What Do I Need To Start Selling On Shopify?

Shopify is one of the world’s leading e-commerce platforms. It bills itself as an easy-to-use solution for virtually anyone looking to sell goods online, providing vital services, such as payment gateways, marketing, and website builders. 

You actually need very little to start selling on Shopify. The platform does a huge amount of the legwork for you and continues to add new services every year. 

Here’s a quick rundown of what you should do before you start generating revenue on the platform.

Find your “why”

Before you even cook up a business idea, it’s a good idea to find your “why” – the thing that’s going to motivate you to stick it out until the end. Reasons include:

• Becoming financially independent
• Achieving more freedom and flexibility in your life
• Earning extra income
• Working from home
• Sharing your passion for a particular product 

Create a business idea

The next step is to create your business idea. Here, you’re developing a concept that dovetails with Shopify’s services. The obvious approach is to copy time-tested strategies used by other vendors on the platform. However, you might want to try something different for a while to see if you can get it to work. 

Having a clear business idea in your mind is psychologically valuable. Once you know what you’re aiming for, all the decisions that you make will shoot in that direction. This way, you’re less prone to going off on a tangent. 

When exploring a business idea, consider the following: 

• How large is the market for my idea? Can I sell enough units to make a reasonable profit? 
• What is the level of competition in my niche? Will my competitors drown out my voice? 
• Is the market stable, part of a growing trend or just a fad? 
• What regulations affect what I can sell? 

Choose a business name

When choosing a business name try to be original, but keep it short and simple. Brainstorm for a while. Eventually something should hit you that just works. 

Get your finances sorted

Ecommerce businesses often get into trouble when they fail to get their finances sorted. Yes, the goal is to make money. But you also have to understand how the rules work. A reasonable level of financial literacy is critical. 

Those needing extra funding can apply for Shopify Capital. This provides loans to get you off the ground which you pay back once your shop becomes more successful. You can also get money through crowdfunding or even angel investment. 

Select the tools that you’re going to use

Lastly, you’ll need to select the tools that you’re going to use to support your shop. These include: 

• Marketing services to augment your SEO, manage your PPC and create content for your site
• Project management services that help you stay on schedule
• Accounting services to manage revenues and interactions with HMRC
• Email marketing solutions that let you fully leverage your email address list

Once you put these strategies in place, you’re ready to start selling on Shopify. The platform is extremely helpful in that it provides step-by-step setup guidance and ample support.