Bonafide Marketing Genius

The Best Business Online? Amazon FBA, Affiliate Marketing, Consulting Business?

If you’re looking for inspiration on how to start your own business, you’re in the right place. We’ve put together a list of businesses that are doing well, and we’ve discussed the underlying reasons for their success.

In general, any business that fits into one or more of these categories (and many more!) is going to be a successful one:

  • Amazon Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA)
  • Affiliate Marketing
  • Consulting
  • E-commerce
  • Drop Shipping
  • Human Resources
  • Marketing
  • Personal Services
  • Product Creation (including e-commerce)
  • Real Estate
  • Taxi Driver
  • Web Design
  • Youtube Content Creation

With so many options for online businesses, where should you begin? We’ve discussed some of the most viable options below.

Amazon Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA)

If you’ve been paying attention to the e-commerce industry as it’s evolved, you’ll recognize Amazon’s footprint. As a result of their size and reach, if you choose this as your route to entrepreneurship, you’ll have plenty of options when it comes to where you choose to establish your business. Amazon already has you covered with thousands of products they carry in their online stores. All you need to do is find a product you can sell that is also within their parameters.

In terms of establishing your Amazon Fulfilled by Amazon business, you’ll need to consider a few key points:

  • Select a niche
  • Find a reputable supplier
  • Set up your sales funnel
  • Build a good team
  • Incorporate legal and financial planning
  • Go for it!

While there are many benefits to being an Amazon Fulfilled by Amazon entrepreneur, you should consider the costs and challenges that come along with this route. According to The New York Times, as of December 2018, there are over 300 million active Amazon shoppers around the world. With so much competition and so many products to choose from, you’ll need to find a way to stand out among the crowd. Luckily, with the right strategy and some helpful tools, you’ll be able to identify high-quality products that are also within your area of expertise and sell them for maximum profit. For more information, check out this informative blog post by Entrepreneur Media.

Affiliate Marketing

If you’re looking for an easy way to make money from home, you might consider exploring affiliate marketing. Essentially, affiliate marketing is when you join a company (known as a ‘network’ in affiliate lingo) that pays you for each client you bring in. To get started, all you need is a product or service that you can promote (hence the ‘affiliate’ part of the term).

Once you’ve established your brand, taken the required steps to become a reputable seller, and created a solid website, you’re ready to get to work. From here, you can choose to promote any product or service you feel is reputable and offers value. In most cases, you’ll be asked to promote affiliate products (i.e., things you’ve endorsed) through social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram. When you’ve gained a decent amount of followers, you can choose to take the next step and explore affiliate marketing full-time.

While there are many advantages to being an affiliate marketer, you should consider the costs and challenges that come with this route. According to Clickworker, a digital marketing agency that focuses on affiliate marketing, there are five main challenges. Read the full post here if you’d like to learn more.

Consulting

If you’ve got a knack for solving problems and coming up with innovative ideas, you might consider taking the entrepreneurial plunge and establishing a consulting business. Just make sure you’ve got the skills to back it up!

Starting a consulting business doesn’t need to be complicated; you just need to identify a need and fill it. For example, if you see a common problem among small businesses, or if you’re experienced in web development and design, you can take the initiative to solve that problem for other business owners. In many cases, you can find freelance work or side-hustles from here simply by reaching out to other business owners in your local area.

The advantage of consulting is you can find clients and work remotely. Essentially, you’ll be hired to solve a problem for a business or individual, and you’ll get to choose the scope of the work (i.e., how much you’ll need to charge). You’ll also set your own hours and get paid weekly or every other week. Finally, you can scale your business as needed.

While there are many advantages to being a consulting business owner, you should consider the costs and challenges that come with this route. According to Entrepreneur, building a business requires a lot of preparation so that you can succeed. For instance, you’ll need a business plan, tax forms, and a credit card (just to name a few). In most cases, you’ll also need an office space or a home office (rented or purchased). Plus, you’ll need to consider how you’re going to grow your business (e.g., sales), and establish a solid financial footing. When you’re starting a new business, it can be difficult to get clients and retain customers. Finally, you’ll need to consider how you’re going to solve problems (e.g., using technology, or offline methods). In most cases, a consulting business will require a lot of research so that you can provide value in your work. For more information about this route, read this informative blog post by the American Institute of Stress.

E-commerce

If you’ve been paying attention to e-commerce as a business strategy, you might consider taking the plunge and establishing an online store. While it can be costly to build an e-commerce store from the ground up, the convenience for consumers and the ability to reach millions of potential customers make it a compelling option for any business.

There are many advantages to being an e-commerce store owner. For starters, you’ll have all the tools you need to sell and ship your products from a central location. According to Shopify, a business platform devoted to e-commerce stores, the average online store owner can spend 40 hours a week managing the site and keeping it fresh. That’s a ton of time you could be spending on client work or building your client base. Finally, if you’ve got a good eye for design and can create a functional and user-friendly website, you’ll be able to establish yourself as an expert in your industry. Plus, you can integrate social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook to engage with existing and potential customers.

One of the largest challenges facing e-commerce store owners is getting discovered by a potential audience. In most cases, you’ll need to take the time to establish yourself as an expert in your industry by creating compelling content that adds value to your site. If you do that effectively, you’ll be able to attract the right customers and eventually grow your business to the point of profitability.

Drop Shipping

Perhaps one of the most cost-effective (and easiest!) ways to get a business off the ground is by utilizing drop shipping. With this strategy, you essentially operate a storefront. When a customer makes an order, you order that product from a third party (known as a ‘dropshipper’) and ship it directly to the customer. Essentially, you’re acting as a middleman, making it less risky and costly for the dropshipper to engage in overseas ventures. You’ll need a good imagination and some creativity to come up with imaginative product names to ensure you stand out amongst the competition. Plus, you can become an entrepreneur without leaving your home!

The advantage of having your own storefront is you can take advantage of shipping discounts offered by online stores. For example, if a customer is in the UK and you’re in the US, UK customers get VAT (Value Added Tax) and sales tax free, while US customers have to pay the higher rate. So, by setting up a storefront and using the right shipping services, you can significantly reduce your costs.