Online Platforms for Starting a Business From Home

With the current rate of unemployment in many African countries, one needs an alternative source of income. You can start an online business from home. This article will highlight online platforms you can utilize to start a business.

Teachable

Nothing beats having a skill and being proficient in your field. The company that had hired you for your competence may no longer be able to afford you, but that doesn’t mean that people out there aren’t willing to learn from the best and pay for it. If this is you, your next step is to join Teachable.

Indeed, there are various ways that you can earn a decent living from this platform; the most popular one being to create and sell online courses. Its easy setup includes features such as virtual interactions with your students, sales and marketing tools, and suitable payment gateways. Other ways that you can make money through Teachable include:

• Selling eBooks
• Offering monthly subscriptions
• Offering individualized coaching packages
• Starting your own affiliate partnership program
• Becoming a Teachable affiliate

Etsy

If you are a creative who is capable of making quality jewelry, clothing, fine art, or similar products, Etsy is one of the e-commerce platforms that can help you start a successful business. Additionally, you can sell vintage items. The good thing is that you don’t have to have a business license to operate on this site. However, it is crucial to follow all the applicable laws as an online business owner.

Opening a shop on Etsy is rather easy. Once you are done with setting up your shop and adding listings, all that is left is to promote your business. Some of the tips that will help you to effectively market your Etsy shop include:

• Linking the shop to your various social media accounts
• Optimizing the business for Etsy search
• Using paid advertising
• Using incentives such as coupons and sales
• Networking with shoppers and sellers through the available Etsy teams and community.

Shopify

Since its creation in 2004, Shopify has grown to be one of the most popular e-commerce sites globally. It supports over 500,000 online businesses in different parts of the world. In this tough economic times, one of your key concerns is probably, “how much does it cost to open a shop on Shopify?”. The good thing with this site is that it offers a free trial for 14 days. During this period, you will be able to evaluate if the platform is suitable for you or not.

One of the ways of earning money on Shopify, without investing a lot of finances into it, is dropshipping. With this model, you don’t need inventory. Once a client places an order on your store, you simply contact the item’s supplier. Subsequently, the supplier will ship the item directly to the customer. Like any other business, you will need to make your online store attractive to your target audience in addition to marketing it through various channels. It is also possible to sell your crafts, an online course, or services as a freelancer on Shopify.

Facebook

Social media has become an integral part of our daily lives. Notably, Facebook remains to be the leading social media site with over 60% of all the Internet users. It has 2.45 billion active users on a monthly basis as well as 1.62 billion users who visit the site every day. To bring the reality closer to you, there are over 80 million SMEs across the globe that use this platform. With these statistics, you can’t afford to dismiss Facebook as one of the tools of starting a business during this phase of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Indeed, there are various benefits that you will get from using Facebook for business. To start with, you get to know more about your target audience. this allows you to avail products and services that they need and want. Moreover, it is a suitable approach of developing a brand with a ‘face’ and creating a stable community around your business. This community will advance your digital sales and marketing strategy through referrals; one of the oldest yet most effective marketing approach.

Instagram

The concept of using Instagram to start your business is somewhat similar to that of Facebook. About 1 billion individuals use this site every month. About 200 million of the Instagram users visit at least one business profile each day. In the U.S. alone, about 75.3% of the businesses are expected to use the social media platform this year. Don’t be left behind, get onto the Instagram wagon and enjoy the benefits.

There are various tactics that you should use in order to maximize the benefits of Instagram as a powerful tool to start a business during the coronavirus pandemic. To begin with, it pays off to use branded hashtags in addition to riding on the trending hashtags. Using influencers is another effective way of marketing your brand. Additional tips include creating user-generated content as well as using relevant software like Boomerang, Repost, and Social Insight.

Final Thoughts on Online Platforms for Starting a Business From Home

The list of platforms in this article is not exhaustive. There are other numerous e-commerce and social media sites that you can use to start your business from home. You can start to explore your options from the platforms we have listed in this article.