Shift4Shop eCommerce Blog | Starting a Business (8)

If you're selling on Amazon, you're already on one of the world's biggest marketplaces. If you're doing well, you might wonder what benefits starting your own online store can offer you. Aren't you already serving a customer base of millions?

Sure, but as it turns out, having your own website with an integrated online store will help your business in several ways, and not just by skipping Amazon's seller fees.

Here are five reasons you should start your online store today.

Choosing a name for your brand or business can seem daunting. You want something unique, but still memorable. It should make some sense so customers can pronounce and remember it easily, but you don’t want to box yourself in, in case you decide to expand geographically or into new product lines in the future.

On top of all that, the name has to actually be available (and your company name and domain name should probably be the same, so you’ll have to make sure the domain name is available as[...]

Ecommerce businesses are buzzing about dropshipping, and it’s not hard to see why.

By eliminating the need to stock inventory, dropshipping is revolutionizing the landscape of online shopping. Online business owners no longer need to stock the products they sell. Dropshipping allows them to partner with suppliers who will ship the product directly to the customer as soon as an order is placed. The product never even passes through the hands of the online business owner. Done and done.

BUT[...]

Creating a logo – and staying within budget – can be tricky for new business owners who don’t have the capital to spend on a design team. Luckily, creating a memorable logo doesn’t have to involve a professional designer.

In this article we'll give you 5 simple steps any busy entrepreneur can follow to create the perfect logo for a brand or business, the top 25 free logo creator tools, and design inspiration galleries to help you start your online business.

There are lots of great reasons to start selling t-shirts online. Maybe you have a killer design you know folks will love. Or, perhaps, you're a custom t-shirt connoisseur looking for a side hustle. Regardless, you could be tapping into a market worth more than $1 billion in annual worldwide sales.

If you managed to earn even a tiny sliver of online t-shirt retail sales, you could do really well for yourself. But where and how do you sell t-shirts online? Here are four ways to do it.

A press release can be a fantastic tool for gaining media attention and informing the public about your business. A successful press release can result in articles from media sources, additional customer interest, and more sales overall. Since press releases have been modernized to keep up with the internet, they often have SEO benefits since they're visible online. A well-written, relevant press release can have a long-lasting positive effect on your business in multiple ways.

However, it's[...]

What Does E-commerce Mean: A Quick Definition

Picture this - you walk into the largest store you’ve ever seen. At first glance, it’s filled with endless rows of shelves, drawers, and tables, all holding a limitless array of objects. From clothes to food to electronics, anything you could ever desire sits right in front of you, just an arm's length away.

Now take away the physical aspect and consider the Internet as that massive expanse of a store. Instead of buying the objects in person, you[...]

In the past years, we've seen the internet grow exponentially, and at the same time we've also witnessed similar growth in the area of eCommerce. Every year, more businesses open websites of their own in order to stake a claim on the World Wide Web.

For the most part, people have come to accept websites as a necessity, but there are a few holdouts remaining who don't see the need. "Websites are expensive," they argue. "I don't know how to make one," they say. "It can't really make that much of[...]

With so many logins and passwords to remember, it's easy to lose track of something. Even if you have the world's best organizational skills, you're going to end up using tons of different websites — especially if you run a business. Making things even more difficult is that some websites don't make their login pages easy to find, so signing into your account can be frustrating.

This article collects some of the most common login pages from websites you're likely to use while managing your[...]

If you start your own business, you're going to find yourself faced with a lot of questions. Who are your customers? What's your unique value proposition? What type of structure would be best? And should you incorporate?

Incorporation is the act of establishing your business as a corporation, of which there are two types: a C corporation and an S corporation. Both offer advantages, and depending on your business might be the best option for you. But there are downsides, too, which is why you[...]

A website is a necessity for a business these days, but no matter why you've decided to build a website, there are a few conventions you should follow to make sure your visitors enjoy their stay. Of course, the beauty of website creation is that you have a lot of flexibility and you should create something that truly reflects your brand — but you want to do it in a way that presents your business in a good light and encourages visitors to browse, learn and convert.

To reach this goal, you need[...]

The fundamentals of eCommerce are simple - purchase or create a product and sell it online. It’s the nagging administrative hassles that aren’t quite so easy to handle. And of those, the administrative detail that gives online sellers the most trouble is sales tax.

This article will provide online sellers with an overview of everything you need to know about sales tax nexus, how to calculate sales tax in different states, and more.

Let’s dig in.

Did you know that 80% of businesses fail within the first 18 months? It's a sad, frightening reality that often scares budding entrepreneurs away from the idea of starting a business of their own. But as hard as the facts are, they shouldn't discourage you from trying — instead, take the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of others.

There's a time-tested process for starting a business, and the better you do in these early stages, the more likely you are to survive later on, even in the[...]

Success as an online business is never guaranteed. It doesn’t matter how good your idea is or how much time and energy you commit to making it work, the rewards are not always forthcoming.

By following a few simple guidelines with a track record of generating success, however, you can give yourself the best possible chance of achieving something special.

In this article Richard Dean from Caffeinated Projects shares the 7 stages to start an online business, attract visitors and convert them into[...]

Many people dream of starting their own business, whether to make money and improve their lives, to build something they can be proud of, because they have an idea they'd like to see come to fruition — or all three of these reasons combined. Being an entrepreneur is both challenging and rewarding, and it's easy to see the appeal of being your own boss and reaching success through your own efforts.

Some potential entrepreneurs know from the very beginning what type of business they want to[...]

Amazon launched an enhanced version of Amazon Brand Registry in May of 2017 to help manufacturers and brand owners protect their registered trademarks (on Amazon) and create an accurate and trusted experience for customers.

What is Amazon Brand Registry?

A new and improved registry for a brand’s rights owners that helps you deliver an accurate and trusted customer experience on Amazon while protecting your intellectual property.

Why You Should Try Amazon Brand Registry

For brand owners,[...]

Selling on Amazon is an exciting prospect. Your products can be out there on the world's largest marketplace, where every day millions of shoppers hunt for their most-desired items.

If you want to start selling on Amazon as soon as possible, this guide is for you. We'll walk you through account creation, listing your products, and more. We'll also provide you with tips to help you build your Amazon strategy and get more sales.

To start, the first thing you need to do is create your seller[...]

Having been in the eCommerce business for more than a decade, I find it mildly amusing when new members of our eCommerce training course say that their biggest concern is the actual building of a website. It is understandable; of course, I'm sure that I was pretty overwhelmed at the concept back in the day, although it was so long and so many websites ago, I can't really remember.

The fact is, actually building your online store is the EASIEST part of setting up a web based business. Ecommerce[...]

Starting a business is a long, involved process, but you can make it a lot easier on yourself by following a structured plan.

The secret to completing any task is knowing what to do, and when and how to do it — and while starting a business might seem like a massive undertaking, it really isn't if you break it down appropriately. The process is long and involved, but like everything else, it's just a matter of completing the steps one by one until you get there!

This checklist will summarize[...]

The world of commerce is turning away from physical storefronts and going digital. It seems like customers can buy almost anything online nowadays, and more customers love the ease of online purchasing.

With big-name businesses like Amazon leading the way in the online frontier, it’s no wonder so many physical businesses are transitioning to the digital sphere. This transition is a natural step, but it’s easier said than done. There are a lot of things to consider when moving online, and you[...]