03Jul
29Jun
THE IMPENDING DEMISE OF BIG CONSUMER BRANDS AND RISE OF DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER ONLINE RETAIL
In this article, I will go over the reasons why big consumer brands are struggling today and how is this the best time to kick off your next private label brand. If you look around, big brands such as P&G, General Mills, Kellogg’s, Unilever, Kraft, Coca Cola and PepsiCo are all either in low single digit positive or negative revenue growth. Big consumer brands are in trouble for many reasons however if I were to put my finger on a...
27Jun
What Role Traffic and Conversion Optimization Play in an Online Business?
In this article, I will go over what and why of traffic and conversion optimization. In an online business, traffic is your lifeblood. Unless you are a big brand like Apple or Proctor and Gamble, chances are that people find your internet whereabouts using Google or another search engine of their choice. This is known as Organic traffic. About 53% of online shoppers start their product searches on Amazon, according to Internet Retailer survey of 515 U.S. adult online shoppers. 72%...
01Jun
Launch an Online Business in Four Steps
First and foremost, you must not wait until forever to launch your business, unnecessary perfectionism is a disease and is your enemy when it comes to online businesses. Preconditions to launching a business include careful evaluation of your target market and alignment with the brand and the product that you plan to launch. Your job with an online business launch is to create demand and it is best done even before you have a product or perhaps even a...
10May
WHAT ONLINE BUSINESS ENTREPRENEURS AND OWNERS CAN LEARN FROM STARTUP FOUNDERS
I have been part of tech startups twice during my corporate career. While those two startups were worlds apart in terms of the actual products, target markets and eventual exits, nonetheless I worked as the product guy and lessons learned during those gigs were pretty similar. As I stepped into online business several years ago, I realized that while there are some stark differences between an online business (or a small business) and a startup, there are also just...
02May
SELECTING THE RIGHT CORPORATE STRUCTURE FOR YOUR ONLINE BUSINESS
What are the suitable corporate structures for an online business? There is no right or wrong when it comes to corporate structures, it all depends on the business that you’re planning to start, where you’re in your journey, and your future growth and scale goals. If you are a starter, with all-digital products (or other minimum liability products), you don’t have to establish a corporation altogether, as you can simply use sole proprietorship. As an example, you can do so if...
30Apr
INCOME AND SALES TAX FOR ONLINE BUSINESS IN 4 EASY STEPS
What are the income and sales tax implications for an online business such as Amazon Kindle and FBA? Online businesses come with a number of benefits when it comes to sales and income taxes primarily because of the internet-based ecosystem of tools and platforms. While income tax is collected both at federal (IRS) and your state, sales tax is only collected by your state (In CA, Board of Equalization or BoE is responsible for it). Let me summarize tax implications for...
27Apr
5 MOST FUNDAMENTAL TRIED AND TRUE PRINCIPLES FOR SUCCESS IN ONLINE BUSINESS
What are the most fundamental economics principles that apply to an online business? Economics 101 apply as much to online businesses as they do to their offline counterparts. These are the tried and true principles that you need to keep in mind before you start an online business. Let me summarize. Your time and energy spent in running a business is directly proportional to your sales or revenues, it is NOT proportional to your net profit even though that’s what...
25Apr
BUILD AN ONLINE BUSINESS IN 6 STEPS, RINSE & REPEAT
What is the life cycle of building an online business? Life cycle of an online business starts with a niche market. You need to identify a profitable niche market, with just the right level of competition, price, segments and future potential. Niche market doesn’t have to be your passion, however aligning it with your passion would help you persevere through inevitable ups and downs of operating a business. Your goal with a new business or a new product in an existing...
23Apr
