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Starting An Online Store With No Money

Starting an online store with no money
Published 14 September 2020

Last updated on 30 June 2021

Online stores are some of the most profitable businesses, but things can get a little complicated when we talk about starting an online store with no money. 

Even though it’s possible to start selling without a big investment, there are still a few things you need to consider, such as your website’s hosting, domain, and advertising. The first thing that you have to do is decide upon your business type. In general, since we’re talking about starting an online store with no money, we think about dropshipping. This means that you don’t have to buy the products and then resell them. This is a way of getting an order through your store, and then passing it to the supplier that sends the product.

With that in mind, let’s talk about opening a dropshipping business with little or no money at all, and see how to make money with Shopify.

Choose A Platform

The first thing you need to do is choose a platform to sell your products on. In the beginning, you can use almost any platform, but you still need to think if it’s going to be a good option in the long run. For example, Etsy and Amazon allow you to open online stores, and in general, you will only have to pay a commission of every sale to them, while specialized platforms, such as Shopify, will require you to start on a paid plan. 

Now, they each have advantages and disadvantages. While the big eCommerce platforms can provide you with free access to possible clients searching for similar products, specialized platforms give you the possibility of really starting your own brand.

If you want to start with Shopify, you can always start with a 14-days trial, and then see if it’s the best option for you!

Decide On What You Will Sell

If you checked out the guide about how to start an online store step by step, then you probably already know that you should have a strategy in place. You need to know what you’ll sell, who is your target audience, and of course, if it’s really worth it.

When talking about dropshipping, you already have everything you need in some specialized apps, such as Oberlo for Shopify. You can easily select the products you want in your store, and start making profits in no time. 

Set-Up Your Online Store

This means that you need to start building a homepage, make sure your product descriptions are proper and that your images are optimized. In general, all the e-Commerce platforms have very straightforward builders you can use. Make sure you have a clear copy, call-to-actions, and that your products are properly described.

Set-Up Payments

It’s important to have access to a good payment gateway that works in the countries you want to sell to. If you chose to start an online business with Shopify, then you need to take a look at what are the best payment gateways for Shopify. This way, you can be sure you made the right choice.

Start Selling

Now that you have everything set up, it’s time to open the store and start selling. Now, this is one of the things you may want to pay for. If you don’t already have an audience on social media, then you may need to spend some money on advertising. If you don’t consider this, then you won’t actually make any sales. 

So what does it resume to? Starting an online store with no money is possible, but you still need to figure out an advertising strategy and get your store out there.

About Author

As a digital marketer, Andreea also has an incredible passion for photography, so she's here to give you all the information you need on the topic!