Although the giants are an eternal presence, it would be fair to say that Ecommerce is perhaps even more associated with small businesses than it is with the Amazons and eBays of the world. This is because it is ecommerce that has been responsible for making small businesses of a certain type possible at all.

There can beincredibly lowstartup costs when creating an ecommerce site. Inventory still need to be sourced, but that inventory could be anything fromhomemade items to second-hand stuff a person is looking to get rid of. Many ecommerce sites that went on to greater success got started in this way.

The one big overarching challenge in ecommerce is thatwith it being so simple to start, there are many people doing it, and therefore it’s hard to stand out. Indeed, it is not so much bankruptcy or economic catastrophe that spells doom for a great many new Ecommerce Ventures, it is simply stagnation. It’s quite easy to find yourself treading water for a period at the beginning of your ecommerce journey, and so the business model always rewards innovation and far-reaching marketing – both things which the online nature of the endeavor can help with.

The Challenge of Opportunity

When you run a small ecommerce site, the goal is to eventually get to the point where growth becomes a realistic opportunity – and then to grasp it. We have already mentioned that stagnation is the enemy of small ecommerce ventures, andindeedit is a failure to grasp growth when it comes along that often leads to the failure of ecommerce ventures – and there is certainly a high failure rate.

How to know when it is time to grow? The important thing is naturally enough how much money you are bringing in. When you have enough for investment in things like expanded reach, more professional marketing, or hiring new staff, then it’s time to grow. Azola Creative, an ecommerce marketing agency with offices in Jacksonville and San Francisco, advise that the thing to watch is cash flow and not absolute profits. It’s time to grow when you have the revenue to meet all your financial obligations without requiring things like invoice factoring or loans and you have a significant leftover to make the kind of investments that lead to growth.

Tips for Starting in Ecommerce

So, with that all-important point covered, here are some introductory stages to starting an ecommerce venture – and ensuring it survives long enough to grow.

Start With a Plan

One of the sure ways to end up missing the opportunity for growth is to have a foggy idea of what it is you want to achieve and what type of timescale you’re working on. There are indicatorsfor sure, but itis also wise to know what success looks like before it comes along.

Make a Good First Impression

Unfortunately, it’s possible to poison your brand’s reputation and then suffer from that for some time. The key is to make a good first impression, which usually means the right type of brand identification right from the off. After that, it’s a matter of keeping things consistent.

Use SEO

This is certainly something you should be doing from the off. By seeking the right data (and data analysis) you can get an idea of what SEO keywords are most relevant to your brand and products. Thereafter, you should begin integrating these into all your content. This is essential if your site is going to be found at all.

There is endless opportunity for success in ecommerce – but just as much opportunity to fail. This is what you should, above all, keep in mind.