The advanced technology and solutions available today have enabled businesses of all sizes to operate efficiently and profitably. Small businesses running operations from home have particularly benefited from modern technology.
Australian ecommerce is on the rise, with millions of shoppers relying on online shopping for their household and personal needs. For home-based business owners, the ecommerce market in Australia presents big growth and income opportunities with the benefit of enjoying flexibility.
However, the competition is huge, and capturing even a small slice of this growing market means businesses need to think outside the box. What sets successful businesses apart from the ones that struggle is all the work that goes on behind the scenes.
Whether this is a side hustle from home or a dream project you’ve been wanting to start, we have 7 practical tips to guide you. These strategies will help you build your brand and generate a consistent stream of revenue.
So, let’s begin.
Set the Space for Your Business
You don’t need an entire room for your online business operations. Even a corner of a room with a desk, adequate lighting, and a place to store your business assets. Once you have set up this space, designate it as your “work mode” area where you can focus on matters related to your business. This is especially important for home-based businesses where it’s easy to lose focus among personal priorities.
Secondly, organise your packaging supplies, shipping labels, inventory, and business documents in one place. The best way to organise them is by labelling the shelves and using dedicated storage containers for various items.
For instance, the returns stock needs to be kept and maintained separately from the fresh stock. In this case, labelling them helps.
Finally, get a hold of your fulfilment and packaging, as they can erode your customer satisfaction and trust, negatively affecting your revenue and reputation.
Prioritise Business Financials
Most businesses leave this for later, and that’s where they go downhill. Running a business from home means that the boundaries between personal and business finances blur before you’ve realised it. This can lead to confusion, tax issues, and penalties at the year-end.
Managing your income, expenses, GST obligations, and cash flow does not have to be complex. One of the smartest things that you can do, as a small ecommerce operator, is to invest in accounting software.
The benefits of accounting software for a small business owner cannot be understated. The platform lets you automate invoicing, track expenses by category, reconcile sales versus payouts, and, more importantly, keep an eye on where your money is actually going.
Having clean financial records is central to business operations, regardless of their size. It not only saves you from penalties but also allows effortless tax filing.
Most of the accounting software platforms in the market offer multiple pricing tiers to suit small businesses. Many of them offer free trials; take advantage of them when getting your new business off the ground.
Set 20-30 minutes aside each week to get a grip on your business finances; reconcile your sales, document your expenses, and track the returns. This can save you a lot of heartburn going forward.
Invest in the Right Platform for Your Products
Marketplaces like Shopify, WooCommerce, Etsy, and eBay are among the popular ecommerce platforms. Each of these has its own pros and cons and must be chosen wisely. If you plan to sell both online and in person, choose an ecommerce platform that integrates with a reliable POS system in Australia. This keeps your inventory, orders, and customer information synchronised, reducing manual work and helping your business scale more efficiently.
Here are some considerations:
- The product being sold: Handmade products are suitable for platforms like Etsy, while larger product ranges may be better suited to either Shopify or WooCommerce.
- The level of technology comfort: If you aren’t too tech savvy, Shopify is your best bet. It is easier to set up than WooCommerce. However, WooCommerce offers greater control than Shopify.
- The fees associated with each marketplace: Depending on the volume and sales value, marketplace transaction fees add up quickly.
- The marketplace (or marketplaces) your customers currently shop: That is where you want to be; therefore, your focus should be on getting to your customers where they currently shop – not getting your customers to your custom webstore.
Most home business owners typically begin with a marketplace like Etsy to test out the demand for their products. Then, depending on their experience and business volume, they move their store to Shopify or WooCommerce. However, this switch should be made only once you’ve established consistent sales and have a better sense of how your brand is performing.
Start simple; always maintain a lean and well-organised ecommerce store on one marketplace before beginning to create a large and uncontrolled presence across multiple marketplaces.
Set Up a Foolproof Fulfilment Process
When orders start coming in, you want a professional and seamless delivery process in place for managing your order packing and shipping.
Consider using a batching method for packing your orders. For instance, many sellers usually process all their packing for their orders at the same time (most often in the morning) and send them all out at the same time using a shipping platform. This makes the entire process efficient and cost-effective.
When catering to international customers, research your options in advance. International parcel post is easier than most business owners think. It is a convenient and cost-effective way to ship internationally as it collects parcels from the home business location, promptly sending them to different locations.
This is a real advantage for anyone working from home and unable to get to a courier terminal to deliver parcels. By selling internationally, your business has access to a significantly larger market to sell your products and should therefore be taken into consideration when making decisions about the types of products that you are selling and pricing those products before you start selling to your customers internationally.
Pay Attention to Product Photography
When you’re on a tight budget, taking high-quality photographs is critical as you want high ROI from every single shot.
Poor photos cause poor sales – customers cannot see the product clearly, and quickly move to the next website while losing trust.
Taking good-quality photographs doesn’t require you to hire an expensive professional photographer. Here’s what you need:
- A good smartphone or camera with basic features is sufficient for this purpose
- Editing tools like Adobe Lightroom or Snapseed
- Natural light (a window is great, but make sure the sun is not shining directly on the product because that will flatten out the detail)
- An uncluttered background — a piece of white cardboard or a piece of linen will work
When taking photographs, take multiple angles, including close-up pictures of the texture, label, or object to provide size reference. Moreover, pay close attention to stylistic coherence, such as matching your brand’s colours and look.
Consistency matters more than imperfection; batch shoot when the light is present so that your products have a similar appearance, thus building a cohesive-looking product grid that builds your brand image in the customer’s mind.
Market Well across Platforms
Many small business owners get over-excited and build an attractive online store, but don’t see the results they expect. This is simply because creating a store and hoping it generates sales will not work.
Instead of relying solely on your website, focus on finding and using one or two social platforms that your target customers use most often and showing up there regularly.
If you are selling something visually appealing, like a craft or artwork, Instagram and Pinterest are great channels to use.
Similarly, if you are selling to a local audience, local Facebook groups or community pages are the best places to place your products. These pages can generate a significant volume of warm traffic that’s ready to shop, especially when you work with Meta ads to boost your visibility.
Email marketing is also an extremely powerful channel. Sending regular emails that include special offers or product launches can help engage your customer base. Set up free accounts with Mailchimp or MailerLite to get you started.
Search engine optimisation (SEO) is also essential. The more descriptive your product title and the more relevant keywords you include, the easier it is for customers to find you. Hire an SEO agency or expert, or invest in strategies that get you visible on Google and on other marketplace searches.
Track your Efforts
You don’t have to be a business analyst to know what’s working and what isn’t working for your business. Stick to the basics; track your numbers regularly.
For instance, which products are selling the most? Is there a specific SKU that’s selling more? Which channel brings the most traffic to your website? What is your average order value? Is your business impacted by seasonality or specific market trends?
The answers to these questions will help you understand your business more, allowing you to make informed decisions.
Summing Up
It is exciting to build a home-based business from the ground up. With some effort and the tips shared above, you can build a successful brand while ensuring a consistent revenue flow.
Remember, most small businesses do not generate consistent revenue immediately. It is critical to stay consistent with your strategy, track what’s genuinely working for you, and market your products to the right audience.
The flexibility of a home-bound business is real. We are confident that you’ll experiment with the strategies shared in this article to take your business to the next level.
