to worry about things like warehouse space or buying a starting inventory, there are plenty of things you need to consider.
For example, you need to carefully develop a marketing plan. An online drop shipping business means that you don’t have to put out money on a standing inventory, but you will have to spend some money on marketing. Know what kind of marketing you want to do, and develop some specific ideas for marketing campaigns. From search engine marketing to social media marketing, there are many methods you can use to get the word out about your products. Choosing the right methods is key to getting started right.
You also need to choose the right products. You want to choose products that have a specific market, but not ones that are being sold everywhere else online. Just because someone else is selling the same products doesn’t mean you can’t sell them too. However, the more competition you have, the harder you’ll have to work at your marketing efforts to sell your products.
Choosing the right wholesale suppliers is also integral to the success of your online drop shipping business. You want to choose suppliers with a solid reputation, who produce quality products, and who ship on time. After all, it’s your reputation that’s on the line. A wholesale supplier can make or break your business, so be careful about who you pick.
Finally, you need to remember that your online drop shipping business will take time to grow. You’re not going to be a millionaire overnight. In addition, many small businesses fold within the first few months. How well you’ve planned for your business can make the difference, and keep you from being just another failed online drop shipping business.
Understanding Drop Shipping Directories
Posted by Bob in Bulk Drop Shipping, Drop Shipping, Wholesale, Wholesale Sources on June 19th, 2009
As anyone who has worked with a drop shipping wholesale supplier can tell you, finding the right supplier is one of the most important parts of your business. If you pick the wrong supplier, you will ultimately lose business as your reputation suffers because of your supplier’s mistakes. In some cases, drop shipping suppliers can be outright frauds, and may try to take you for all you’re worth. Fortunately, there are ways to sort through the available suppliers.
Drop shipping directories are one of the best ways to find suppliers for your business. The idea behind a drop shipping directory is simple. This service weeds through the myriad wholesale suppliers for a given product, a given product line, or even a specific niche. They can then make specific recommendations about which wholesale suppliers have an established reputation for being reliable, and which ones can best help you to have a successful business. At the same time, they can weed out many of the scam artists or the wholesale suppliers that may be sub-par.
Unfortunately, some of these services are scams themselves. For example, some may only include directories that they are directly affiliated with. While there is certainly nothing wrong with this in itself, some services don’t disclose this information from the beginning. In addition, some services don’t even sort through the various drop shipping directory options to give you a real picture of what the market is like.
Other drop shipping directories may be out of date. The service may have charged a set fee for the same list of wholesale suppliers for years. Especially in the fast-moving world of online sales, it is easy for things to change enough that the directory is, in many ways, obsolete.
So, how do you find a good drop shipping directory? Well, there are several places you can look. The Internet is full of companies who do nothing but dedicate themselves to weeding through drop shipping directories for you. Choose one that has a good reputation, and that prides itself on customer service. If you’re not sure about a particular directory, ask for recommendations. Talk to someone who has previously used the directory, and see what their experience has been. Find out how often the directory is updated, and what sorts of customer service options are available to you.
Using a drop shipping directory is supposed to save you time and trouble. Choose the right one so you can avoid additional problems.
Choosing A Drop Ship Wholesale Product
Posted by Bob in Bulk Drop Shipping, Drop Shipping on June 19th, 2009
Whether you’re an online retailer who wants to add some products to your catalog, or whether you’re just getting started in the drop ship wholesale arena, choosing the right products to sell is key to your success. You might be able to find a great product at a reasonable wholesale price, but you still have to find people that want to buy that product in order to make a profit. As you wade through the variety of wholesalers and the products they offer, here are some things that you should keep in mind in order to choose the most profitable and successful products:
1. See who else is selling the product. If there are thousands of vendors on thousands of websites selling the exact same drop ship wholesale product, chances are you’re not going to get that big of a slice of the consumer pie. You will have to fight hard for each sale, competing with everyone else. On the other hand, if there is no one selling the product, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve struck gold; it could be that the product just isn’t in demand.
2. Pick a product that is in a specific target niche. This benefits you in several ways. First of all, you can market to that niche specifically, and focus your advertising efforts so as to get the best results from the least amount of effort and money. In other words, you’ll stretch your marketing dollar much farther when you target a specific niche. If you choose a product that appeals to everyone, you’ll have a much bigger potential market but you also have a much bigger pool of people to try to appeal to. You’ll probably have more competition selling general goods, too, rather than when you’re selling something in a particular niche.
3. Keep in mind that selling drop ship wholesale product isn’t a magic formula that will make you rich overnight. Yes, there is plenty of money to make in this way. You’re going to have to work hard, you’re going to have to invest some time and money, and you’re going to have to have at least a little bit of good luck. Drop shipping doesn’t mean you don’t invest money, it just means you invest it in areas other than a standing inventory.
