MADE FOR BIZ

B- BACKLINK

Backlinks are created by outside websites, linking directly to your website or deep link.
These can be a very good tool in optimizing your search engine visibility when done correctly.

C- CMS

Content Management System allows users to create, update and publish content on a website.

D- DATA

Data can be obtained to gain knowledge into customer behavior, audience types etc.

E- EMAIL

Email, and email marketing is an important tool in communication within your business, to both your customers, and suppliers.

F- FACEBOOK

A well known social media platform, used by many businesses around the world to connect and network.

G- GOOGLE

The number one search engine. If your business is not appearing here on Google, its time to start looking into ways to make it happen! Google features such as google ad words, makes this possible.

H- HASHTAG  #

Labels used throughout various types of social media, to help user experience when searching for a particular business, service, person or phrase.

I- INSTAGRAM

Popular social media platform in which images are the main focus, a great platform to use when trying to get a point across or showcase a portfolio.

J- JARGON

Special words or expressions used by a group that are difficult for others to understand. Probably not the best thing to be doing within your business publicly, that is if you want people to understand what you are on about!

K- KEYWORDS

Words, ideas, topics that best describe your page. Used in the digital marketing world to direct traffic to a specific source.

L- LANDING PAGE

The main entry point of a website, or particular section of a website. Great SEO implemented on your landing page is extremely important.

M- MARKETING

A simple one, yet an important one. The art of simply promoting ones business, services, website, products. This includes market research and advertising.

N- NFC

Near field communication allows smart devices to be connected, by bringing the two items closer together.

O- OPTIMIZATION

The action of making the best, or most effective use of your website tools. Implementing keywords, etc to direct traffic to your website by making it easily found on the world wide web.

P- PAY PER CLICK

A business model where a specific company places ads on your website and offers to pay a sum of money for users clicking on the advertisement.

Q- QR CODES

A machine readable code consisting of an array of black and white squares, typically used for storing URLs, or other information for reading by the camera on a smartphone

R- RETARGET

Also known as remarketing can help you keep your brand in front of bounced traffic even after they leave.

S- SEARCH ENGINE

Collation of information, website links, videos, pictures etc that can be searched for using keywords. This is the reason your key word selection is so important.

T- TESTING

Testing, A/B testing  a click, a form being completed, newsletter, a sale. Various goals business owners want to achieve and the various methods used to achieve them.

U- USER EXPERIENCE

The ease in which customers will have when using a website, and the feedback provided.

V- VERO

A new social media platform, recently introduced and set to change the game of social media.

W- WWW

We have all seen the letters www typed at the start of a link. Do you know what it stands for?
world wide web.

X- X-RAY

Yes, it is commonly used in the medical field, but also quite frequently in the digital marketing realm when you are searching for data within your social media networks.

Y- YOU

You are the most important aspect in your business, which is why we have included this one! Without your drive, determination and persistence you wont succeed.

Z- ZIPPY

Every so often its important to give your social media bio, website, blogs a bit of a Zippy. Yes this is a created word by us! But basically the point we are trying to make here, is that its important for you to spruce things up every now and then, always ensuring your customers are having the best user experience possible.



Now that you have your A-Z all sorted, its time for you to start your business. If you haven't already then check out our other blogs that may help you too:


How to: Choose a Niche Market

Shopify for beginners

Our Top Picks for Digital Marketing

Shopify offers a 14 day trial in which you can implement the time into customizing your website to best suit your business needs. 

Step 1: Sign up with shopify

Visit shopify.com and use the sign up form to create your account. When you have filled out this information, hit the "Create your store" button.

You will require a store name, and email address as seen below. 

Your store name should be a reflection of your business, and I would advise that you follow your countries requirements to register this name prior to creating your store. (To also ensure the name is not taken)  You will then be asked for a few more details: Address, Phone etc.

Shopify will then prompt you to answer if you are "playing around" on the website, "Have your own products" and ask "what will you sell."

Once complete, you will click "done"

Shopify Pricing Plans are as follows:

Currency: USD

BASIC SHOPIFY $29 PER MONTH 

ADVANCED SHOPIFY $79 PER MONTH

PREMIUM SHOPIFY $299 PER MONTH

Step two: Store Setup

Once completed, you will be automatically directed to your Dashboard. Here is where you can customize the look of your store, purchase domains, add Apps, track sales etc.

Step three: Theme/ Layout

This is when the fun begins, designing the look of your new store! Shopify has a large number of themes available to choose from, to ensure your website best caters to your audience.

