How To Start An E – Commerce Business In India
E- Commerce business are booming in India with the help of growing internet and increasing smartphone in India .To start an E commerce business in India is easy with very little capital requirement, today e commerce business is an ideal choice for millions of young entrepreneurs.
E Commerce Business
Business conducted over the internet is called E commerce. In recent years, business conducted through smartphones has become very popular. According to the Economic survey of 2018 -19, the ecommerce market in India was estimated at $ 33 billion – a full 19.1 % growth rate since the last few years. So these numbers are the encouragement for you to start your own E Commerce business.
So if you are thinking to start your own E Commerce business then in this article you will get all the details about e commerce business .
Steps To Start E Commerce Business
1. Decide The Business Plan Or Model
Before you start an e commerce business , you must decide the business model. There are two ways an e commerce business can be start becoming a seller on an established platform or creating your own new ecommerce website. For most Entrepreneurs starting an ecommerce business, becoming a seller on an established ecommerce platforms like Amazon, Snapdeal, Flipkart, Myntra have a framework business to register with them and sell on their platform backed by their technology, marketing efforts and delivery capabilities. This is a easy process to start selling online and requires no efforts for website development, maintenance and digital marketing etc…
By creating your own website is the another way to start an e – commerce business. This method needs more effort .Starting an ecommerce business by launching a website is more recommended for those entrepreneurs looking to sell niche products or who have a long term vision for establishing a large successful ecommerce business.
2. Give A Name to your Brand
When you have decided on which business model you wish to follow in order to build your ecommerce business. Now give a good name to your brand and your brand name should be :
. Short and easy
. It will reflect your brand
. It should be unique and attractive
After giving a good name to your brand, you should also come up with a finalized design for your company logo.
3. Form Your E Commerce Business Or Company
Once you have decided on a name for your brand , the next step is to register your company. In India there are usually four kinds of companies:
1. Sole proprietorship
2. One- person company
3. limited liability partnership (LLP)
4. Private limited company
The formation of company is totally upon you, whether you wish to run the company independently, or want to bring in more partners. If you want to start corporate or partnership based company then you have to file tax returns and have a tax ID number. For online business of this model require an Employer Identification Number ( EIN ) to open a business bank account so that business taxes can be filled. EIN is a unique number that identifies your business.
If you opted for the sole proprietor model, then you need not have a tax ID number.
4. Register Your E Commerce Business
Once you form a company then you have to register your ecommerce business. For registration you need to follow some important steps i.e. :
A. Apply for the Director’s Identification Number( DIN), which can be downloaded using the DIN application (DIN 3 Form) from the official website of Ministry of Corporate Affairs. You can also apply DIN online, by just uploading and attaching the important documents.
B. Also make sure you have PAN Card and Digital Signature Certificate.
C. After receiving the DIN, you can apply to the Registrar of Companies(ROC), to check for the availability of the name you have chosen for your company.
D. After you receive a conformation on the name, you can incorporate the proposed company within six months.
E. Also apply for the GST Certification ( Goods and Services Tax), shops and Establishment License, which is necessary for Payment Gateway Integration and Professional Tax (PT).
F. Apply to open up a Provident Fund (PF) with a respective Provident Fund Organization, register with the employees state Insurance corporation for the medical insurance of the employees and now finally apply for the Certification Of Company’s Incorporation, and here your company will be registered officially under the Company’s Act, 2013.
5. Open A Bank Account
Once your company is officially registered, the next step you have to do is you need to open a bank account with any bank but it has to be opened in the official name of the company.
Once your bank account is ready, you can list the products you will sell on your ecommerce website, to obtain and then operate a payment gateway.
6. Set Up A ecommerce website
To setting up a website for your ecommerce business, you could either choose a pre- built platform or you can make it from scratch. Both the option have different benefits but if you build up a website from scratch it is usually the more favored option.
For creating your own website you can use many platforms like Magento, Shopify, Woo Commerce, Zepo and Kart Rocket. After designing your website you have to keep in mind that it is your website which represent your whole brand. Hence, build a good website for your ecommerce business which will reflect your hole business very effectively.
7. Set Up A Payment Gateway
If you want your online business will become profitable for you then you need to set up payment gateway, as it will allow the processing of credit cards, debit cards, net banking and cash card transactions through the ecommerce website.
to granted a payment gateway for your ecommerce business you need to submit the following important documents i.e. :
1. Bank account in the name of the business
2. PAN card of the business
3. Memorandum of Association
4. Certification of Incorporation
5.Identity proof
6. Address proof
7. Article of Association
8. Website Privacy policy
9. Website terms of use
After you submit all the documents, you will be provided with a payment gateway for your ecommerce business, using which you can enable your online payments.
8. Logistics
When your ecommerce business will start you also need the logistic work done to send your orders and for that you need to understand the logistic process :
. Once a customer completes his or her order on you website, you will be sent a notification through the help of inventory software .Once the notification is confirmed, then you need to ship the product.
. For this you need to tie up with a third party company to complete the deals in supply and distribution, so that when a customer purchase some product, they will also automatically get notified and they can send the package out fast and quickly.
. But if your company is smaller then you just need to package the product in question and send it to your buyer directly.
9. Marketing Plan For Your Ecommerce Business
For a successful business you also need a good marketing plan. For attracting more customers to your website you need to do good marketing for your business. You can attract more customers to your website in many ways like :
SEO marketing : Search engine optimization (SEO) marketing strategy is the way of the world currently and will continue to rule the future of good and smart marketing.
If you want a successful ecommerce business then you need to grab the attention of potential online customers and here is the SEO strategy come in. SEO helps put you on the search engine map. And 44% of online shoppers begin their search with a search engine. So you need to be on their radar if you want to grow your ecommerce business.
Choosing the right Keyword : If you want people will search your product then you need to come up with a targeted keyword on the list. Tools like Google keyword Planner, Google Autosuggest and Keywordtool.io will help track down on keywords that will help your content show the most on search engine platforms.
Promotions : Sales and promotions are like hot cakes with online customers in India. You can publish posts regarding these sales, on social media to attract more customers.
Advertisements : Advertisements are another way to grab more customers to your website. You can also opt for the ‘paid ad’ on many social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram. Once these users click on the ad and directed your website.
So these are some important steps to start a ecommerce Business. If you are thinking to start your own successful E Commerce business then just follow all these steps which will definetly help you. Now you have all the details about how you can start an ecommerce business but if you have any other doubt or query you can also ask in the comment section.