The procedure for writing a business plan for opening an online store. Come up with a domain name for your online store

The volume of sales via the Internet in Russia is growing every year. The list of goods and services that Russians are getting used to buying online is constantly expanding. New business You can start using the Internet quickly, without being tied to a specific place of residence. For the convenience of entrepreneurs, today there are many available services for starting an online business, which we will discuss below.

What can you sell online?

First, it’s worth listing the main advantages of selling online:

  • lower costs for starting a business compared to offline trading;
  • business can be managed remotely;
  • activities can be largely automated;
  • there is the possibility of scaling to significant sizes.

You can sell more than just goods via the Internet. Here are three main groups of what is sold on the RuNet:

  • Goods
  • Services
  • Information products

Let's take a closer look at them.

Goods

When selling goods online, the business is built on purchasing goods at a lower price (often in bulk) and reselling them at a higher price. An entrepreneur is not required to be a specialized specialist in any field; it is more important to navigate the market for a specific product.

If the business takes off there is a chance for a long time make money on one type of product. And if the demand for it is wide, then such a business is much easier to scale than retail trade through offline stores. The Internet will allow you to start with much less investment and quickly reach a decent income.

But at the same time, creating an online store requires more funds than selling services or information products through a network. As a rule, a larger website (with a product catalog) is required, as well as funds for purchasing products. In addition, the cost of time and money will be associated with the fact that the goods will need to be stored somewhere, it will be necessary to ensure its delivery and daily calls. It is necessary to take into account the possible presence of defects, as well as the fact that the product may go out of fashion or deteriorate. Paperwork is also still required.

We will return to information about what products are in demand on the RuNet in the statistics section.

Services

If an entrepreneur is a specialist in a certain field, he can sell his services via the Internet and provide them (depending on the type) not only in his local market, but also to remote clients. In addition, it is possible to sell not only your own services, but also those performed by other people. In this case, the business becomes scalable, since it does not depend on the physical capabilities of one person.

Starting a business selling services is less expensive than selling goods. In this case, there is no need to purchase goods, and the site, as a rule, is required to be much less voluminous than when creating an online store. There is no risk of damage to the goods.

To start an Internet business based on services, it makes sense to create a portfolio - some presentation of achievements in the selected segment. There should be positive customer reviews here.

Service providers must constantly improve their skills and knowledge in their field.

For example, the following services are sold via the Internet in Russia:

  • Creation of texts
  • Website creation and promotion
  • Real estate rental and sales services
  • Advertising services
  • Lawyers' services
  • Programming
  • Services in the beauty sector (cosmetologists, hairdressers, etc.)

Information products

If you managed to solve a serious problem, you can make an information product about it and sell it to those who face similar difficulties. When own experience It’s not enough, you can produce other people’s information products.

The costs of starting a business selling information products, as well as selling services, are low. In addition to the costs of the information product itself, as a rule, it requires the creation of a very small website and investment in advertising.

In order for people to trust the information being sold, positive reviews from students and clients are useful. An information business specialist must constantly develop his knowledge and periodically update his products.

In this sector, you may encounter cases of piracy. If possible, you need to monitor the availability of your courses posted online and combat this. But the best way to deal with this would be to provide customer support, which those who simply download a file with course information are deprived of. After all, people master certain skills more successfully if they are included in live communication and can consult with an expert.

Completely different information products are sold on the RuNet, here are some quite popular areas:

  • related to financial issues and problems (where to invest, how to resolve debt issues, how to achieve sales growth, etc.);
  • related to personal relationships (how to get married, etc.);
  • about changing your own body (weight loss, muscle building, etc.).

Statistics: what do Russians buy most online?

Russian market Online trading is very different from the global one. If there is a significant segment in the world for the sale of information (cinema, music, books), then Russians are accustomed to paying several times less for this, and mostly spend money on the purchase of physical goods. Here is the ranking of the best-selling products online in Russia:

  1. Electronics and household appliances.
  2. Clothes and shoes.
  3. Computer technology.
  4. Auto parts.
  5. Cell phones.
  6. Childen's goods.
  7. Household products.
  8. Furniture.
  9. Equipment.
  10. Construction materials.

How to choose a profitable property for sale on the RuNet

First, when choosing a niche, you should consider your own interests. Of course, you will not be able to sell something that is interesting only to you and no one else. But for a long time it will also be extremely difficult for you to do something that you are not passionate about. After all, to achieve results you sometimes need to be persistent and overcome difficulties, which is easier when you are really interested in something. It’s good to have some experience and understand the chosen segment (or at least devote enough time to searching for the necessary information).