You also don't need any coding experience to use Shopify, and the available themes come ready with various modifications available.

If you are looking at making larger changes to your theme, shopify does have the option of a design team within their "shopify experts" who can assist.

There are various themes available including a large range of Free themes/ Paid themes and you can also search by industry or category. 

Once you have selected the theme of choice from Shopify theme store you can:

• Check functionality of theme
• Reviews
• View Demo
• Apply theme to website

Step four: Publish Theme

Once you have established the theme that fits your business model, you can now click "publish theme", and don't worry if you decide to change the theme down the track, you can do that simply too!

Once completed you will be prompted to "Theme Manager" which leads me to the next step.

Step five: Editing your theme

The next step will allow you to create a website that is not only original to you, but also suits your business requirements. So using the Theme Manager you can now change things such as:

• Logos
• Colours
• Fonts
• Header/ Footer
• Homepage slideshow
• Functions of the site
• Collections
• Product pages
• Shopping Cart
• Checkout

6. Online Insights
The online insight feature allows you to have a feel of the data based around views, clicks and conversions to your social media sites and website. By analyzing specific age groups, countries, interests to provide you with a detailed information sheet at the end of each week or month. This tool can also be used to gain feedback on which posts are working, which products are showing the most interest, and the amount of website clicks you are receiving from specific sites. 

7. Cost effective
Of course, every business owner wants to save costs wherever possible. Well social media is FREE! Yes, there are upgrades, automation businesses, and of course paid ads which i believe add a tonne to your business, however if you are a start up or trying to cut costs, you can most certainly still get a huge benefit from social media at no cost at all.


Now lets get started!!!

There are many different types of social media that can be beneficial for your business, of course we have the well known popular ones. But below are a list of social media outlets in which we find useful for marketing your business.

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Snapchat
• Pinterest
• Tumblr
• Vero
• YouTube
• WhatsApp
• QQ
• WeChat
• QZone
• Google+
• Skype
• Viber
• Line
• LinkedIn
• Telegram
• Reddit
• FoursSquare
• Badoo
• Myspace
• Stumble Upon
• The-Dots
• Snap Fish

1. Engaging content is key! If you saw this content elsewhere, would you share it? like it? or tag your friends? If not.. Then look for content that IS engaging.
2. Connect with followers: If you put a post up that has an image of a book with a caption that reads " Buy this book now for $29.99" you are more than likely not going to gain the conversions you had hoped for. However if you're post is engaging, and customers can connect or relate with the content. You are one step closer to the conversion. 
3. If you can get a customer to click on your website, they SHOULD leave with a purchase.  If not? Time to evaluate the reasons.
4. SEO: Search engine optimization should become your best friend, there are a lot of techniques that go into a fantastic search engine ranking, and these are all things you should be constantly on the look out for when running a business. Are you using backlinks? Are you listed on directories? Do people know your brand exists? If not, then fix it. 

12 steps, and that's just our short version of what is required. Imagine adding in all the time spent on search engine optimization, product knowledge, advertising, and of course the expenses of packaging, labels etc.

Sounds exhausting right. When you are starting an E-commerce website for the first time, this can be extremely risky too. Having spent  thousands of dollars of stock that may just sit in your warehouse without selling is not the dream you had when starting your business.

So what if things could be easier. Lets cut those steps in half to say:

• Register business name & purchase domain
• Register for drop shipping company of choice
• Select products
• Advertise

Drop shipping is the act of providing (goods) by delivery from the manufacturer, direct to the retailer or customer. Therefore you no longer need to hold ridiculous amounts of stock. Quite the contrary, as you do not need to hold ANY!

You select products > Products appear on your website > Customer purchases products > Products are ordered directly from the manufacturer > Manufacturer sends directly to your customer > You get paid

Products come directly from the manufacturer, which are usually the direct warehouses your products are made in. 

Manufacturers will have prices set (cost) in which you will be "paying" for the items. You can then select the price you wish to charge customers for these items. Depending on the platform you use.

Technically yes, you are paying for stock. However you don't pay until a customer orders a product, in which the original cost of the stock comes out of the received price from the customer.

There are many different sites available, in which have different features, costs etc. Below we have listed a few of our favorites with details.

Step 1: Choosing your Niche

When starting any business, whether it is an online E-commerce site, a physical store or a service. It is important to choose a niche which interests you, or you have background knowledge on. If you are having trouble figuring out which niche would best suit you, then have a read of our "how to choose your niche" blog. (Click here)

Step 2: Business registration & domain

You will need to register the business name subject to your countries regulations, and purchase a domain name for your website. There are many websites that you can create a domain at a very affordable price, starting at around $1.00 Crazy Domains is a well known website for doing this, and is the preferred choice we use when creating any of our drop shipping sites.

