7 Awesome eCommerce Platforms For Small Businesses

As consumers increasingly turn to their PCs, smartphones, tablets, etc. to make buying decisions, small businesses are starting to realize the need to keep up with online operations to cope with the plunges and peaks of consumer demand. The solution?

An online store.

Take a minute to think about it now. Where would your customers shop after closing hours? What’s the one thing you could do to please customers? What’s the one step that you think would change everything?

Most successful businesses today sell products and services on the Internet. So you need to stop and consider all the possibilities before competitors take the lead.
Like any business model there are challenges to opening an online store, with the prime one being selecting the right eCommerce platform to launch your business.

Although the promise of saving money and time by hiring a developer to build an eCommerce site from scratch can be tempting, the reality is that they could end wasting a ton of both.
Luckily, there are powerful eCommerce platforms specifically designed to meet your needs – allowing you to increase sales and attract more customers. Whatever you sell, if you are running on a well-equipped eCommerce platform odds are there will be other businesses having the same needs, so new features and tools will be developed and available to you in a reasonable amount of time.

While there is no perfect platform and there will be tradeoff in picking one over another, I find the following seven provide more flexibility and a low barrier to entry to build an eCommerce store:

1. PrestaShop 

 

PrestaShop is a popular shopping cart software with great potential. It is designed to help businesses build a functioning web store and despite it boasting advanced features such as web 2.0 innovations, the platform is speedy, lightweight and easy to get acquainted with.

Some out-of-the box features offered by PrestaShop include catalog management, search engine optimization, responsive themes, promotional tools, multilingual shopping cart, recently viewed products option, payment extensions and international shipping. There’s also an official marketplace for additional add-ons to connect your online store to other platforms you use.

The best part of all this is that PrestaShop is free to use with no monthly or transaction fees. This makes it perfect for those who are just starting their online store and need to keep costs as low as possible until profits start rolling in.

2. BigCommerce 

 

BigCommerce assists small businesses in creating professional online stores so they can increase revenue. The all-in-one eCommece solution includes a secure shopping cart, website, marketing tools, and mobile themes. You also get advanced features such as product reviews, ‘you may also like’ suggestion, zoom, etc.

The design is 100 percent customizable, so a business can easily use its custom design without the BigCommerce branding/logo. BigCommerce’s customer service philosophy makes it easy for the user to get started: there’s a fold on the homepage reading ‘how can we help you.’ But you get all this in $24.95 a month.

3. Shopify 

 

Shopify lets you choose from more than 100 designs to create your online store and add products. Websites are customizable and include a shopping cart compatible with American Express, VISA and MasterCard. A modern admin interface, build-in blog interface, and apps available for almost any advanced functionality, make Shopify a viable option.

Shopify merchants can also sell their products anywhere with Shopify Mobile (includes a build-in mobile credit card reader) and Shopify point-of-sale (works on the iPad). Pricing starts at $14 a month, but merchants have to pay transaction fees for hosting and other services.

4. Magento Community Edition

 

Magento Community Edition allows small businesses to sell in online markets with no hassle on fulfillment, translations or pricing. A huge benefit of using Magento is that it can be easily integrated with marketplaces like Amazon and eBay, enabling users to easily manage their business from the back end.

The highlight of the Community version is that it’s extensible: it can be used to do almost anything you want in an online shop. While everything isn’t bundled in the default version, it’s either there in the extensions, or in the skills of the Magento contractors that can be hired at affordable rates.

5. WooCommerce 

 

WooCommerce is built on the back of WordPress blogging platform. It is fast and easy to manage, with great support and documentation. Small businesses using WordPress can easily install WooCommerce to get started. Because of this tight integration, it is recommended for businesses that envision content marketing to drive sales of their products and services.

It lets you set up a shop with lots of options including flat rate shipping, bundled PayPal and card payment options, physical product inventory, coupon campaigns and tax settings. There are no price tags associated with WooCommerce.

6. SpreeCommerce 

 

SpreeCommerce offers a full set of features and is built on common standards, so small business owners using this platform don’t have to forego speed to market, innovation or efficiency. The modular solution allows you to easily configure or replace any store functionality, so that you can build a storefront exactly to your specifications.

SpreeCommerce customers also get to use Wombat, the new automatic integration platform that connects a storefront to its backend operations. It intelligently routes product orders and data to ensure the right information is at the right place at the right time. It’s free to get started with SpreeCommerce.

7. Selz 

 

Selz offers simple ways to boost sales with an eCommerce store that offers a beautiful buying experience. You can start selling products quality without the need of all the bells and whistles of a full-blown eCommerce application.

The quick and easy eCommerce platform allows you to add products within minutes, and businesses don’t even require to have a website; you can get a web store with a custom domain, share the link and start selling. You can also use Selz widgets on your pre-existing blog or website as opposed to having a complete store. Selz also includes handy features such as shopping cart integration and responsive themes. Users can sign up for free, and only pay a fee of 5% + 25c when you make a sale.

Conclusion

To find the best platform for your needs, you need to look at what is best for your customer experience… and your budget! If you’ve tried any of these solutions, or have another favorite, please share in the comments!











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7 dumb mistakes to avoid when approaching investors

When pitching to investors many entrepreneurs make mistakes.

We’ve identified 7 of the dumbest mistakes which should be corrected before approaching an investor.

1. Pitching the wrong money

Many people waste time sending business plans to any investor that they can find (Banks, Angels, VC’s, Crowdfunding etc).

If you are scattered in your finance-raising strategy, you’ll experience rejection, frustration and waste a lot of your valuable time.

Research the best source of finance for your stage of business and who’s likely to invest, and focus on them. Each source of finance will require you to prepare your pitch in a different way.

