What are the requirements to start an online selling business?

If you want to start an offline business like a shop or a show room then you need to invest a lot of money to take a room on rent, setup the shop, furniture, license etc. But, for an online selling business you should not do anything like this. Instead of that, you need to invest a small amount of money in the beginning. After getting the whole idea about the business and the marketplaces, you can invest a big amount to purchase a large number of goods to sell online. For a kick start, you do not need a big amount. you can start with a small number of stock and get an idea about the interest of the customers and profit. In spite of investment, you need some extra time and mental attention for a better kick start of your business. In both online and offline businesses, you need to understand the market and the requirement of the customers. Specially in online business you must get updated about the current trending products and the condition of the market. For this reason, you need to invest time and attention. Market research is very important in online business. 

The requirements to start an online selling business are - 

1. GST Registration - 
           

GST is the first requirement for any kind of business. You will not be able to register on any marketplace without GSTIN number. You can get a GSTIN after successful registration. You can contact a Tax Consultant or apply through any website who provide GST. There are so many websites in India who works with GST Registration. You will get the GSTIN within two days.

2. A Desktop or a Laptop Computer - 

You need a computer system for your business. It can be a Laptop or a Desktop computer. For managing your orders, listing and other works, you need a computer. It is the vital part of your business. It is not required to have a super fast computer. You can run your works with a normal PC. It will not cost so much.

3. Active Internet Connection - 

An internet connection is also mandatory as a computer system. Without internet you will not be able to run your business. As it is online selling business so you must maintain everything online. For which, you need an active internet connection. It is not required to purchase a broadband connection initially. You can run your works with a simple 4G connection from your mobile. You can connect your mobile data with your computer and run all the online works properly.

4. Products to sell online - 

You must need some products to list them and start selling. The products can be anything. Their is no bounding to select your product categories. So you can select any number of categories and items. I will always suggest to bring some unique and useful products. Initially, you try to purchase some products from your locality, list them and get the idea about the market. If you get orders on some products then, you can bring a large stock of that particular product and sell them.

5. Light box and a powerful camera - 

To get orders, you need to list your products in a proper way. For this, you need good photographs of your products. So you need a light box and a powerful camera for this purpose. Remember, quality photographs will attract your customers to your products. You can buy a light box from amazon. It will not cost so much. Initially, you can use your smart phone for photography.

6. A Printer - 

For printing invoice and courier slip, you will need a printer. Actually you need two printers a laser and a thermal printer. But initially you can run your work with a laser or an inkjet printer. You can print them in proper sizes and paste on the courier bags or cartons with tapes. You do not need a color printer. Instead of a color printer, a black printer is more preferable.

7. Packaging Materials - 

Packaging materials like courier bags, cartons, tapes, bubble wraps are mandatory for packing your products. For some marketplaces like amazon, flipkart, snapdeal, branded packaging materials are mandatory with their own logo, tagline and design which can be bought from the respective marketplaces. Some another marketplaces allow plain packaging materials. This is the responsibility of a seller to pack products and handover to the courier service. So you need to buy the packaging materials your self. Initially you can buy in a small amount to start your business.

8. Knowledge - 

This is the most important thing. You must gain knowledge to run your business online or offline. In online business, you must the proper knowledge to select products, take photographs, list them and promote them. After that, you also need knowledge to process your orders and maintain your stock and other things in your account. So I suggest you to search on the help topics regarding the steps of online selling. You can watch YouTube videos, study from blogs, download eBooks on online selling (eCommerce) and read them. Thus you can gain knowledge and run your business smoothly.

All the things I mentioned are very important to start your online selling business. In spite of all these things, you need mental attention and seriousness for a better start and grow your business.