Step 3: Choosing a drop shipping company to use

There are many different companies you can use to make things easier for you when starting a drop shipping company. 


Shopify + Oberlo 

Shopify is the number one E-commerce website builder in the world at present. And have recently teamed up with Oberlo to create a drop shipping option.
To use this system you simply register for a shopify account, which you will require to make your website. You then connect Oberlo using the apps provided.    
Oberlo is FREE to use with your shopify store, and has a seamless system that is simple for everyone. 


To use oberlo: 
Open oberlo dashboard
Search products
Select products you wish to feature on your website
(Products will automatically be added to your shopify store)

Oberlo also offers the option to use the recommended prices for each product. Which is fantastic for those who may not understand how much to up mark their products.

Another well known drop shipping company is Alidropship  which has a similar concept.

Step 4: Advertising/ Marketing

Once your website is complete, you simply publish this and get ready for the marketing. You can read our top picks for digital marketing here. But in the meantime, here are a few examples of ways you can advertise your new business.

• Social media platforms
• Search engine optimization : Proof, The Hoth
• Word of mouth
• Email marketing: Benchmark, mail chimp, ninja outreach

Your business plan requirements will vary depending on the type of business, however below are a list of things that could be included within your business plan:

1. Title Page:  General Information on your business
2. Business Summary: A short overview of whats to be included within the business plan
3. Management/ Operations Plan:  Covers details like structure, registrations, premises, products/services.
4. Target Market:  Where you will provide the information in regards to your knowledge about your target market, here you can touch base on some marketing techniques and strategies.
5. Predictions: Your future predictions, goals, and milestones.
6. Financial Plan: How you will finance your business, outgoing costs or expenses, projections.
7. Documentation: Any documentation to support your business plan.

Once your business plan is complete, you can put it away. But not too far from reach because you should regularly check that you are on track, adjust any changes accordingly and generally use this document to track your progress in comparison to your initial predictions.

Business plans do change quite frequently, and your initial plan is just used as a guide to get started.

Related topics:

-Haven't found your niche yet? Visit our "how to find your niche" blog 

Business Plan at home study guide 

Product development playground home study guide

Productivity and team video

"It all starts with your stunning website" claims  website company Wix who offer an easy to create, DIY styled website. Wix provides a template in which you simply change headings, information, images and tech. This website claims to be a breeze for newbies.

So you have just thought of the perfect business idea, and now its time to see it come to life. It all may seem easy, but you really just need a step by step guide on the basics of setting up a  Wix website. 

Step 1- Sign up to Wix for free. All you need to sign up is an email address, and of course have your business name ready too.

Step 2- Choose a template that fits your needs. There are many templates available, and you can select these based off the category of your needs. 

Step 3- Customize or add anything like text, images etc. The Wix platform, uses a easy to understand drop and drag system, so once you have selected the template in which you are happy with. You can simply change the preset information and images. Wix also provides quite a large amount of stock photos available for you to use to customize your website to suit your business needs. Don't forget to change the buttons, header, and footer.

Step 4- Publish your site to share it with the world. When you are happy with the finished product, you simply click "publish" in the top right hand corner of your screen. This will then set the website to "live" and potential customers can now see your site on the world wide web.

Step 5- Manage your entire business online with domains, email marketing etc. There are many options available to suit your business needs, and using the wix platform is free, however if you are an online store, selling items you will need to purchase an E-commerce package. This allows you to add product to your site that is ready to sell. There are various packages available to suit your requirements.  

Still a bit stumped on the information required to start a business? We have created a very simple 5 step process which explains our top picks for the 5 Fundamentals of business. You can read this blog too by simply clicking here 

*Prices listed above are as of March 2018. These are subject to change, at the discretion of wix via  terms and conditions