2. Not making yourself cheaper than your competition

It is painful to watch entrepreneurs pitch investors and lose them because the investment is not tax efficient compared to other investments.

If only they knew that they could take advantage of the tax benefits that our government has given us to make raising finance a lot easier for businesses just like you.

If you are a UK qualifying business and you don’t get the certificate that gives investors tax relief when investing in you, you have made yourself up to 85% more expensive to investors. Apply for SEIS / EIS in advance.

3. Breaking the law

No one wants to listen to a lawyer talking about shareholder agreements, articles of association, pre-emption rights and the rest.

But when you take on investors, you need to update the setup of your company.

You need to comply with financial promotions law and to protect both yourself and the investor in case the company is the huge success you expect. If you don’t, this will cause problems as your business grows.

4. Sending a 127 page business plan

Your business plan is the document between you and the investors money.

If it is not presented in a way such that they will actually read it, then they’ll normally give you a polite ‘adios’.

Avoid templates that you find for ‘free’ with Google search. Those templates have been written with a bank in mind – they aren’t exciting to investors.

Creating a visual, exciting business plan gets investors’ attentions, and screams that you are investment ready.

5. Forecasting more revenue than Apple and Google combined

Don’t create a hockey stick shaped graph showing how your company will turn over more money than Google, Apple and Microsoft in five years.

If you’ve done your financial forecast correctly you’ll be prepared for questions on forecasted return on investment.

Start with where you are today and work the model up by going through some assumptions. Don’t start with broad size-of-market assumptions – start with your team and work through the next few years.

6. Leaving valuation up to the investor

When seeking investment you need to value your company and create a proposition that makes investors want to open their wallets.

Most entrepreneurs think their company is worth more than it is, while investors want to invest at a lower valuation. Value it properly.

If you have revenue, this is easily done. If you don’t, you need to use a valuation model based upon your off-balance sheet assets, and this needs to be presented and figured out up front.

If you leave it to the investor it will almost always be lower than what you want, and makes you look amateur.

7. Pitching for more than 20 in 10 in 2

You could have the best idea, the perfect legal structures and a great business plan – but nobody will see it if it’s not pitched correctly.

You need to be armed with a 20 minute pitch that covers the 10 important points that investors look for, in ten slides with 2 videos.

The 10 points are elevator pitch, problem, solution, team, market size, marketing, competition, financials, milestones and exit. The two videos are a mission video showing why your customers love what you do, and a quick investment pitch that fires off the 10 points very fast.

So there you have it

If you want to raise finance, it’s all in the preparation.

http://techcitynews.com/2013/07/18/7-dumb-mistakes-to-avoid-when-approaching-investors/?utm_source=CustomerSure&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=100%20blog%20list 

Simple and Affordable Resources for Creating a Website

There are a lot of myths that hold people back from creating their own website. You have to sign up for a ton of services. You have to learn how to design and code, or hire high-end consultants to design and code. You have to spend hundreds a month. Fortunately, none of these are true for those who are looking for something simple. In this post, I’m going to share some easy-to-use and affordable resources for creating your own website.

Hosting

If you’re looking for affordable web hosting for your domain, then you might want to check out Hostt. They offer free web hosting when you register a domain with them for three years. While there are several hosting companies out there that advertise $0.99 web hosting, you will find that when you go to sign up, that offer only lasts for a few months, and then you will pay $5.99+ per month.

With Hostt, you will register your .com domain and pay $41.85 up front for three years registration (or more, depending on what TLD extension you choose for your domain). With this purchase, your web hosting for the next three years will be free. Compared to web hosting services that charge as little as $4 per month, you will save $100 over the course of three years, making it a great deal or simple sites. This free plan includes Cpanel access, unlimited storage, bandwidth, sub-domains, email accounts, FTP accounts, and a $100 free Google Adwords credit (for new Google AdWords accounts only).

Website Design

As much as I love recommending WordPress to people building a website, the fact is, not everyone needs or wants such a robust solution. IM Creator allows you to create websites using their easy to customize templates.

For $9.95 a month (or less with a long-term commitment), you can publish your website to a new or existing domain name. Hosting through IM Creator is included with your monthly fee, along with unlimited bandwidth and storage, a custom email address, and access to all of their current and future templates.

If you need to design websites for your clients, you can enquire about their Pro subscription. It allows you to quickly create white labeled websites for clients.

 Ecommerce

 

Sometimes, you don’t just want an affordable solution, but you also want an easy solution. For those who are looking to sell products on their website, but don’t want to go through the hassle of dealing with intricate ecommerce platforms, there is Pimwi.

Pimwi offers one design that is customizable using cards – blog postcards, contact cards, gallery image cards, Google Maps cards, menu cards, and more, including product cards for ecommerce. Simply add each of your products as a card on your Pimwi website with a title, description, and image of your product. That’s all you have to configure! People will be able to add your products to a shopping cart and checkout using PayPal. Funds for sales will immediately be deposited into your PayPal account with no additional fees beyond what PayPal charges.

For $25 a month, you can create your ecommerce site. You don’t need your own domain or hosting as both are handled by Pimwi.

Mailing List

If you don’t plan to have a large mailing list then MailChimp is the best choice. It’s free for up to 2,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails per month. This means if you max out your number of subscribers, you can send six emails per month. To keep your plan free for as long as possible, be sure to regularly prune your list for inactive subscribers.

Everything Else

 

If you are looking for affordable resources for a variety of tasks, Fiverr can be a great resource. You will find gigs for logo design, video creation, content ideas, local business marketing advice, and pretty much anything else you can think of. While the premise of the site is everything costs $5, be sure to read each gig description carefully – some offer the bare minimum for $5, but you have to upgrade to get what you really want.

What are your favorite simple and affordable website creation resources? Please share in the comments!


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