Secondly, you need to find out what demand there is for the product or service. If the demand is already there, it is much easier to work with it than with promoting a completely new unknown product. To determine demand, there are query statistics services from Yandex and Google - this is a reflection of how often Runet users search for something on the Internet. For example, you choose between two groups of products with which to create an online store. You can select the main queries by which people search for products from these two groups and check how many queries per month there are for one and the other group in Yandex Wordstat. A significant difference in numbers will objectively show that it is in great demand.

Here you can immediately assess the seasonality of the future business. To do this, look at the query history in Wordstat. If you want to trade skis, you will notice that the main surge in demand during the year in this segment occurs from November to February. This will allow you to more clearly plan your activities throughout the year. In addition, you will be able to roughly understand whether the number of requests in a given sector is increasing or decreasing compared to the previous year.

Third, assess the presence of competition. Strange as it may sound, the more competitors there are, the more profitable it may be to run a business in a given niche. If in a certain sector no one is investing in business and advertising, this may indicate that it is quite difficult to make money in this niche. Which ones are there? simple tools to assess competition? Enter the desired search query in Yandex: for example, “cat food.” On the right you will see statistics on the results (how many pages Yandex found on this topic), and under this the words “Advertise” and “Show all”. If you click on the “Show all” link, you can find out how many total advertisements have been placed for this request. A simple example is to change the word “cats” to the word “dogs” and compare the results. You can do the same with the goods or services you are going to sell to compare them.

Fourthly, you need to take into account the profit per sale. Online advertising costs money. And each client you attract will cost you some amount. In this regard, some experts recommend not to get involved with sales in segments where the planned average profit per sale is less than 700 rubles.

Fifth, evaluate the possibilities. additional sales. If you are choosing between two products, and customers need to order one product constantly, and the second one is ordered once in a lifetime, with the same sales margin, the first one is definitely more profitable. To increase the size of the check, you can consider creating sets, offering additional services, gift certificates and so on.

Sixth, evaluate the cost of personal time running a business. If a business can only become profitable if you spend more time on it than is physically possible, perhaps you should abandon the idea outright. It is also worth taking into account the time spent on document management. In Russia, the situation in this regard is aggravated if the business is conducted in the form of a legal entity (and not an individual entrepreneur), there are employees at employment contracts, as well as in sectors requiring additional permits and the like.

Seventh, consider logistics and storage if we're talking about about the product. What costs of time and money await you? What delivery services are available to you and what hours do they operate? How long will it take to ship the goods, etc.? How much space will you need to store it?

Eighth, think about how quickly a product or information product will become obsolete. If it happens very quickly, it will increase possible business risks.

And ninth, consider opportunities to build momentum. If the business turns out to be profitable, it will be easier to scale it in a growing market and with a sufficient number of potential clients.

When comparing several groups of goods or services, you can evaluate them according to the given criteria and compare which is more profitable for you.

Steps to starting an internet business

In what sequence can you proceed to start a business online?

  1. Selecting an object (product, service, information product) according to the steps described in the previous paragraph.
  2. Carrying out calculations, drawing up a business plan.
  3. Testing a business with this object.
  4. Making a decision to continue/terminate sales of an object.
  5. If continued, the business will be replicated.

These stages can be completed several times with different products or services until the best option is selected. In addition, the choice of profitable options can be continued even if you have a successful business, because the demand for many things changes, new goods and technologies appear, and seasonal demand for certain goods arises.

We have already considered the choice of a sales object, and we will devote a separate paragraph below to drawing up a business plan.

Therefore, here we will immediately move on to the testing stage.

Let's say you've chosen the service you want to provide, found out that there is a demand for it, and that many people are advertising about it.

Where you should start testing is by determining what promotion methods your competitors use.

You can check the demand for advertising on large platforms: Yandex, Avito, other well-known, as well as specialized resources and other channels that, in your experience, are more often used when searching for clients for this service. If the service is local, it is also worth finding groups in your area in in social networks.

You need to find out the cost of advertising across all channels. And then choose the least expensive methods of promotion in order to try them out first. Advertising costs should be considered not only direct, but also those associated with the creation of the site. For example, if you see that you can place an ad from a private person on Avito, perhaps you should take advantage of this first, rather than immediately spending time and significant funds on creating your own resource. To sell a variety of services and individual goods You can use pages on social networks and one-page websites. This will save you money when starting a business.

