Your 7 Step eCommerce Business Plan --
Take Your Sales International

The world of online sales is sitting there, tantalizing you.  So let's get your ecommerce business plan in shape for financing!

In its most basic form "ecommerce" means "selling stuff on the web".  That "stuff" could be millions of different things.  If there is a business in existence, there is probably an online market for it.  It can be

1. Selling SERVICES, either yours or someone else's
2. Selling PRODUCTS, either your own or those made by someone else

All else is a variation on these two themes.

Yes, there are websites that don't sell anything, but they are not "commerce".  "Commerce" means sales.  If you are looking to build a hobby site that doesn't sell anything, you don't need the eCommerce Business Plan.  But if you are selling, i.e., engaged in "commerce", stick around.

Financing With An eCommerce Business Plan

Ecommerce is still a relatively new area.  There aren't a lot of industry stats or trends to tell you how much you are likely to earn online.  Which means simply that new ecommerce business, especially smaller ones, will find it difficult to find outside financing of any kind.

There are, however, two types of ecommerce businesses that do get funded:

Large ecommerce businesses.  Angel investors and venture capital do fund startups here.  I am continually amazed at the bizarre online businesses that actually get angel and/or venture investment, so if yours is a genuinely good idea, go for it.

Smaller business that are expanding sales.  Should you already have a brick and mortar business that has proven itself, yours may be a candidate for funding for an ecommerce business.  Startups here are tough, but see the paragraph above.

Let's focus on that second group:  the expanding companies.

In virtually all bank financing, startups are tough to finance, and that is certainly true in ecommerce.  New ecommerce businesses just can't provide industry stats or much of anything else that bankers wants. 

But where there is a track record of success, you do have stats and figures to draw upon.  You already know, for example, who your target clients are, and how much they are likely to buy at one time.  You know how much repeat business you get, and at what intervals.  Using that knowledge to grow your business nationally or internationally is absolutely the right way to go!

Start with the 7 Step e-Commerce Business Plan:

 

For more information on the 7 Step eCommerce Business Plan, Click Here