5 Mistakes Online Business Owners Should Avoid
Research indicates that 32% of American consumers make online retail purchases, making it worth establishing your online presence. Indeed, the internet has made starting a digital business easier. However, not all online businesses are successful. Unnecessary mistakes can cause significant losses, loss of credibility, and even foreclosure. Thankfully, you can control the risks of failure by avoiding online small business mistakes, including the following.
Launching an impractical service or product
Customers often patronize businesses that meet their needs or solve their immediate problems. Therefore, ensure you have a marketable idea to avoid launching an impractical product or service. Your gold mine lies in offering a crucial product or service that people can't resist loving, so keep this in mind.
Not building a great website
Not having a great website for your online venture is another blunder to avoid. From Facebook to LinkedIn and Instagram, there are numerous social media platforms to create free business accounts. The problem is that over-relying on social networks can blind you to other opportunities in the internet community. All digital businesses should invest in user-friendly websites to supplement their social channels. Create a blog for your business and invest in SEO to attain wider organic visibility. With mobile traffic accounting for over 50% of web visitors today, creating a responsive blog that loads well on different browsers can be beneficial. Google can offer low rankings if your website’s user experience isn't great.
Not having a business plan
Disregarding a business plan is not recommended, even for online businesses. Your business plan doesn't necessarily have to be a long formal paper; it can be a simple virtual document outlining your products/services, goals, and target audience. You will hardly succeed in your online job without knowing who you are selling to, so keep this in mind.
Lack of a unique selling point
You shouldn't start your internet business without defining your unique selling point. Feel free to emulate your idols in a specific niche, but strive to distinguish your brand from the rest. Too much competition in your industry may exist, limiting your ability to succeed without a unique selling point. Good is not enough, and better is subjective. Focus on creating outstanding products and services to attract your target market.
Ignoring taxes
It's a big mistake to assume that an online business is a free ticket to evade taxes. The federal government requires all profitable businesses to file annual tax returns, including digital creators like YouTubers and bloggers. Failure to comply with local tax laws is an offense. It amounts to denying the government essential revenue to fund the country’s defense, justice system, health sector, and other projects that benefit the citizens. Therefore, find out your business structure and file your taxes accordingly. If your online business belongs to the Charities and Nonprofit organization category, you can submit the 990 tax filing form to seek tax exemption and ensure transparency in your operations. The IRS uses Form 990 as its basic tool to collect information about tax-exempt organizations and to promote compliance.