Some promotion methods may turn out to be very inexpensive, and some may even be free. However, it is worth setting aside some money to test different promotion channels.

Next, it makes sense to make a plan for time, money and methods of promotion when testing the niche, as well as the expected results. And then record all the data (how much money was spent and how many hits there were from each channel).

Prepare for the start of sales without making unnecessary expenses (collect the necessary materials, get separate telephone numbers, if appropriate, set up pages on social networks or the minimum possible websites).

After this, you can launch the first advertisement - starting with the lowest cost one. Often, the result of promotion depends on many factors (drafting an ad, the availability of a portfolio, the effectiveness of the advertising platform, etc.). Therefore, it will obviously be too early to draw a conclusion about the success of sales after one attempt at advertising on one site.

According to statistics, not every contact with a client (viewing your ad) turns into a sale. 100 views from interested customers can result in, for example, one sale. If we are talking about advertising on a non-core resource where visitors were not looking for your services (for example, a city group), then tens of times more views may be required.

During the testing stage, you need to ensure a sufficient number of views of your ads.

If we are talking about advertising in Yandex.Direct or Google Adwords, the number of clicks on your ads should not be 10-20, but approximately 100 for each potential sale. And these should be target clients; do not waste money on too general and non-core requests.

When executing your plan for the first test advertisement, it makes sense to adjust advertising company based on new data received and feedback from customers.

Once you have reached a sufficient number of potential customers, you can estimate the resulting sales of your service (or product) as well as the average cost per sale. And based on this, make a rational decision about whether to continue this activity further or find something more interesting.

Online services for starting an Internet business

New services appear on the Internet all the time; we will list a few of them. You can probably find others to suit your specific needs.

  • Yandex Wordstat. We have already described how convenient this service is for determining the demand for a product/service and determining the seasonality of its sales.
  • Yandex.Direct and Google Adwords- two main services for placing search advertising.
  • Yandex Market- a large Russian platform for selling goods.
  • Aliexpress- a large international platform for selling goods.
  • Avito- an effective platform for finding buyers of goods and services.
  • In contact with- a social network with a large number of generated Russian groups potential consumers (local groups, interest groups).
  • Business plan designers - whole line online services for making calculations.
  • Website builders- services that allow you to create your own website for free.
  • Insales- service for self-creation online stores.

Business plan: how to make the necessary calculations

Business plan- it's not just calculations. When prepared for investors, it can be a fairly lengthy document. It is unlikely that when starting a small online business, entrepreneurs will compose it for themselves in detail, but we will nevertheless present the main sections that are usually included in it.

  1. Brief description of the project (form of business, required general financing).
  2. Description of the product or service (main characteristics and price).
  3. Market analysis (competition situation, sales channels).
  4. Marketing plan (description of the target buyer, sales geography, main methods of promotion).
  5. Production plan (if applicable) and logistics.
  6. Personnel planning (how many people will work in the project).
  7. Financial plan (traffic budget Money).
  8. Project implementation schedule (calendar plan).

If you are interested in completing all of these sections, online business plan designers will help you. Such a free service is even available on the Russian government website (on the federal SME portal).

But the most useful thing to do before starting a business is to create a cash flow budget. It can take the form of a table that shows all expenses (one-time and regular), as well as expected revenue and other income. Such a plan is drawn up monthly for a long period, for example, 3 years. At the same time, sales volumes must be planned taking into account seasonality. For example, if you sell skis, your income in winter and summer will obviously be different.

As a result, the planned profit is determined for each period, as well as this indicator on an accrual basis.

Don't forget to include in your expenses:

  • business registration costs,
  • taxes,
  • rent if you plan to rent the premises,
  • fare,
  • purchase of goods,
  • payment for advertising and website promotion,
  • hosting costs and domain names,
  • employee salaries,
  • expenses for accounting support,
  • site content, etc.

Including everything in the table necessary expenses, you may be unpleasantly surprised by the possible results. But it’s better to see the danger at the planning stage and change plans than to spend months, or even years, working at a loss that can no longer be returned.

That is why drawing up calculations is highly recommended when doing business. Next, it is important to keep statistics in order to assess the real, and not the planned, state of affairs and take measures to optimize the situation.

