Starting a business inevitably comes with risks and it may require significant initial investment. The lack of funding and fear of failure have stopped many from pursuing their entrepreneurial dream. Fortunately, entrepreneurs have figured out a better and safer way to allow everyone to start a business.
What is Connective Ecommerce?
Connective ecommerce is a term coined by Cortney Fletcher, the co-founder of Entrepreneur Babes. It is a strategy to reduce the risk and upfront investment of starting a business through the integration of existing marketplace, services, and technologies.
Dropshipping, print-on-demand, advertising on social media to generate organic traffic, and selling on ecommerce platforms, are all implementations of connective e-commerce. Leveraging these platforms and business models significantly reduces the cost and risk compared to building everything from scratch, removing the costs associated with hiring web developers and buying inventory.
Benefits of Connective Ecommerce
Minimize upfront investment
Connective ecommerce allows you to leverage existing services and platforms to start your business. These services and platforms are more affordable options for those with limited resources.
Reduced Risks
Lower initial investment means lower risk. Connective ecommerce reduces the risk of losing all of your investment in a business idea that may not work. It permits failure and gives you the opportunity to start again.
Reduce time to market
Building a business from scratch, from building a website to setting up logistics and operations to finally launching can take months. Utilizing available services speeds up the process of getting your business off the ground, giving you a time advantage over your competition.
Is connective ecommerce a scam?
Are connective ecommerce, dropshipping, and print-on-spam scams or get-rich-quick schemes? Short answer, No. They are valid business models to help aspiring entrepreneurs like you test your business ideas. They are time and cost-effective ways for individuals with low-risk tolerance and limited capital to realize their entrepreneurial dreams.
Implementation Strategies
Fulfillment methods
Dropshipping: Eliminating the need for inventory management and shipping handling at the early stage of your business.
Print-on-Demand: For individuals selling custom-designed products, you can integrate with a print-on-demand service.
Third-Party Logistics (3PL): If you prefer to hold some inventory but want to outsource warehousing and shipping, consider using a 3PL provider.
Selecting ecommerce platforms
Choosing a platform that aligns with your niche: For example, Etsy is a good choice for handmade or vintage goods, while ecommerce platforms such as Shopify are suitable for a wider range of products.
Consider marketplace: Consider other possibilities such as selling on existing marketplaces like Amazon or eBay. These options offer greater convenience but may make it harder to scale up later.
Advertising
Focus on organic traffic: Use free marketing strategies like SEO, content marketing, and creating UGC on social media platforms to attract customers organically.
Build a strong brand presence: Create a consistent brand identity and messaging across all your online channels.
Leveraging the power of AI
Implement AI into your business whenever possible, from task automation, copywriting, and creating marketing strategies to customer service using chatbots. It will significantly boost your efficiency and further reduce costs and effort.
Conclusion
In conclusion, connective e-commerce has become a common practice for launching online stores quickly and efficiently. It has opened up opportunities for a new generation of entrepreneurs to start their online businesses by lowering the barriers to entry.
Want to start your own online business but don’t know where to begin? Check out our free guide on “How to Start An Online Business”. This guide gives you a step-by-step roadmap, guiding you from brainstorming ideas to choosing the right business model, all the way to launching your business.
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