Advantages of Having an Online Business

What are the advantages of having an online business

If you have followed my blog for any amount of time you will know that I am very passionate about online entrepreneurship. I really feel that it can solve a lot of challenges that people are facing because of unemployment.

 

I have compared having a regular job versus running your own online business in the past. In this post, however, I will explain to you the advantages of online entrepreneurship in detail in its own right.

 

  1. The number of internet users and E-commerce transactions is continually increasing

Advancements in the technology sector are resulting in a continued increase in the number of people with internet access worldwide. According to this report by GSMA, a worldwide network of mobile operators,  61% of the world’s population will be connected to the internet by 2025, a staggering 41.8% increase over the 2017 internet population.

 

The projections are even more exciting for Africa with Sub-Saharan Africa’s internet population rate expected to rise by 130% in the same period!

 

Tied to this, the value of e-commerce transactions has been growing and is expected to continue on this uptrend in the coming years. According to Statista, retail e-commerce sales worldwide amounted to 2.3 trillion US dollars in 2017 and e-retail revenues are projected to grow to 4.88 trillion US dollars in 2021.

Retail e-commerce sales worldwide from 2014 to 2021 (in billion U.S. dollars) Source Statista.com

 

So what does this mean? It’s clear that there is a lot of money to be made online as more people get connected and shop online. The implication is that this is a great time to create your own online business and jump on to the bandwagon and have your own piece of this huge pie. 

 

Online entrepreneurship is set for expansion while a lot of other industries are going through tough times. Is this a compelling enough reason to be interested in making money online?

 

2. There are Low Startup Costs to Setting Up an Online Business

Capital for stock, overheads and other costs can be a challenge when you set up a traditional brick and mortar business. With an online business though, you don’t have too many costs required to get your business off the ground.

 

Usually, all you need is just time and data to get started. With some online businesses like affiliate marketing (which I explain in detail in my free eBook which you can download here) you only need to sign up and start promoting products without paying anything.

 

Another way to start generating income online without paying anything is to do software reviews. You can listen to this interview where I talk to someone who is doing that. How To Make Money Online by Doing Software Reviews

 

Free e-book on ways of making money online
Download this free e-book to learn about the ways of making money online

 

If you have specialist knowledge, you can write an eBook or create a video course that you can then sell online and make money. With other online jobs like content writing, web and graphic design, all you need to do is market yourself and then get clients and be on your way. You do not have to worry about rent since you can do the job from home or anywhere you like.

 

This low barrier to entry means you can get started even if you are a student in college using the school wifi during your free time. 

 

If you have a technical skill you can also earn money online as a freelancer without spending any cent. Read the article on the link below which was written by someone earning as a freelance writer.

Going Freelance: Why Zimbabweans Must Look Online (& Offshore) for Work Opportunities

 

3. You Can Earn Passive Income with an Online Business

This is one is my favourite. Passive income is money that you earn without being actively involved in acquiring it. The opposite is active income which you get for example when you are employed and you get paid for the hours you put in.

 

You can earn passive income with an online businessSo you can be relaxing with your family and someone buys your video course on your website.

With affiliate marketing, someone may buy the product you recommend after clicking on your link on social media and you earn a commission from the sale.

In both instances, you will generate income without being actively involved in the transaction.

 

Passive income is a prerequisite if you want to attain financial freedom and an online business is a great way to earn it. Passive income is also very desirable because it increases your earning potential. 

 

4. You Can Operate Your Online Business from Anywhere

An online business can be run from anywhere in the world as long as you have an internet connection. This makes it very flexible as you are not limited by geography. If you are doing online jobs you can communicate with your clients online and do the work they need from anywhere.  

So, you can run your business from home and spend more time with your family or you can even visit friends abroad and still keep your business running smoothly. 

You can also choose the times you want to work. You can decide to wake up in the middle of the night and update your website or you can work over the weekend if you have a full-time job. 

 

If you are a student, you can also work aggressively on your business during your vacation when you have more time. This means you can build your business on a part-time or full-time basis.

 

 

This flexibility makes running a business online accessible to people in different situations.