An example of basic calculations for an online store

Each entrepreneur, as a rule, has his own expense items. It depends on the taxation system he chooses, hiring employees, renting a warehouse, transportation costs, and so on.

Without going into such individual details, we will give a schematic example of calculating the profit of an online store.

Such a calculation should be made before starting a business and then adjusted depending on the results obtained. For example, you see that with the planned advertising costs, the number of site visitors is half as much as was planned. Perhaps you should test other advertising methods or add new actual data on advertising costs to the main calculation.

A little about business registration

While you are testing different niches, you may not make a single sale at all. Or do one or two, which in essence is not yet a business. Therefore, there is little point in registering an individual entrepreneur or, especially, a company at this stage.

If the business has taken off, registration can be done quickly and without any problems. In the current legal regime, when registering an LLC, the document flow will be more voluminous than when registering an individual entrepreneur, so is it worth complicating your life?

Work without registering a business in established by law order we highly condemn, but some do it, taking advantage of the features Russian legislation. For example, from the following article of the Code of Administrative Offenses it is clear that individual in this case bears much less liability than a registered legal entity: “Article 14.15. Violation of sales rules individual species goods. Violation established rules sales of certain types of goods - entails a warning or the imposition of an administrative fine on citizens in the amount of three hundred to one thousand five hundred rubles; for officials - from one thousand to three thousand rubles; for legal entities - from ten thousand to thirty thousand rubles.”

Nevertheless, there are a number of liability options for illegal business activities.

A business plan for an online store is a very important element in entrepreneurial activity. This also applies to those who are planning to open their own online store. In this article we will tell you why a business plan is important and how to draw it up correctly.

Since many companies that are involved in the development of such an important component of any serious business do not justifiably charge high stakes for your work.

Generally speaking, a business plan is the main document of any commercial enterprise, describing through what actions, strategies and measures the goals and objectives of the organization will be achieved.

However, the purpose of a business plan is to real store and for an online store are slightly different from each other. In real practice, a business plan is often needed to attract investors in order to convince them that this particular idea needs to be supported financially.

How to create an online store WITHOUT INVESTMENTS in 5 minutes;

A business plan is also provided when an aspiring entrepreneur takes out a large bank loan to start his own business. Most often, people simply order the preparation of a plan from companies specializing in this area. Alas, the owner of an enterprise often has no idea how his enterprise will function, what income and expenses it will incur.

Looking through the business plan of his organization, the owner is not able to understand where many of the numbers and calculations come from. And this is a huge omission. A person who is not imbued with all the intricacies of his business is unlikely to be able to conduct successful activities.

The business plan for an online store is different in that its founder painstakingly develops his idea and knows every little detail and peculiarity of the work. Of course, we are not talking about large Internet projects, which can also order development from specialists.

We are talking about those who want to open a business from scratch on their own and not pay a lot of money for drawing up a business plan.

The summary of the above text is simple: Whatever the size of your organization, it is best to draw up a business plan for it yourself.

This is quite difficult to do, but interesting. Imagine: you yourself create and think through your brainchild from scratch. At first these are just words and abstract ideas, then they acquire increasingly clear digital forms and calculated indicators. But in addition to the practical benefits, drawing up a business plan yourself also carries an emotional advantage.

While developing his idea, a person begins to imbue it more and more and believe it more and more. This is a very important psychological moment: being inspired by your work and realizing that you are on the right path already guarantees half of your success!

Drawing up a business plan for an online store: step-by-step instructions

Let’s not talk too long about the obvious benefits of a business plan, and let’s start talking more specifically. In general, there is no single generally accepted template according to which you need to draw up a business plan for an online store.

This is an individual, original and partly creative work. Some write a business plan of hundreds of pages, others are limited to a superficial description in general outline. In our opinion, the optimal business plan for an online store should contain the following sections:

  1. Description of your product
  2. Market analysis
  3. Marketing Plan
  4. Production plan
  5. Organizational plan
  6. Financial plan
  7. Risk assessment

These sections are more or less universal, and they can be applied to almost any enterprise, not just an online store. The first half of the sections in to a greater extent represents “boltology”, the theoretical part.

The second half of the sections is a calculated justification of the first part in specific figures. Let's look at each section in more detail.

Description of your online store

Here you need to think through the main characteristics and structure of the store in as much detail as possible: will it be wholesale or retail; a multi-page catalog or a one-page single-product website.

