April 09, 2020, Kathmandu, Nepal
Starting your own business is easy. The trick, however, is to sustain it. In today’s market, online business in Nepal has huge potential. You need to take a number of factors into account before starting an online business.
With little to no investment, you can end up with a successful online business. This may sound daunting and almost impossible, but we can assure you, it’s easier than you think.
However, it is up to you – the lengths that you are willing to go to and the attempts you are willing to make.
In this article, we are going to look at 5 steps that can help you build an online business idea in Nepal.
The 5 Steps To A Successful Online Business in Nepal
- Generate Product Ideas
- Find the Perfect Product or Niche For Your Business
- Set up Short-Term and Long-Term Goals Through Market Study
- Launch Your Online Business
- Sustain In The Market
It is very essential to note that these steps are connected and work together. Step 2 through 4 are the key factors that help you launch your online business.
So, we suggest you read the steps carefully.
1. Generate Product Ideas
Obviously, your online business has to have a product. And, this step is crucial as it is not the time to erase ideas from your mind. Note everything down to narrow it down later. You will need to develop an idea for your product – what you love or what you can do.
Make sure to have at least 15-20 products or niches to begin sorting out the one you will go with. Sometimes, you don’t necessarily have to go with one.
Wondering what in the world is ‘niche’? Don’t worry, it’s just a fancy word for something that is a segmented part of a market.
For example, Dell’s laptop accessories could be a niche. However, a broad category such as ‘Computers’ wouldn’t.
You can start with what you know and what you love. Then, ask yourself how the product or niche can help solve existing problems in the market. The important thing is to have a passion for it. This way, you are likely to work for it and achieve success.
For inspiration, you can check out what is trending in the market. Check out the following links:
The next thing you need to do is ask questions about your audience.
- What audience group are you going to target for your product?
- Which products do they already love?
- How does your product solve its issue?
- How active are they online or on social media?
- What products do they regularly buy?
- How often do they buy products?
- Where do they buy from?
Of course, there are more but it depends on your product as well. For this, you can take ideas from several online magazines and the latest statistics.
It’s all part of the product research!
2. Find the Perfect Product or Niche
It is totally up to you and we can’t tell you what to sell. The key is to eliminate the choices and work your way through them to find the ‘Perfect’ one.
You can check out the best-selling products from different online stores to find your niche.
Work your way through the different products that you have listed. The product you choose should have a significant number of targetable audiences in the market.
What to eliminate?
- Shipping elements that are too large or heavy. Remember you are starting with zero investment.
- Eliminate products with less to no profit margins.
- Eliminate any product or idea that belongs to a broad category because you are going for a niche here. Also, drop any idea that is too common.
- Copyright elimination; eliminate branded products like Nike, Adidas, Puma, etc. because we are not here to buy rights. Focus on Zero Investment.
3. Set up Goals through Market Study
Studying the market and analyzing trends is the most important step. It gives you an idea of what people are buying more often and how you can contribute. You will need to set some goals for your long-term and short-term plans.
It may be the most difficult step but it is necessary to study the marketing strategies. You have to consider both free and paid marketing to bring traffic to your website/profile.
Some ideas for Free Marketing are:
- Social Media Profiles of your online business
- Blog posts on the website
- YouTube videos of products review
- Bulk Email marketing (you can find some free services for this)
- Reddit and Forum posts
- Graphic Design posts on social media
Similarly, some Paid Marketing ideas would be:
- Facebook/Instagram ads
- Google Adwords
- YouTube Ads/Sponsorship
- Paying for a Guest Post Blog
- Paying for Affiliate Marketing
4. Launch Your Online Business
The easiest way to launch your business is through social media platforms. Nowadays, people use smartphones more than their PCs, except for work. Everyone is basically online and you have to use that to your advantage.
Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram are dominating the online market these days. You can start off with such platforms to set up your business profile and as you know, they are absolutely free.
Eventually, you can create a website for your business to receive orders and promote the latest offers. You can hire a developer/company for this matter. Or, check out:
Also, note that you have to do it quickly as what you learned a week ago may not be the same today. Online Business is dynamic.
5. Sustain in the Market
Congratulations! You have just launched your business online.
Now, what?
The important thing is to sustain in the market. But how?
Like every other online business in the world! I mean, promoting your product and developing marketing campaigns.
One of the best ways is to use Facebook ads. We know that we said we would start with zero investment but trust us, it’s nothing compared to the conversion you could make.
You can spend as little as $1-$5 a day to experiment and run your ads. If you can convert even 1 or 2 audiences to customers, you will definitely profit.
For this, you have to analyze your audiences, reach, impressions, etc. Facebook and Instagram give you this feature in their business page mode.
When it comes to a website, you need to set up Google Analytics for the purpose. Simply follow this link to get started with setting up your first Google Analytics.
How To Register Online Businesses in Nepal
Setting up a business in Nepal, whether online or offline, may need approvals depending on the business type. For this, you may need to register your business. Here are the basic procedures:
- Obtain approvals from related ministries/departments/bodies
- Register your company
- Register with the Tax office
- Open a bank account
For more details, click here.
Final Say
Thank you for reading! There are other factors involved in starting an online business in Nepal as well. You might need market knowledge, experience, contacts (dealers and others), etc.
However, with these steps, you can definitely start fresh and sustain yourself in the market even if you are a beginner. There are many success stories to inspire you. The key is to get inspired and come up with brand-new marketing campaigns for your audience.
If you want to share your views, please let us know in the comments.