A trend has been developing among millennials. Namely, they are moving away from the traditional work-life balance of a 9-5 job with the intentional of earning enough money to survive and pursue their passions, whether it is traveling the world or starting their own business. Many have turned to temporary jobs such as teaching English online, online translation, digital marketing, etc., all of which offer the freedom to work remotely.
The main issue they have with remote working is that they feel they cannot develop their dream business and maintain the freedom they have from working remotely, that they would have to commit to being in one place to make the business grow. This is in fact not the case; there is a way in which they can have their cake and eat it too. This is the e-commerce world. Taking your business online gives you the freedom to continue traveling, making your product or developing your service along the way and simply uploading your offer online.
Here are the three main benefits of having an online business:
- No physical shop to maintain
The main advantage to going online is of course that there is no shop to maintain. This greatly cuts costs and commitment to a geographical location, making it super easy. Many who make handmade goods opt for setting up a store on sites such as Etsy , while businesses with a larger scale of production go on sites such as Alibaba , or set up their own site on wordpress or by buying a domain. Another option is simply to set up a page on social media as a store, such as facebook and instagram. In any of the mentioned options there is zero commitment to work hours, location and physical presence, making it super easy to maintain.
- You're a one-person show
Another advantage is that you're in complete control of every part of your business. Because it can all be maintained online, you personally can upload content onto the site, receive orders, ship them, etc. This also cuts costs, as you don't have to have employees or develop different sectors. Also, the only part that requires you doing manual labor (besides creating the goods, as might be the case for some of you) is shipping it to the customer, but even this can be made easy.
- International shipping, made easy
There are companies known as fulfillment houses, such as swiss mail solutions, which offer the service of organizing the entirety of the logistical process. This includes packaging, printing, warehousing, transport, customs clearance, etc., meaning everything is done by them. In the case of swiss mail solutions you can also upload orders, track packages, and check the stock of your goods within their warehouses online via their platform EasyCommerce, making it particularly easy to manage everything, and means that shipping your goods can be done by someone else, and meaning less work for you!
There are many more benefits to developing your business online, but the process of growing your business should have more wonderful surprises for you to discover yourself! If you are looking into starting an online business, there are many sources on the internet that can also help you with tips and advice on how to set up an online store properly, so there is nothing standing in the way of you pursuing your dream. From Sri Lanka to Peru wherever you go your business is in your pocket, truly letting you be as free as you like. So, spread your wings and soar!