Today, Internet commerce (e-commerce) throughout the world, as well as in Russia, is demonstrating high growth rates. An additional incentive to open an online store is created by a drop in customers' solvency. As a result, most consumers search for the best deal online. This is reflected in the quick payback period of the project, which is 10 months. The break-even point is 3 months.

Also, employees will be required to open the store. The total number of people at the opening will be 4 people. Also, for placement of goods and prompt delivery, a warehouse (office) space of 50 m2 will be required.

The business plan is based on 120 sales per month. Of these, 60% are sales within your city, 40% in other regions. This business does not have a pronounced seasonality. The average cost of one sale is 4,825 rubles. Considering the growth of Internet commerce and the high demand for this type of product, the project has positive financial indicators of the project:

Initial investment amount 505 000 rub.

Payback period 10 months

Break even 3 months

Return on sales 26%

2. Description of the business, product or service

3. Description of the sales market

4. Sales and marketing

5. Production plan

6. Organizational structure

To open an online store you will need:

  • Manager
  • Sales Manager (2 people)
  • Head of warehouse

The role of manager in the first stages may be the business owner. You can also hire an employee. The warehouse manager must be responsible for monitoring the balance of goods in the warehouse, as well as issuing products to couriers.

Accounting needs to be outsourced. It would be effective to request this function at your bank to avoid unnecessary paperwork.

Marketing staff also needs to be outsourced. You can find an experienced freelancer or hire an online marketing company.

Staff salaries consist of a salary and bonus part, which depends on sales.

The full calculation of the payroll for 24, taking into account the salary part and insurance contributions, is presented in the financial model.

7. Financial plan

The total investment amount is 505,000 rubles, including the purchase of equipment and goods. The average cost of purchasing 1 unit of product is 1,300 rubles.

As orders grow, the range of men's accessories can be expanded. The average monthly profit is 85,000 rubles.

Equipment:

The sales plan for 24 months, forecast of investment efficiency and calculation of economic indicators of the business are presented in the financial model.

Clothing is a popular and in-demand product, so competition in retail sales is high. However, you can open an online clothing store without special knowledge and large investments, which is well suited for a novice entrepreneur.

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Relevance of the idea

Proof that opening an online clothing store is profitable and relevant is the following:

  1. Most buyers constantly update their own and children's wardrobes, follow fashion and purchase new items.
  2. An online clothing store saves the buyer time. You no longer need to waste time shopping, just go to the website and place an order.
  3. Minimum investment at the initial stage. A businessman does not need to have a large warehouse and spend money on renting premises. In the first stages, goods can be stored at home.
  4. Affordable prices. In the online store, the price is lower since there are no rental costs. Therefore, the demand is higher than in an offline store.

Choosing a Niche

To start planning correctly, you need to decide on the direction.

To select a niche you need to do the following:

  1. Select the target audience (who will wear it).
  2. Determine where these clothes will be worn.
  3. Choose a specific type of clothing.

Example: women's clothing - for the home - dressing gowns.

Sale of vintage and used clothing

The specifics of these areas:

  1. A vintage item can be used or new, but made in a vintage style. In any case, the owner must understand historical features, and the clothes must be of high quality and undamaged.
  2. Used or second-hand clothes: you need to pay attention to things that do not show signs of wear, are not damaged or worn. Preference is given to goods from Europe or the USA - the quality of these clothes is higher and they are in good condition.

Market description and analysis

You can start by selling goods in a city or region, and then reach the all-Russian and international level. There has been growth in areas such as affordable and branded clothing.

The potential capacity of the Russian clothing market is estimated at $23-25 ​​billion (of which Moscow accounts for $4-5 billion), and the annual growth is 20-30%.

Every year, competition among domestic and foreign manufacturers is growing. In this regard, the cost of goods decreases, and the markup increases. Each factory offers more and more profitable terms cooperation, for example, reduces minimum amount wholesale purchase.

The growth of the market also leads to the filling of a large number of unusual and unique models to satisfy the tastes of every buyer.

Determining the target audience

Determining the target audience is necessary for proper communication with the client and understanding how to hook him.

Determination methods:

  1. Contact an experienced marketer. He will test the market in the chosen niche. Services are expensive.
  2. A survey among friends and acquaintances. Interview 100 city residents and find out what they want to buy but can't find.

The second method does not require financial costs, therefore it is preferable.

