We live in a new reality, an unwelcome one. All around us we see the repercussions of the decisions of the elites in their high towers. Our family and neighbors are losing their jobs, their savings and their homes while a select few reap the rewards of a desperate world. While we stay inside, megacorporations thrive as we still need the basics to survive. The likes of large online retailers and auction houses boom in the new economy, the pandemic economy. Where does that leave Main Streeters like you and me? The answer is to follow in their footsteps. Going online ourselves.
You’ve probably thought about it before but it’s a different ball game now. Starting an online business is not just about supplementing your income or realizing a dream. What it’s actually about is future proofing your ability to provide for yourself and your family. The coming months and years are truly uncharted territory and to safeguard your income with running your own business means doing what humans do best, adapting to the situation. No longer can we be complacent that what worked yesterday will work today. We can’t hope to return to a normal that allowed us to work the nine-to-five at a cushy office, with free coffee and benefits because we have no idea if that life is ever coming back to the majority of us.
Forced into a corner might be the best position to be in when making a revolutionary life changing decision. You might already be without a job or your job security is not the most comforting thing you’ve ever experienced. There doesn’t need to be a huge push to dip your toes into the online business world. The question is what services can you offer or what can you sell. If there was an easy answer then we’d all already have our own businesses right? We reached out to a small business who operates solely online to get some answers to that million dollar question and other entrepreneurial insights.
Pincious.com designs and manufactures custom enamel pins which are also known as lapel pins. They are those tiny metal brooches worn, of course, on our lapels but also seen on our children’s backpacks or pinned to restaurant staff as “flair”. The uses and applications don’t end there and from what we’ve learned are endless. As a strictly online based business, Pincious.com has weathered the storm that was the pandemic. We spoke to them about what it takes to run a successful business, the challenges and benefits being an online-only business during COVID-19 and what the everyday person can do to make strides towards financial independence.
The Ritz Herald: Constance from Pincious.com joins us to discuss small business life online. What our readers would love to know is, is it easy to start a business strictly online?
Pincious: Technically, yes it is. Creating a business needs licensing and incorporation with your city or other jurisdiction along with setting up a banking account for that business. Choosing a name isn’t as important because businesses typically use dba’s (Doing Business As) in lieu of their registered names. Putting aside the legalities of it all and focusing on the realities, any business is hard to get into gear. Be it online or having a brick and mortar location, the initial few years of operation is well known to be hard. It might have been popularized some years ago that the majority of businesses fail within the first 2 years. That still rings true but the environment is different, for many having their own business is more about survival than anything else.
The Ritz Herald: That’s sobering to hear but the harsh reality, I imagine, would be quite motivating.
Pincious: Oh, most definitely. In places all over the world, the freedom to go to work is curtailed and it leaves millions of people without a source of income. The idea of owning a business looks quite attractive now. The barriers to start one are, thankfully, falling bit by bit. Depending on your background you have access to emergency funds and grants of all sorts to get the ball rolling. I’ve seen companies like eBay and PayPal reach out to small business owners offering capital with little obligation. You have the Small Business Administration providing incredibly low interest rate loans to save a small business or start one.
The Ritz Herald: The money issue is great to address because many people would be thinking, “If I have no disposable income, how would I come up with all the funds to start a business?”
Pincious: Indeed, and the great thing about the SBA is the long terms of the loans and the delayed repayment of a year on some of them as well.
The Ritz Herald: How important is the basis of the business? The idea of it?
Pincious: Before COVID-19, I’d say the idea was everything. Having that innovative new tech idea or app was how you carved out your own unique niche. Post COVID-19, it isn’t as important to come up with a new idea. As the world transitions away from in-person interactions, all of the things we took for granted have become more difficult. It leaves an opening for small businesses to come up with ways to do the same things we have always done, but differently in the way of limiting the closeness of people.
Don’t get me wrong though, innovation is still necessary and new ideas are lucrative. It’s just that I don’t want future business owners getting wrapped up in figuring out what can be the biggest hit. It’s more about getting back on our feet and improving on what was done before, which can mean providing a service online instead of in person or selling online instead of in your physical store.
The Ritz Herald: Do you think there is a learning curve to being online? Doesn’t it take a website and then people finding that website?
Pincious: That’s part of the equation, yes. With the advent of apps and prevalence of e-commerce, many companies offer a streamlined entrance into the online selling world. You have Shopify allowing people to start an e-commerce store within minutes. There are online marketplaces like eBay and Etsy that already have large audiences to advertise your products to. Making a website is easy as dragging and dropping with the likes of Wix and Squarespace. Technology might be daunting but its easier now, than ever before, to create an online presence.
We, at Pincious, decided on creating our own website and advertising through search engines like Google because we intend to service the entire country. If you are serving a locale, claiming a Facebook page and Google business entity can get your name in front of the surrounding population relatively quickly. Yelp, Angie’s List, and Thumbtack are websites that compile lists of professionals sorted by specialty with built-in quoting and contact services.
The Ritz Herald: If a company is starting from scratch and doesn’t have an existing customer base, what does that company do to start making money quickly?
Pincious: Great question! Advertising is the way to go at first but managing a reasonable budget can get tricky. It’s easy to start a Google Adwords account but it doesn’t necessarily translate to business but its a start. Creating social media profiles and engaging in communities relevant to your offerings is the easiest and most effective way “free” way. Being on Instagram and Twitter allows you to broadcast to hashtags. Facebook and Google business pages gives you clout and the ability to generate reviews which we all know are large factors in us choosing one business over the other.
The Ritz Herald: How do you maintain motivation working from home and online?
Pincious: It’s like exercising at home instead of at the gym. You might not have the same motivation without people around you, pushing you and competing against them. Dedicating an area of your home for business it’s a great start. It should be devoid of distractions like television or being a high traffic area in the home. Everything that goes on in that room or area is business, business, business.
The Ritz Herald: Can you tell our readers some secrets of ensuring success in their entrepreneurial endeavors?
Pincious: There is no secret formula to making your business successful. It’s always going to be based on making smart decisions in regards to what you are offering, the price of it, doing it or making it in a quality fashion, and effectively spreading the word about your business. There are some tips I can share though. Firstly, make a schedule. Just because you’re working from home it doesn’t mean you can just saunter into your office at any time in the morning. If you used to start work at 9 AM then you work at home starting at 9 AM. The consistency is important to maintaining your focus and motivation. Secondly, don’t over invest initially. It can seem fun setting up your new online business, and it is, but the great thing about it is it can be a very low overhead situation if you let it be. For instance, don’t buy peripherals until you really need them. Think you need a fax machine? Use online PDF to Fax services instead. Also, you don’t need a trio of computer monitors or a whole new laptop just yet. Thirdly, be open to feedback from your customers and even solicit it whenever you can. Don’t be defensive even if you think they are 100% wrong. It’s about being objective in regards to your performance and instead of surrounding yourself with enablers, use reviews and comments to improve your business. Fourthly and lastly, target businesses. A lot of us on Main Street are hanging on by a thread but there are a lot of businesses out there flourishing due to their size. So think about how you can cater to a larger audience that you might not have considered before.
