How to Start an Online Business in 2024
Making the decision to start an online business is the easy part. But deciding on what business to start—and then actually getting started—can feel daunting.
Many entrepreneurs remain stuck in the first step and never really get started at all.
This doesn’t have to be you. I want to encourage you that, once you choose an idea, it doesn’t have to take long to set everything up and get in motion.
Today, I’ll walk you through 7 steps for starting and growing a successful online business, which can be done in as little as just a couple of months.
step #1 - decide what business to start
If you already know what business you want to start, you’ve completed step 1 and can proceed to step #2. Congratulations!
But, if you’ve been struggling with trying to decide what business to start, then here are a few things I recommend you do:
brainstorm ideas
Take out a good old fashioned notebook and pen or open up a Google doc on your computer, and take some time to brainstorm any and all business ideas you have.
This may take just a few hours, or you might want to spend a few days on it, but don’t skip this brainstorming session. It’s a great way to get all your ideas out of your head and down onto paper. It will also help you to choose the best option to test first.
narrow down your list
Once you’ve brainstormed a list full of ideas, now it’s time to narrow it down even more. Cross off any ideas that fall into one of these categories:
Ideas that you’re not excited about
Ideas that you don’t know enough about
Ideas that may be too hard to implement right now
Ideas you can’t see yourself sticking to for the long run
consider what each idea would involve
Now that you have a smaller list of 3-5 ideas, consider each one a bit more heavily in terms of what would be involved if you started that particular business.
I like to do a “day-in-the-life” exercise to narrow this list down to one. Take each idea and think about what you would have to do day-to-day to run that particular business. Is it what you thought it would be? Would you enjoy that?
pick the one idea you’re most excited about
Which idea stood out to you the most? Which do you see yourself able to do over the long term? Which seemed to have day-to-day operations that you’d enjoy?
The idea doesn’t need to be the perfect idea. There’s no “getting it right” when it comes to choosing. You just want to choose the best one for you right now.
conduct basic market research
Now it’s time to talk to people who may be interested in what you’re putting together.
Reach out to family, friends, or other parts of your network to let them know what you’re working on, and ask them if they’re either interested in what you’re doing or if they know someone who might be.
Then, start talking to those “right people” to learn a little bit more about them and what they’re looking for. Be sincerely interested.
Here are a few key things you’re trying to find out:
What do they really want?
What problem are they trying to solve?
What obstacles are getting in the way of what they want?
What is motivating them to solve this problem?
What have they already tried to solve this problem?
What kind of help are they looking for when it comes to solving this problem?
Market research is a key factor in setting up a successful business and not spinning your wheels to do so.
step #2 - write a business plan
A business plan helps you understand your vision for the company. It’s a way to outline your key goals so that you can make business decisions and take action based on those main objectives.
Your business plan is a foundational piece of the puzzle and a great starting point.
Inside your business plan, you’ll clarify your business model and exactly how your business will make money.
Additional things you may include are:
Your business name, vision, and mission
Your business structure
Who your target market is
How you’ll advertise and market your business
What kinds of products or services you’ll offer
How you’ll deliver your products or services to the customer
Your short-term and long-term business goals
If you need help with your business plan, I’ve created a free template to get you started: The Easiest Business Plan Ever and also have a video playlist that walks you through how to fill it out: Business Planning Deep Dive
All in all… planning matters.
As Benjamin Franklin once said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”
step #3 - beta launch your product idea
You may ask yourself, “How do I beta launch my product if I haven’t even officially set up my business?”
It may seem strange that step 3 is to actually sell your product idea before you’ve set up your business or built your audience, but there’s an important reason to reverse these steps and sell your idea first:
By beta launching your product, you’ll validate your business idea and make sure it’s viable in the marketplace
This order—testing your product before building a business around it—will end up saving you a lot of time, energy, and money.
what is a beta launch?
A beta launch is like test-driving a car before you buy it.
Have you heard of Kickstarter? Kickstarter is a funding platform for creative projects. It’s a way of bringing your idea to the masses to see if it will sell before you even create it.
That’s exactly the mission of a beta launch. To test your idea by bringing it to market before pouring too much time into it.
how to beta launch
In essence, you have a couple of options for beta launching:
Pre-sell your product before you create it
Create a simple version of your product to sell
When you beta launch, you’ll do one of two things: you’ll either 1) validate your idea and move forward with creating your business or 2) you’ll find there isn’t much interest in it, and you can test a new idea instead.