Conduct a survey and create a portrait of the client:

  1. His interests are where he will respond to offers and advertising.
  2. His purchasing power is how much he can spend on a product. There is no need to advertise to those customers who cannot afford to buy the product presented.

Competitive advantages

Success factors for an online clothing store:

  • quality products;
  • reliable suppliers;
  • a wide and thoughtful assortment that takes into account the needs of the target audience;
  • online consultant on the website;
  • telephone 8–800, free for the client;
  • convenient and understandable site structure;
  • active and thoughtful advertising on all available resources;
  • customer loyalty program;
  • competent pricing policy;
  • delivery to your home or office;
  • possibility of fitting;
  • high-quality branded packaging.

Ways to promote an online store

  • contextual;
  • targeting on social networks;
  • advertising posts on popular blogs.
  • mutual reposts;
  • bulletin boards;
  • own pages on social networks.

Primary advertising

The fastest and easiest way is contextual advertising:

  • maintain your own page/group/account;
  • provide paid targeted advertising;
  • place advertisements in thematic groups and bloggers;
  • look for clients in competitor communities.

Catch-up advertising

  • Yandex. Direct;
  • Google Adwords.

When creating an ad, you need to divide users into at least two groups:

  1. Didn't place an order. If the customer added an item to the cart but did not buy it, you need to help him complete the purchase: “Your cart is waiting, place your order and receive a gift.”
  2. I made the order. If the user has already made a purchase, you need to offer to buy something else and give a discount on the second order.

Search for a supplier

Opening an online store from scratch is impossible without finding a product supplier.

Directions:

  • own production;
  • suppliers from Russia;
  • Chinese manufacturers;
  • European brands.

Your own production will bring the greatest profit. But this requires skills and large investments at the initial stage.

Instructions on how and where to find clothing suppliers for an online store - Alexander Bondar (Bondar. guru)

Dropshipping

This is a separate area of ​​cooperation.

Stages of dropshipping work:

  1. Conclude an agreement with the manufacturer.
  2. Find a client.
  3. Accept the order and collect the necessary information.
  4. Transfer data to the supplier, who sends the order to the client.
  • minimum investment;
  • there is no warehouse with goods.
  • less markup and profit;
  • There are few companies operating under such a system.

Ordering clothes in China

Cooperation with Chinese clothing manufacturers has its advantages and disadvantages.

  • a large assortment;
  • low prices.
  • Possibly low quality;
  • long delivery times for goods (1–2 months).

A lesson on how to open an online clothing store from China - Alexander Bondar (Bondar. guru).

Clothes of our own production

The most promising direction that allows you to make good money. It is possible to sell with a markup of 300–400% or more.

But it's quite complicated:

  • you need to understand sewing;
  • purchase material;
  • follow fashion and develop new models;
  • It is desirable to have experience in a similar field.

Advantage: unlimited prospects for growth and scaling, up to creating your own brand and opening a network.

The manufacturer can act as:

  • seller to the final consumer;
  • wholesale supplier for retail stores.

One of the options for developing a business with the subsequent sale of clothes of your own production:

  1. Start a business by selling finished products.
  2. Gain experience.
  3. Start your own clothing production.

Selecting a delivery method

You can arrange delivery in the following ways:

  • own delivery service;
  • outsourcing;
  • postal delivery.

Own delivery service

Guarantees high level quality. The owner himself controls the work of the couriers. But it requires large investments in equipment and hiring of employees. For beginner businessmen and minimal investment- use only when working in one city. If sales are carried out throughout Russia, it is recommended to use other options or combine them.

At the initial stage, you can independently play the role of a courier - deliver goods to the buyer, carry out fittings. So the owner will see strong and weak sides, will understand what clients need.

Outsourcing

Cooperation with courier services (SDEK, DPD) and transport companies (Business Line, PEC).

  1. Makes work easier at the initial stage. The partner takes care of all issues related to delivery.
  2. Advantageous for delivery to large populated areas.
  • the quality is lower than when working with your own delivery service;
  • it is difficult to influence the timing and level of communication with the client;
  • Delivery to remote regions and villages is impossible or very expensive.

Postal delivery

Work through Russian Post. It is very popular due to its affordable price and the possibility of delivery anywhere in the country. This method is beneficial if the goods are delivered to remote regions and villages or work is carried out with adult audience- They most often use familiar methods.

When reaching large volumes, it is possible to conclude an agreement on special conditions - up to the collection of parcels by the Post courier from the warehouse.

