How a 'Sidepreneur' Can Start an E-commerce Business Successfully? If you keep these basic things in mind you would be able to start an e-commerce business successfully and create the perfect exit plan from your 9 to 5 job

While you may have seen many of your friends and colleagues bitten by the entrepreneurial bug and maybe you aren't yet in a position to quit your 9 to 5. You may not have the financial resources at hand or have responsibilities to meet which isn't possible without seeing your account swell on payday. Does that signal the end of the road for your entrepreneurial dream? Not really, as you can try your hand as a sidepreneur and explore the opportunities that e-commerce marketplaces offer you.

What Is Sidepreneurship?

You know what a side business is – it is something you do to generate an additional stream of income. You may rent out your property to generate extra income. Every month or week you'd generate additional income that adds to your primary source of income i.e. your job. Sidepreneurship, on the other hand, is working on an entrepreneurial idea without quitting your full-time job. Once the business is matured enough and helps you generating more income than your job, you can quit it and focus full-time on your business. It has become a chosen route for many as it allows people to experiment with their entrepreneurial idea without risking their regular careers. The aim here is to explore a business idea that lets you become more successful than doing your job.

How to Start Your Successful E-commerce Business as a Sidepreneur?

E-commerce is perhaps the safest and the most success-oriented route to sidepreneurship. And the best place to get started with e-commerce is becoming a part of the marketplace. You have the likes of Amazon, eBay, Flipkart, Alibaba that let you set up your store immediately. But the way e-commerce industry is growing all the world, starting your own online store is a better idea. There is the number of business models in the e-commerce industry who have proven successful all over the world. For example, you can start a single store like Nike, or you can start a multi-seller' marketplace like Amazon, eBay, Flipkart, etc.

However, easy it may sound the odds of a failure in sidepreneurship is also high. Here are a few things you must do to become successful while selling on an e-commerce marketplace –

• Dedicate Time & Prepare Small Targets – Don't treat is as a side business where you work on it as a leisure activity. Dedicate time for your online store. Whether you do it after office hours or during weekends you need to follow a strict regime and without one, you would go nowhere. Spent time to research on the market. You must set small targets for your store in terms of sales volume and revenue and periodically review them.

• Evaluate Your Idea:

This is where you need to do much brainstorming. No doubt, e-commerce industry is growing rapidly all over the world but competition in this industry is equally high. To make your idea successful you need to evaluate it from different angles. Here is a 3 steps process to evaluate your business idea:

1. Understand the customer behaviour of your targeted area

2. Research the existing demand

3. Conduct competitive analysis

• Right Technology Solution:

Here are the points that a sidepreneur needs to consider while choosing a technology platform:

• The scope of customization and Scalability

• Mobile and SEO friendly

• Mobile Apps for Android and IOS users

• Automated features

• Technical Support

Additionally, rather than building an online store from scratch, you can choose ready to launch solutions like YoKart, Shopify, Growcer, to launch your online store swiftly

• Have Eye on Larger Picture – Always keep an eye on the emerging trends in the market. Ecommerce is a fast evolving space where you can't afford to fall back in terms of adopting new trends and ideas. This is more so in case of marketplaces that are overly competitive. As a sidepreneur, you have to focus even more as many of your competitors in the marketplace are working on their idea 24/7. Since your 9 to 5 will let you earn a steady income you can invest some of your disposable income in marketing and branding campaigns.

• Set Resignation Decline - You need to set a deadline for yourself to quit your regular job. This will push you to work extra hard on your e-commerce venture. Sidepreneurship doesn't work when you keep this important step waiting for your business to reach a certain level. You'd relax and never convert your idea into a matured business.

If you keep these basic things in mind you would be able to start an e-commerce business successfully and create the perfect exit plan from your 9 to 5 job.