How do you start a new business?

Amazon Store

Over 200,000 entrepreneurs are making sales of more than $100,000 a year through Amazon. You can get started selling on Amazon with very little money and even a single product. And you can customize the look and feel of your Amazon online store front. You also have the option of having Amazon fulfill your orders and ship your products.

The fee structure changes frequently and varies by product and country. Recently in the US for example, an Amazon seller is charged a “referral fee” of typically about 15% of the selling price. The seller is also charged a monthly flat fee of $39.99 for a professional selling plan, or alternatively $.99 per product on the individual plan. Amazon fulfillment (called “FBA”) primarily charges per item shipped but there are other charges as well, such as for long term storage fees.

While it is relatively easy to set up an Amazon store and start selling some products, it is more difficult to build a sustainable, highly profitable business. Selling on Amazon (or anywhere else online) is super competitive. So don’t set up your store until you have developed a solid plan.

To develop a great plan for your store, first evaluate your market, your target customers and your competitors. Next seek out opportunities where you can develop a true competitive advantage. Then, take the time to develop your thoughts into a cohesive strategy and a well thought out business plan.

If you carefully design your business model and product selection, customers will likely start to find you through Amazon’s search engine. You can also pay Amazon for additional advertising and exposure on their website but you need to make sure that it is cost effective for you.

Consider doing your own digital marketing beyond Amazon such as through your own website, through social media, through email marketing or through online advertising.