Payment for the order

All payment methods are divided into two types:

  • prepayment (bank transfer);
  • payment upon receipt (cash to courier, cash on delivery).

Cash

Transfer of cash to the courier upon receipt of the parcel. Convenient and reliable way. The courier delivers the package, the client checks it and pays. If the courier works for the store’s internal delivery service and not outsourced, the buyer does not make any additional contributions.

Cash on delivery

Used for delivery courier service or Russian Post. Reliable way, but provides for a markup of 1–3% (depending on the contract, the markup is paid by the client, the seller, or both). Money arrives within 1–3 days. This method is recommended for use, since many clients are afraid of being deceived and prefer to pay a little more for the sake of reliability. The seller takes on the risks, since the client may refuse to receive the parcel and the businessman will not only not sell the goods, but will also lose money on delivery there and back.

Prepayment to bank account

You must have a bank account. For payment, a receipt with details is issued. Convenient for the seller, not very convenient for the buyer. Advantage is a type of prepayment of an order that guarantees completion of the purchase. A similar method is payment by card, using special services (Moneta.ru, etc.). Not recommended at the initial stage - will require the installation of an online cash register.

Creation of an Internet platform

There are three ways to create an online store:

  1. On one's own. It is done on a ready-made platform.
  2. Contact the professionals. Freelancer or company.
  3. Buy a ready-made store. Created by someone earlier.

It is possible to create an online clothing store for free only on your own, but you will have to pay for the domain and platform in any case.

Site development

Stages of website development:

  1. Purchasing a ready-made service.
  2. Filling the catalog with goods.
  3. Setting up analytics systems.

Purchasing a ready-made service

You need to start creating a store by choosing a platform. It is recommended to use special constructors, for example, the InSales platform. No special skills or knowledge are required; everything is already done for the user.

Stages of creating a store on the InSales platform:

  1. Choose a design.
  2. Configure the necessary parameters.
  3. Fill the resource with content.

Examples ready-made templates for an online clothing store on the InSales platform.

Template "Purity" Template "Fantasy 2.0" Sample " fashion clothes» Fashion Theme Template

Filling the catalog with goods

The main tool for selling clothes is photographs.

Photo requirements:

  • good quality;
  • several angles;
  • possibility of increase.

Each product must be filled in:

  • description;
  • characteristics;
  • table of sizes and colors;
  • price;
  • cost of delivery.

All clothing is placed in a catalog with filters based on product characteristics.

The product catalog should be convenient and intuitive for the user.

Setting up analytics systems

Setting up analytics is necessary in order to understand where customers are coming from from the first day of advertising launch.

Setup steps:

  1. Before starting website promotion, add analytics counters: Yandex. Metrica and Google Analytics.
  2. Set up goals (instructions can be found in these services - in the “Help” sections).
  3. Determine the best acquisition channels and allocate more advertising funds to them.

Financial plan

The financial plan consists of the following elements:

  • start-up investments;
  • expenses;
  • income.

Start-up investments

To start selling clothes online you will need the following investments.

Expenses

Costs include costs for maintaining and developing the site, as well as for goods, taxes, etc.

Income

Earnings from an online store are determined based on the following data:

  • monthly costs – 90,000 rubles;
  • revenue – 120,000 rubles.

With such indicators, monthly income will be 30,000 rubles.

Calendar plan

The advantage of an online store is a quick launch, since it will be possible to open for 1-2 months. Being active in the early stages will save time and money.

Risks and payback

External risks:

  1. High competition. It is necessary to monitor the activities of competitors in order to quickly respond to changes.
  2. Fashion trends. It is necessary to take into account when forming the assortment, constantly updating the catalog with new products.
  3. Seasonality. A businessman must timely adjust the assortment to the needs of customers in each season.
  4. Tightening of Russian legislation in relation to small entrepreneurs, including the introduction of online cash registers.
  5. Fluctuations in product prices from manufacturers and suppliers.
  6. Reduced purchasing power of customers.

Internal risks:

  1. Low qualification of personnel. Consultants must be well versed in products and quickly navigate the site.
  2. Unattractive website design.
  3. Complex structure of an Internet resource.
  4. Ineffective advertising campaign.
  5. Unreasonable pricing policy and ill-conceived loyalty program.
  6. Ignoring customer reviews, lack of feedback.
  7. Long communication. Late responses to customer calls and requests.

The payback will be about 14 months or 1 year and 2 months.