 

Related: Demystifying Myths Around Making Money Online From a Zimbabwean/African Perspective

 

5. With an Online Business, You Have Access to a Global Market

Running an online business means that you can sell your goods/services to anyone in the world. The advantages of this are immense and significant. Having access to a wider market means that you can find buyers beyond your borders. So if the people in your country are generally not interested in your products you can still sell them abroad.

 

 

It also means that if your country’s economy is struggling your business can still grow if you sell to people in countries whose economies are better off. It can also mean that your products can fetch a better price abroad than locally.

 

For example, web development may not pay much in your home country but you can fetch 5-10 times more for the same effort when you market yourself abroad.

 

6. An Online Business can be Highly Automated

advantage of having an online business is that it can be automated

Many aspects of online businesses can be automated thereby simplifying the process and leading to more sales. For example, using autoresponders, you can set a series of emails that can be sent to a potential customer after they perform a particular action on your website.

 

For example, you can set an email to be sent to a customer 2 weeks after they make a purchase encouraging them to buy a related product at a discount because they bought the first one.

 

You can also set up a system where you target a user who will have visited your website and then goes on Facebook. You can set up a system that tells Facebook to show that person your adverts on Facebook. This is called retargeting and chances are high this has happened to you while surfing the internet. 

 

You can also program your system to send an email with a discount to a person who will have shown interest in your product but then leaves your website without completing the process. In all these instances, you will not be actively involved in the tracking and sending of emails or showing of ads. The automated system will do that for you.

 

This allows you as the online business owner to handle a large volume of customers with a few or no employees altogether. This reduces your operating costs while increasing your profits.

 

7. An Online Business has Unlimited Earning Potential

Your online business has unlimited earning potential. There is no telling how much you can earn when you start and run your online business. Advantages explored already like giving you access to an online market and automation contribute to this.

 

As your business evolves, you can discover various monetisation models that you may not even have been aware of at the outset. 

 

For example, you can begin with affiliate marketing and end up creating various products of your own that you can sell for even greater profits. You can also end up getting endorsement deals with some brands engaging you as an ambassador or inviting you to speak. You can even have some people pay you to teach them your online business model.

 

All these various income generating channels have the capacity to increase your income to levels beyond your wildest imagination. Another advantage of building an online business is that you will be creating an asset that you can even sell if you no longer wish to run it. 

 

I can’t think of any other business venture that has so much earning potential!

 

When you work for someone they put a ceiling on how much you can earn. Most employers do not care about their employees and this means that you will probably earn unsatisfactory income.

 

8. You can Build an Online Business Around your Passions

purseu your passion with an online business

This is a great advantage because generating income out of doing something you love is truly liberating. Let me illustrate how this can be done via an online business. 

 

Let us suppose you like movies. You can create a blog where you review the latest movies. Other people who also like movies will visit your website to read your reviews and you can put relevant adverts on your blog and earn money when these people click on them.

 

If you love dancing you can set up a YouTube channel showing people how to dance the latest moves. You can then monetize your YouTube videos and earn when people who want to learn the dance moves watch and click on the adverts whilst they are on your channel. This is how comedians make money from their YouTube videos.

 

If you love photography you can sell your images online and generate income off of that.

If you love fashion you can start a fashion blog and write about the latest fashions and monetise your blog through adverts and sponsored posts.

In all these instances, you can take what you already love and then monetise it via an online business.

 

If you love health and wellness you can join some network marketing companies involved in that field. You can then use social media to grow your network marketing business.

Obviously, not all passions can be monetised but if you are fortunate enough to find something that you love that can earn you income then you will be in a great position!

 

You can start by looking on the internet to see if anyone has monetised what you love already and then look for ways to make it work in your situation.

Conclusion

I hope I have managed to show you clearly the major benefits of having an online business. Let me also add that you will not enjoy these benefits from day one but if you persist then you can build a successful business. You can also listen on the podcast where I discussed online entrepreneurship here.

 

So what are your thoughts? Do you think these advantages apply to you? Is there any particular advantage that resonated with you? Would you be willing to try having your own online business after reading this? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

I am enjoying most of these benefits right now and you can learn more about my story and how I got here.

 

PS. Do you have any question on online entrepreneurship and digital marketing? Then make use of my Ask Me Anything page and I will respond.