Choosing the right drop ship wholesale product can make the difference between a successful business and one that stagnates. Do the research before you commit to specific product lines.
Financing your wholesale purchases, Part Two
Posted by Dan Blacharski in Home Based Business, Wholesale, eBusiness on June 19th, 2009
In an earlier discussion, we talked about the wisdom, or folly as the case may be, of using your personal credit cards or personal lines of credit to bankroll your wholesale purchases. Doing so ultimately drags down your personal credit and limits the amount of credit available. But the biggest reason of course, is that sometimes it just doesn’t work. You just can’t be taken seriously as a business person if you’re not using business accounts.
It is possible to get a credit card in the name of your company. First of course, you must make yourself an official company, preferably through incorporation or by forming an LLC (limited liability corporation). Having done so, you are now a legitimate company and can apply for legitimate company credit. Whether you’ll be approved for it is another story entirely, but at least you can apply. It may take a few months for you to build up your business credit, and initially, you may even have to make a personal guarantee. There are a few differerent types of business credit you can obtain.
Your wholesaler may be able to provide you with a line of credit. Although sometimes the wholesaler provides this directly, more often, it is arranged through a third-party finance company. The interest rate may be high, but it is fairly easy to get approved for this. If you’re using it only for short-term debt and paying it off quickly, then the high interest rate shouldn’t bother you that much.
Once you have become a little more established, you can get a higher limit on your corporate credit card, and you may also be able to go to your local bank and apply for a line of credit, probably with a much lower interest rate than that offered by the finance company or the wholesaler.
Remember too that business credit is determined differently from personal credit. Your personal credit rating and FICO score is recorded automatically by the three major credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion, Equifax). Whenever you pay a bill, your creditor reports your activities. You don’t have to do anything for that to occur. But with business credit, there are different credit bureaus (Dunn & Bradstreet, Experian Business, Equifax Business, and Business Credit USA). You need to actually register with these agencies under your business name in order to build a business credit profile.
Verify Wholesalers and Drop Shippers with Simple Online Tools
Posted by Andrea in Drop Shipping, Home Based Business, Wholesale, eBusiness on June 12th, 2009
Research is the corner stone of good business. Every business owner should know how to research extensively before they go ahead and open up shop. Researching a drop shipper or a wholesaler is the only way you will get out of the process of finding one without being scammed for money, sadly.
Before you decide on a drop shipper or a wholesaler gather a list of prospects and take to Google. Search the names of the companies first and foremost. A bad company will likely have complaints lodged against them somewhere on the internet. Add in the word “scam” to the end of the business name and see if anything comes up. If nothing comes up you might have a decent company so put it on a short list. Any company that comes up with more than one complaint should probably be axed from your list.
Once you have a short list check the phone numbers and contact information. The contact information should be directly linked to the company name. Look for e-mail address that end in @companyname.com or @companyname.net. These e-mail address endings mean that that company has it’s own e-mail provider or entity. It is a very good sign of a legitimate business. A Gmail account or a Hotmail account means your mail is going to a personal e-mail address. It is a sign of a bad business.
Once you have that all figured out further check out the companies using Mapquest or Google Earth. If you are familiar with the area you should be able to tell whether or not the business is in a commercial part of a town. If you are not familiar with the company you can use Google Earth to hone in on the address. You want to see a commercial district or a warehouse district. If you hone in on an area that looks completely residential or rural you are probably looking at a scam. A wholesaler or a drop shipper will not be working out of a residential home or a residential area if they are legitimate. You want to see a big building, normally, the uglier the building the better in this case.
Call and speak to someone directly when you think you’ve found a good company. Consider the time zone you are calling and call during their regular business hours. Between 10am-4pm should be the time frame you are aiming for. Someone should be there to answer your phone call at that time. If no one picks up you need to further investigate the company.
Found a New Wholesale Source? Proceed With Caution!
Posted by Andrea in Bulk Drop Shipping, Home Based Business, Wholesale, Wholesale Sources, eBusiness on June 12th, 2009
There are thousands of wholesalers on the internet. They all promise to deliver great quality wholesale goods for a great price so that you can resell them. While many of the wholesalers out there are legitimate businesses there are some that are scams. In order for your business to get off the ground you need to be able to spot a legitimate business and a scam or “cover” business.
A legitimate business will offer contact information and will answer the phone when you call. Before you call check the number with a reverse directory. A legitimate business will have a business line and you should be able to get the companies name when you check a reverse directory. If the reverse directory suggests the number is a cellular phone number you should begin to worry. Try calling during regular business hours. If you receive a voice mail message you can leave a message. If you don’t receive a call back it should raise a red flag.
Legitimate businesses should also be willing to send you samples of the product you are interested in for you to take a look. A company that is a true wholesaler will have products in stock and is almost always more than willing to send out a sample product. If the company says they can not send a sample of the product you are looking at you should look for another wholesaler.