Testing to make sure your idea has potential will give you the confidence you need to fully launch your business without wasting time, energy, or money.
step #4 - set up the legal and administrative side of your business
Now it’s time to set up shop!
If your beta launch is a success (and I hope that it is!), then it’s time to set up the legal and administrative side of your business.
It’s time to make it official.
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer or an attorney, so I can’t give you legal advice on how to start a business. This is for general informational purposes only. Do your own research.
register your business
Do a little research on how to start a business in your own state or country. This can vary from place to place, and you want to ensure you’re setting yourself up right – from the start.
If you’re in the U.S., the Small Business Administration has a great guide for setting up your business with your state.
obtain any necessary licenses
Most small businesses in the U.S. do not need business licenses to operate, but this also can vary from state to state. Again, the Small Business Administration has a guide to help you determine if you need either a state business license or a federal business license. You may need one, both, or none.
set up your website
Keep your website simple at first, as you can always add to it later. The most important thing is to have a place to send potential customers so they can get to know your brand and your products.
I recently transitioned my websites from WordPress to Squarespace because I find the platform to be a simple way to create a professional design. It’s also really easy to learn and use.
set up your email marketing software
I think about email marketing like I think about saving for retirement. It’s always better to start earlier than later.
Technically, this step is optional, and some businesses may not need an email list at all, but most businesses benefit from having one. It’s a way to nurture your target customers until they’re ready to buy, stay in touch with current customers, and provide them with additional value. And, unlike social media, you also own this platform.
I recommend two email marketing platforms:
Convertkit - this is what I use. They have a lot of advanced marketing tools as well as great customer support
Mailerlite - this is a great alternative that I recommend to many of my students because it enables you to use all their features (even their automations) for free with up to 1,000 subscribers
step #5 - develop your product
If you haven’t developed your product yet, now is the time!
physical products
You’ll take your prototype and improve on it, then bring it to manufacturing. If you’re creating the product yourself, then you’ll just create more of it to fulfill the demands.
digital products
In your beta launch, you may have created a simpler version of the digital product you want to sell, so now it’s time to beef it up. Take the feedback you received from the first students or customers and update or add anything that you need.
services
If you’re selling a service, you may be able to skip this step altogether. However, you’ll still at least want to consider what your processes or workflow looks like for your clients and the services you offer. Now is a great time to build that out and organize your systems.
step #6 - find your target customers
I recommend three ways to get traction with your business: networking, collaboration, and creating content.
networking
Effective networking is about meeting people, really getting to know them, and building relationships in your space. As you do this, you’ll not only find potential customers, but you’ll also find some other small business owners or similar brands to collaborate with down the road.
collaborations
Leveraging other entrepreneurs’ audiences is one of the best and quickest ways to get your business noticed. There are a plethora of ways to do this, including a joint venture promotion, guest blogging, guest podcasting, or swapping lead magnets in each other’s newsletters.
content marketing
Content marketing can include social media marketing, but think also in terms of long-form content that has a much longer “shelf life” on the internet…
For instance, I create videos about business strategy and digital marketing because that’s what I help my target customers with. These videos are a great introduction to people (like you!) who are interested in starting online businesses and may, at some point, be interested in hiring me and my company to help you.
Other forms of content marketing include blogging or podcasting.
Marketing doesn’t need to be scary. It can actually be fun, and there are so many ways to do it!
step #7 - scale your business
Scaling, in layman’s terms, means that you’re taking your business from something small to growing it to be something big.
But in order to do this effectively, you want to scale proportionately in three areas:
Scaling your digital marketing
Scaling your systems
Scaling your team
How can you scale your business successfully in the right way?
Scaling up your marketing to attract more customers while also putting systems in place to support your customers, and then, right alongside that, putting people in place to run the systems that support your customers.
Here’s what I don’t want you to do. I don’t want you to think about this entire process and forget about the most important thing.
The most important thing is that you make the decision about what business idea you want to test and just get started with a simple plan. Focus on step 1, and then step 2, continuing on until you reach step #7 with a wildly successful business.
the easiest business plan ever
Ready to, once and for all, take your idea and turn it into a successful online business?
