3 Businesses to Start Now with No Money.

Starting a business can be tough. It requires time, effort and passion like no other. It requires you to have tough skin and not allow small things bother you.

 

But, although all of these qualities can be good, you still need to start and you need money, right? Not necessarily. Starting a business doesn’t always require you have a big amount of money or a business loan. There is some business that requires little to absolutely no money to start. And to be honest, with a little of resourcefulness, you can make your business big while spending less.

 

 

Here are 3 simple businesses to start with no money:

 

1. Start an online business: With the age of social media and the internet, starting a business online it can be as simple as 123. You can sell T-shirts on places like Zazzle or Cafepress (to name a few) and get your own designs going. If you have a passion for graphic design or just have really cool sayings and ideas, this is a sure way to get started and only requires you to open up an account, upload designs, and spread the word.

 

2. Sell your things: Making money doesn’t have to be complicated. You might have things laying around that you no longer need or you know you will never use. You can simply turn to places like Facebook Marketplace, eBay or any online marketplace platform to sell up your used or gently used goods. Want to make it a bigger business? Check out garage sales, pick up free stuff (also being offered online) and get going. No money required.

 

3. Sell up your skills: Blogging, writing, or just really good computer skills? Become a professional writer or Virtual Assistant and get paid to use up those skills! You can promote yourself online in places like Fiverr, UpWork, Craigslist and even Facebook Groups (Just be sure to follow the group’s guidelines on this!) Some of this are 100% free to promote and get work while others charge you a minimal fee after you get your first gig.

Remember that being an entrepreneur is already making you be part of the different, the risk takers and the creative. So don’t play down your skills. You can start for free and grow from there. Even migrate to other passions of yours that can be turned to business.

Posted in Small Business Improvement Tagged with: blog, blogging, business, business tips, cafe press, craigslist, ebay, entrepreneur, Facebook, fiverr, freelancer, online business, social media, start a business, start-up, t-shirt, t-shirt printing, tips, upwork, virtual assistant, work from home, writing, zazzle

Trends to Look for in E-Commerce this 2014

Becoming an e-commerce entrepreneur is an increasingly attainable dream for many aspiring business owners, as new online sales platforms and Web design tools continue to emerge. While just about anyone can launch an online business, it takes a dedicated salesperson to actually succeed, and that means staying on top of current marketplace trends.

If you’re ready to take your e-commerce business to the next level in 2014, watch these five current trends in online sales:

Access through smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices. Major gains seen  in e-commerce usage of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, especially during the holiday season. Trend to accelerate as mobile adoption continues to increase and more mobile technologies become available. Small businesses should have a mobile version of their website, with mobile-optimized checkout to help facilitate a better mobile experience. Small retailers should also look at their site across multiple mobile devices and pay attention to new technologies, such as smartwatches.

Goodbye, traditional SEO. Google is constantly updating its algorithm in an effort to serve the best, most relevant content to its users. This means that traditional (SEO) search engine optimization tactics are falling by the wayside, and an increased push toward quality, unique content — along with social media signals — will be of huge importance in 2014. To help stay ahead of the SEO curve, small retailers should focus less on Traditional SEO Tenets like keyword usage and density, and instead aim efforts toward creating content that is tailored and useful for their target audience. Example, create more lifestyle-oriented content in the form of blog posts, videos and other types of media that encourage sharing by readers.

Increased dependence on data. Smaller online businesses continue to expand their presence across channels, the need to turn to performance data from both a channel-specific and holistic standpoint becomes even more important. Google Analytics is a good tool for this, because business owners can measure their site traffic from multiple devices and referral sites.
Small shops squeezed by larger merchants. Mega-retailers like Amazon continue to steal market share from other big-box retailers (both online and offline), smaller online businesses will need to become more nimble in how they compete, from a price, customer-service and marketing standpoint. This involves identifying true points of difference from larger merchants, showcasing these points in marketing and branding, and delivering personalized experiences.

 The importance of multichannel selling. Customer shopping behaviors become more fragmented, so must the presence of small online businesses owners. Simply having an e-commerce site is no longer enough. Small and medium-size businesses (SMBs) should begin looking for efficient ways to expand their presence, including integrations with various shopping feeds and other outlets that can reach more consumers.

Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit card Processing, e-commerce & m-commerce, Electronic Payments, Internet Payment Gateway, Mobile Payments, Mobile Point of Sale, Point of Sale, Small Business Improvement, Smartphone Tagged with: content, e-commerce, integrations, mobile adoption, Mobile Devices, mobile version, mobile-optimized checkout, multiple devices, online business, online sales, search engine optimization, shopping feeds, Small and medium-size businesses (SMBs), small online business owners, small retailers, Smartphones, smartwatches, social media signals, tablets