Shift4Shop eCommerce Blog | Starting a Business (7)

Dogs have a well-deserved reputation as man's best friend. For longer than recorded history, dogs have been at our sides providing everything from security to companionship. Today, dogs continue to prove themselves as valuable (and adorable) members of society. While we can show our appreciation with treats and belly rubs, we humans have taken it a step further with the creation of National Dog Day, a holiday specifically for celebrating our canine friends.

As you can imagine, the market for[...]

If you’re running a successful online store, turning it into a marketplace platform with vendors might sound like a great next step to expand your business.

Inviting outside vendors to sell on your platform may not only help you grow your product catalog without increasing your own inventory levels, but it can also create an additional revenue stream from vendor fees for your business.

However, there are a few crucial differences when it comes to running an online marketplace compared to a[...]

One of the most important parts of building a profitable, viable, and scalable online business is ensuring that you always manage inventory effectively. Whether you’re an ecommerce rookie or veteran, inventory management can definitely be challenging –, especially when deciding which inventory accounting method is best for you.

In this article, we’ll look at what inventory accounting methods are and why they’re important.

Finally, we’ll highlight how to make the right choices for your online[...]

Running an online store has become much more complex and professionally oriented. You need to hire different types of people and purchase software tools to create and launch your eCommerce online store effectively in 2019. You also need to take care of numerous business processes that deal with the commercial and technical aspects of your online business.

The creation of a professional-grade online eCommerce website requires highly skilled software developers, testers, and web administrators.[...]

Mothers already have a lot to do, but that doesn't mean you can't start your own business! While there are plenty of obstacles inherent in running a business while raising kids, millions of moms around the world are successfully balancing motherhood with entrepreneurship, and carry the proud title of Mom-preneur. But how do they manage to do it all?

In celebration of Mothers' Day this year, we reached out to Mom-preneurs in all types of eCommerce industries to learn their stories and find out[...]

Starting a business is an exciting, time-consuming process, and one that should be done with thought and care. As you probably know, you can’t exactly create a business from nothing. You need resources to flesh out your business model, invest in employees and equipment and legitimize your company so that it’s operating legally.

A study from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation estimates the average cost of starting a new business at $30,000, but the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)[...]

When you invite someone to your home for the first time, you have to tell them how to find you. The easiest way to do this would be to simply give them your address.  From there they can navigate directly to your home.

Similarly, a domain is your website's address.  It’s how visitors will find their way to your website. Selecting your domain is an important step, as not only will it affect how easily your customers find you, but it can also help improve SEO for your brand.

Additionally, once[...]

If you're getting ready to launch a startup, you're probably experiencing a great many things. A huge rush of excitement, anticipation, and probably some stress and uncertainty. After all, 80% of small businesses fail, and the initial steps you take pre- and post-launch are crucial to your long-term success. All too often, making a mistake can lead to backtracking that most businesses just can't afford. Starting a business always involves tons of decision-making, and to make the best decisions[...]

It takes a lot to succeed in business — the drive to excel, the dream of entrepreneurship, and a great deal of trial and error. Research is invaluable, of course, including market research and a solid understanding of your ideal target customer. But nothing beats experience, and as every smart business owner knows, the learning process must never stop.

That's why, as part of our celebration of International Women's Day, Shift4Shop went straight to the experts. We asked women in eCommerce to[...]

For many entrepreneurs and prospective business owners, coming up with the name for your new venture can be comparatively simple and even enjoyable. It is true that this is not always the case, of course. Still, it is also true that “What business name should we use?” is one of the first questions that many people consider when starting a business. Sometimes, people even create a name first and proceed from there.

The emphasis that many place on this one aspect is not entirely without reason.[...]

Privacy is a primary concern for your customers and for legislators around the world, so your company's privacy policy cannot be an afterthought. It must reflect a sincere commitment to privacy and a desire to meet the highest legal standards.

So how do you get a privacy policy for your online store? Frankly, you probably have three options.

• Hire an attorney to write a privacy policy for your business
• Use a privacy policy generator
• Write your own using examples

When running a business, accounting is an essential area you need to manage if you want to make it far.

Accounting and finances are often intimidating for new entrepreneurs. And poor mismanagement of them can seriously harm your business. This, combined with the fact that 90% of all startups fail, often discourages new business owners from even starting in the first place. 

But while it’s true that these areas can be hard to properly manage, this just goes to show how important they are. For[...]

Once you find your target audience, what's the next step for your company? Maybe you're able to reach new customers with some consistency, but they never stay for the long haul.

Customers stick with your brand through both the highs and the lows are one of the most important relationships a company creates. We all want to present ourselves as worthy of having that dedicated group of customers.

So how does that happen? What are the best ways to engage your audience with your brand and keep them[...]

People love spending their money. However, the way they do it has dramatically changed over the past years. More and more customers are opting for online shopping rather than hitting the high street.

Exclusive online sales and offers, a wider variety of products, the possibility to compare prices, the commodity of buying with a touch of a button at any time and from anywhere, plus avoiding the queues are only some of the reasons that explain the rise in e-commerce.

In addition to starting your[...]

WooCommerce is a free plugin for WordPress that currently stands as the most popular method for adding an online store to a WordPress website. However, popularity doesn't necessarily mean it's the best solution for you, even if your existing website is WordPress-based.

This article will help you understand WooCommerce well enough to decide if you want to use an alternative. We will then discuss the benefits of using a WooCommerce alternative and the best WooCommerce alternative for your[...]

There is no denying that starting a business is a challenging task, especially if you do it for the first time. After the creative process is done, every entrepreneur needs to assess the market, adjust the business concept to fit the market niche, hire the right staff and tackle legal issues that come together with establishing a company.

We looked at the most common issues that first-time entrepreneurs face when building their own company and we created a 7-step guide that will help you avoid[...]

So you’re thinking about starting your own business. Maybe you know exactly what it is you want to do, maybe you’re still toying with a few ideas.

Either way, we’ve put together a checklist to help you get things down on paper and work out what needs doing. From deciding your idea to working out the legal requirements, this article will give you the perfect grounding to go out and make things happen.

You’re seeing pop-up stores more and more as you stroll through the city. They’re a unique way for ecommerce businesses to reach out to customers who would never really see in person what the company is like. They’re a great way for both sides to build stronger relationships with each other, a gentle reminder that the company is run by people who do, in fact, care about their customers’ opinions.

In an effort to promote more personalized customer experiences, pop-up shops have become the latest[...]

There are lots of questions an entrepreneur should ask during the process of starting a new business. A smart business owner will enter the game fully prepared, knowing exactly what their plan will be and what requirements they need to meet. Otherwise, the business owner could quickly run into fines, tax penalties, and other problems. Better to do it right the first time!

The question of whether you need a business license, and what kind, should be answered early in the process to ensure[...]

Print-on-demand, t-shirt dropshipping services can be the engine that drives your online t-shirt company toward success. 

The t-shirt business represents a great opportunity for many entrepreneurs.

The market is huge. Worldwide, shoppers will purchase more than $1 trillion worth of t-shirts this year.

The t-shirt industry is also growing. By 2025, global, annual t-shirt sales may exceed $3 trillion, and according to some reports, t-shirt retailers can expect a compound annual growth rate (CAGR)[...]