A true wholesaler will always ask for your business tax ID number or your reseller’s license. They are in the business of doing business with real businesses not random consumers. A company that does not ask for the information is likely not on the up-and-up.
Finally legitimate wholesalers will almost always accept credit cards. If a wholesaler is asking for a wire transfer instead of a credit card payment you should dig very deeply into the company. Wire transfers are commonly used by scammers because once the money goes it is gone for good and tracing the person is difficult.
While there may be a few exceptions to the rule a wholesaler that is truly in the business of wholesale goods will behave like any legitimate business. Remember to trust your instincts. If you feel that a business is shady do your research and dig around about them. You have a right to know what is going on.
Accepting Credit Cards is a Must for all eCommerce Businesses
Posted by Andrea in Home Based Business, eBusiness on June 11th, 2009
Almost 75% of all Americans use some form of plastic to make purchases. Any b2b, or b2c ecommerce business almost certainly needs to accept credit cards in order to maintain their presence and flourish on the net, it is as simple as that.
When you first start your business you will find that most merchant account providers will be weary about providing you with an account. Merchant account providers consider risk when opening an account similar to the way a credit card company accesses the risk of opening an account. Merchant providers will be responsible for dealing with charge backs so they do not want to do business with a merchant they feel is a risk. Risky merchants are ones who have just opened their business or merchants who reside in fraud-rampant areas (the Islands, Africa, etc.). Adult service providers will also have a hard time getting merchant accounts because of the rate of charge backs that are common.
A new business owner can try getting a merchant account but starting with a provider such as PayPal may be easier. PayPal works in a similar way to other merchant account holders but is far more lenient with who they will offer merchant services to. For example a new business can open a merchant account with a credit card and a checking account with PayPal while other merchant service providers will check credit and business history before offering an account.
Sticking with PayPal for the long term might not be the best idea overall as many merchants have found PayPal to be flaky with dealing with fraud and other business issues but the company is a good way to get a business started with offering credit card payments.
After several months or a year most businesses will find getting a merchant account to be a fairly easy task and all they need to do is shop around for one that fits best for the business in question. Credit card processing services usually handle business in one of two ways. They either charge a fee based on a percentage of the sale or they charge a specified dollar amount. A business that deals with low cost products will want to look for a processing company that charges a percentage of the sale rather than one who charges a dollar amount. Businesses that have large ticket items (computers, televisions etc.) are better of with a company that has a specified transaction fee as a percentage cut would be more expensive than a previously agreed upon transaction charge.
Visa and MasterCard providers are the most popular with online business owners as most people use the above two to purchase their products. America Express and Discover are less commonly used and also garner higher processing rates so most small business owners will find it is not worth their while to deal with those companies. Finding a service provider is all about knowing your business, your products and your customers.
Ecommerce Wholesale Drop Ship Suppliers - Are They Reliable?
Posted by Andrea in Bulk Drop Shipping, Drop Shipping, Home Based Business, Wholesale Sources, eBusiness on June 11th, 2009
The internet is packed to the brim with horrid tales of drop shipping problems. Looking around quickly on some forums I found several people who have made the mistake of trusting a drop shipper who was only interested in getting their money and less than enthusiastic when it came to customer service. Sadly these stories are not the exception, they are the rule. The problem that many of these people are facing has to do with the size of their account. A small business owner is considered “small potatoes” to a drop shipper and thus they do not receive the same customer service that a large account holder would.
Large accounts (those that order a large volume of product) will find that drop shippers will bend over backwards to help them. In the end a drop shipper is getting paid more from large accounts and thus they are more willing to do good business with them than they are with small-time buyers. It’s sad and disgusting, I know, but it is the truth.
The drop shippers out there that do want to do business with a smaller operation and offer service are often fly by night companies that have a short life spans. Many drop shippers begin their operation without a solid business plan in place and thus are gone in six to eighteen months. While you might get several good months of service from the company you will have to find another shipper when they fall out of the shipping race.
So how do you find a good drop shipper as a small business? Well, that is sort of like the riddle of the Sphinx. You have to call around a lot and repeatedly call back to ask questions. If you have found a business that is willing to answer questions more than once you are onto a pretty good shipper.
Next you need to take to the internet and read up on the company. You can often find out if a company is registered with the BBB and how long they have been in business online quickly. If there is information about the company dating back 5 or more years you are onto a really solid prospect? If you have a company that has only been in business for a year or who has only been using their acquired name for one year you might want to walk away. Don’t get me wrong, not all shippers who are new are out to get your money and kill your business and livelihood but with the army of bad drop shippers out there you are better off looking for an older company. You wouldn’t gamble away your entire life savings on a long shot horse at the races so there is no need to do it with a drop shipper.
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