1. Acceptance:  The first key in adjusting your mindset is accepting the fact that your thinking needs adjusting to begin with. This is more often times than none a harder concept to grasp. Look at the situation at hand, and if things are not playing out the way you had imagined, it may be time to start adjusting your mindset.
2. Identify: Look at your current mindsets when placed in various situations, to identify the key elements that need to change. These could be things like; Self doubt, negative thoughts, lack of motivation. All mindsets in which limit your potential to grow.
3. Take action: Now that you have identified these negative mindset traits, it is time to take action and do a complete 360. Now i'm not saying this will be an overnight cure, and you will never have negative thoughts again. It happens, to everyone. It's about training your mind to disregard these thoughts and replace them with positive and motivational thoughts instead.  A great technique to flip these thoughts is simply self reassurance. Write down a list of 5 key aspects that you are proud of or successful at, now read these out to yourself on a daily basis. First thing in the morning tends to be a good time, as it is always beneficial to start off your day with positive affirmations.
4. Why:  Identify the reasons you are wanting to change your mindset, understanding that it can be a long process and at times we need this "why" to come back to and in turn also kick start the motivation again

Now it is safe to say that changing your mindset, and having motivation alone will not suffice in the big scheme of things. Determination, consistency, goal setting are all extremely important in running a business. 

Creating the reason, your "why" gives you the motivation to persist even through the more difficult times in life, this is where the motivation really begins.

If you are not willing to put in the hard work and effort, then no advice provided to you from a guru, a book, a life coach or a friend will ever be beneficial to you.

Your life starts with you, and in order to succeed you need to truly believe that.

Want information on our top picks for Mindset changing courses, books, audio. Subscribe to our blog to be notified of our next post.

 Slow and steady wins the race, have you ever heard this term? Well that's because it seems to be the step that most first time business owners lack. Sure it can be exciting, starting your own business; And we are sure you are extremely eager to move forward and get selling! BUT first you need to figure out if you have a true passion for what you are about to venture into. Having a passion for the product or service you are about to promote is important for the future of your business. I mean, why would anyone buy off you, if you don't believe in the product/service yourself? But this alone will not suffice, having knowledge of your industry and doing research is a key tool to implement to ensure the longevity of your new venture.

The single most important tool in creating a business is having a plan. You may of heard people talk about a "business plan", well this is an overall document which highlights your company predictions, and the actions required to get you there.

Some of the things you will generally go over in your business plan are:

• Target Market
• Marketing 
• Finances 
• Strategies

It is also of course a great tool to look on as the months go by, to analyse if you are on track.

You have no put together a business plan, and it is time to execute. By now the information you have collated should potentially spell out the exact strategies your business will follow, however again this can change like the wind. 

The sister to strategy and the main tool used to create it is research. A term that many newbies dread to hear, yet it will become your most valued tool over time. Knowing your competition, and what they have to offer is extremely important, thus helping you decide how you plan to execute it better!

Or you may simply want to learn more information in regards to the product/service you are offering to better implement your ideas.

Knowledge is like gold, especially in the business world. You can never have too much information.

Business costs money. You may be looking at a low start up cost, but it is time to start thinking about the places you may potentially spend your money within this business.

Some examples are:

1. Stock: Will your business hold stock, and if so, how much? Clothing business' for example will need to hold items in various sizes. Some suppliers also have minimum order quantities.
2. Business Registration: Depending on your countries requirements, you will need to register your business name.
3. Website, Domain and hosting: Most business have a website, and there are various ways you can go about this. Are you going to hire a web developer to create this for you? Or will you use the "do it yourself" websites. 
4.  Yes, there are many ways to promote your business for free. But if you are looking to scale the business, you will eventually be paying for some form of advertising. 

All things that you will need to determine prior to launching your new company.

The world of marketing is a giant land of colorful advertisements, actors and songs right? Wrong.

Without marketing, people do not know your business exists. And along with your website comes the first type of marketing, that you may be oblivious to. That is SEO otherwise known as Search Engine Optimization. In other words, you are optimizing the content on your website to become easily searchable on the internet. When people use search engines such as google, and they are looking for your products/services; you want to be the first website to pop up.

Free advertising: There are many places you can advertise your business for free, social media being the number 1 source of it, forums, directories, and word of mouth being other popular sources.

Paid advertising: When you have tried the free stuff, and its just not cutting it. You will look at turning to paid advertising. Social media websites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube all offer paid advertising options. Another huge source of traffic comes from google searches as mentioned. Which is where Google Adwords comes in. They offer a paid advertising technique to help you scale your business adverts to a larger audience.

For local business the key may be simply advertising in your local newspaper. But when you start tapping into world wide services you will need to target large volumes in short periods of time.

To summarize everything; the most important fundamentals to starting a business are knowledge, dedication, consistency and planning. A successful business does not always happen over night, and having a clear knowledge of your industry and exactly where you are going as a business, is the first step to success.

We will be providing in depth articles in relation to each of these topics, and our best picks of websites you can use to start your business. So to get notified of the releases of these, simply hit the subscribe button.