Can You Really Run A Thriving Ecommerce Business From Home?

Working from home is comfortable, convenient, and flexible. It’s the kind of work 99% of people wish they could do! And that’s why so many of us start a side hustle in our spare time. We get to make money from our own living rooms and bedrooms, and if things go well, this side hustle might end up becoming your day job too. 

But there’s another edge to this side of the working lifestyle. Because when you have an ecommerce business, and you’re hoping to make it successful enough to become the one and only career you focus on, working from home can start feeling like a disadvantage. 

You’re one person, working in a small, ‘unprofessional’ space, and you’re trying to take on the world. For a lot of people, this perception doesn’t sound like it could lead to a thriving online business at all. 

However, anyone with that perception might just be wrong about the fact. Here’s why.

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Ecommerce in the Home: Why it Works So Well

We’ve touched on an idea that home-based ecommerce can be a no-no for some people. That it’s the kind of thing that’s supposed to stay small, to the side, and as the hustle you occasionally update when you need a bit of extra money. 

But we’re here to firmly say that ecommerce and the home are a match made in heaven. Why? Here’s our top reasons:

It’s essential to start small

No ecommerce site thrives when there’s 10+ different products to try and make popular. That’s why flagship products exist in the first place. 

If you have just the one or two, you can focus all your time and attention on marketing them. It also means you don’t run out of storage space! 

It gives you more time

When you’ve got more time, you have the flexibility to focus on whatever you need to, including customer service, social media, and product quality. 

There are very few overheads

And that’s the beauty of running a business from home, really. You don’t have to pay for anything you’re not already paying for. 

You have wifi set up already. You have a computer to use. You pay gas and electricity for lighting and heating on a routine basis. There are very few new overheads you have to contend with when you set up an ecommerce store. 

Instead, you can just focus on the cost of the materials and/or products you need, any web hosting, and the price of logistics for shipping things off to customers. 

How To Build a Thriving Ecommerce Business From Home

So, it’s easier than you might think to start an ecommerce business from home. But when it comes to growing it, making it successful, and feeling like you’re thriving, what do you need to do? 

It’s all in the details. You need to lay the foundation for your ecommerce store just right, and that takes a bit of time and effort. 

As such, here’s a few of our ecommerce top tips for you to think about:

Put plenty of time into your website

That’s always going to be the first thing. No one is going to want to use your ecommerce website if it’s not a good place to be – simple as. 

Make it easy to navigate. Make it easy to search. Let users track their way through your site. Have an easy checkout, and make it totally optional to create an account. 

Focus on the user experience above all else. Not only does it make it easier to retain a visitor once they’ve found your homepage, but search engines themselves like to see quality UX design in their top rankings. 

Find a reliable delivery partner 

Once your products are listed online, the next step is to get them from your front door to the customer’s. 

And to do that, you’re going to need a reliable delivery partner that offers a transparent shipment process, as well as a budget friendly option, to both you and your customers. 

Look for a quality 3PL provider here. They’ll have their own fulfilment centers for easier, lower cost shipping, as well as a focus on ecommerce shipment that ensures they prioritize the unique needs above. 

Keep a proper inventory and records

You need to know what’s in your stock room (or cupboard) at all times, so you can make sure you stay stocked up and don’t waste anything. And trust us, this is one area that at-home ecommerce businesses fall down more than anywhere else. 

You also need to be sure you have proper records of your sales, profits, and shipments. You don’t want to leave any important details off of this list, just in case a dispute arises with either a customer, your logistics vendor, or the taxman. 

Advertise on social media

Not only is social media one of the best places to find a pre-curated target pool, but it’s also an affordable way to run ads too. 

Social media ads can be run for as little as one to two days, and you can set a proper daily budget that ensures you don’t have to put up any money upfront. 

You can just pay day by day and then stop the ad when you’re happy to. That’s a more intuitive, budget-friendly system for a small business like yours. 

Get Your Home-Based Ecommerce Business Up and Running

You’ve got some space at home, a bit of free time, and you’ve got a bit of a creative edge. Why not make use of these three things for something profitable? 

Start an ecommerce business from home and set off on a thriving career adventure. After all, ecommerce is more affordable when you’re working from home. And with plenty of flexible time to make use of, it’s much easier to set up your business’ foundation just right. 

Keep the tips above in mind and remember, it’s more than possible to run a thriving online store from the comfort of your own home!