4 Smart Tips on How to Build Your Business Online

I’ve been through the roughest patches when I was starting out my business through digital platforms! It is a messy jungle out there with so many choices and decisions to make. So where does one start? The life of an entrepreneur has lots of up’s and down’s so before you make those wrong choices, I’d like to share some quick tips that I’ve learned (and hopefully you get to avoid!) from my journey so far: Make sure you deal with legitimate and credible transactions This isn’t rocket science—we all know by now that the online world is also full of fraud! There will be parties soliciting critical information, asking for money, or faking identities.

When dealing with business partners or companies that are referrals from acquaintances, I always make sure I validate their identities first. I look at reviews and ratings. I also see the frequency of their transactions (volume can speak about trust). Don’t just rely on conversations done via e-mails or SMS—personally meet them when you can too after thoroughly researching them online. There are many online platforms today that allow you to validate people’s identities first. Check their history, their testimonials, and their experiences. When selling online, choose platforms that have minimal upfront costs Every budding entrepreneur will have their first infusion of capital spent from their own savings. It’s a painful and risky thing to do, but costs are always part of business! When you’re at this stage, it pays to spend wisely on your investments—the gadgets that you buy, the employees that you hire, and the fees you pay for operating your business. If you’re selling your items online—carefully consider the costs you are paying: are you paying too much for what you can sell? For instance, avoid selling your items on websites that charge you set-up fees—even when you’re not selling yet! If you are cost-sensitive for now, there are sites that allow revenue sharing once you start selling. Or better yet, look for websites that offer no set-up fees at all! It’s a unicorn to find such these days but a recent discovery of mine: UnionBank’s GlobaLinker. com (bitly link here of GlobalLinker) allows you to do so! It’s the best platform I would recommend for young digital entrepreneurs who want to spend their investments wisely.

When posting on social media, timing is everything So your store is now ready, and you want to make some noise on social media. You’re eager to put up your online posters, banners, videos, and photos. But are you posting them also at the right time? Remember that posting is also an art of catching your audience WHEN they’re online. Be strategic: post during the peak hours when the algorithm of social media sites is on your side. Usually, these are during the morning and afternoon commute hours (when everyone is glued to their phones while waiting in a car or train!), lunch break, and the primetime hour of late-after-dinner-and-right-before-you-sleep (about 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM). If you want a higher chance for exposure of your posts, schedule your content at these times. Don’t let social media eat up all your time selling Promoting online is important—but it’s not the only thing you that will be busy about. You’re the business owner. You got inventory to manage, taxes to file, employees to manage, the list is endless! Along the way, you might get caught spending too much time on posting (because yes, it does take a lot of time), at the expense of compromising other deliverables. Don’t just work hard, work smart too. Before you start posting your content, consider creating a daily calendar of what you need to post. And once you’ve itemized each post, remember that you don’t need to wait for the hour to be in front of your phone or laptop—there are many apps and sites today that allow you to schedule them (and thereby post them even while you’re sleeping). My favorite app which I use for my business is Posfity (postfity. com). I also use Canva (canva. com) for quickly designing my posters or advertisements online! At the end of the day It won’t be an easy walk in the park, but entrepreneurship is always an exciting journey that can be rewarding when executed well. Remember that your first moves and choices can significantly affect the long-term vitality of your business, so it pays to take time and consider your options well. I wish you the best of luck!