Advantages and disadvantages of creating an online store

Advantages:

  • fast;
  • minimum investment;
  • small risks;
  • Easily scalable.

Flaws:

  • requires constant attention (working with the site);
  • high competition;
  • High-quality advertising setup requires special knowledge.

Video

Instructions for creating an online store for beginners from Emagazin. info.

In this material:

The advent and development of the Internet gave birth to a new trading era. To buy a product, you don’t have to go to the store – you can order it online. The Russian e-commerce market is still developing. There are still niches to explore. One of the current areas is clothing trade. A business plan for an online clothing store will help you explore a niche and open your own business.

Description of a business selling clothes online

Relevance

Clothing is a sought-after product. A person needs clothes just like he needs food, so there is always a stable demand for this product.

The relevance of the idea is supported by the fact that people:

  • consistently update their wardrobe, even if the old things are not yet worn out;
  • follow new products and trends;
  • they buy fashionable things - this is due to the psychology of mass consumption;
  • want to look good - this is one of the main reasons for the growing demand.

Advantages and disadvantages

Every business has its pros and cons. Online commerce is no exception.

Advantages of opening an online clothing store:

  1. Does not require large capital investments. You can start with a small range of products and expand as you make a profit.
  2. Selling clothes online does not require special skills or education. Anyone can start implementing an idea.
  3. Free work schedule. The entrepreneur himself sets the schedule for the store and dispatch of goods.
  4. No connection to the workplace. You can even manage a team from abroad, while traveling.
  5. High margins. The profit from such trade is usually higher than from running a regular store.
  6. No need to spend money on renting a room.
  7. Fast payback. Clothes sell quickly, so the investment is recouped in a short time.
  8. Minimal risks. Even in case of failure, the purchased goods can be sold at a wholesale price.
  9. Possibility of constant growth. There are no restrictions - the range and quantity of products can always be increased.

Flaws:

  1. Addiction to advertising. No advertising - no sales. This is a feature of online trading.
  2. Dependence on seasonality, if the range of goods is small.
  3. Refusal of goods. Some customers will change their mind about picking up goods from the post office. The percentage of such buyers is small, but they are always present. Postal services are paid for by the online store.

Where to start: organizational plan

Market analysis and opportunity assessment

To open your own online clothing store, you need to start with a market analysis, which includes:

  1. Demand research. How in demand is the product?
  2. Studying the offer. How busy is the niche?
  3. Forecasting market development.

The domestic e-commerce market is still developing. The number of online sales is increasing every year, especially for clothing sales.

This is because:

  • on the Internet you can find something that is not available in the buyer’s city;
  • it's usually cheaper;
  • This saves time - you don’t need to go shopping and look for the item you are interested in.

In addition, Russian Internet users prefer to buy clothes on domestic websites. Less than 2% of Russian consumers order clothes on foreign online platforms.

At the initial stage of operation, the store accepts orders around the clock, but calls to users regarding requests are carried out only in work time– from 09:00 to 17:00 on weekdays.

Selling clothes online is carried out only in one city or region. As demand for products grows, it expands and enters the national market. The range of goods expands in proportion to the growth in demand for products.

Payment options:

  1. Bank cards.
  2. Electronic money.
  3. Cash at the post office after inspection of the goods.

Assessing competitors and risks


Online trading is a competitive niche. But most online stores are dependent on advertising, only a few are well-known and have regular customers. Therefore, with thoughtful marketing strategy It will not be difficult to beat your competitors.

In addition, there are many ways to promote. As a rule, online store owners use only a few of them. Thanks to this, you can save on advertising and develop non-competitive niches.

Possible risks:

  • difficulties at the initial stage;
  • the assortment of goods is incorrectly selected - for example, seasonal trends are not taken into account;
  • low demand for products;
  • long payback;
  • high percentage of product refusals;
  • the prices of the goods sold will quickly fall.

The target audience

The target audience of the store depends on the selected product range.

It can be:

  • children;
  • teenagers;
  • young people under 27 years of age;
  • men and women over 27 years old.

REFERENCE. Purchasing activity is higher among the female segment of the target audience. Women are more likely than men to purchase clothes online and buy more.

Narrow target audience segments:

  • athletes;
  • tourists;
  • military;
  • hunters;
  • actors.

Eg, great success They use online stores for specialized clothing - for athletes, tourists, actors, and the military. Knowing these audience segments and their needs well, you can open such a store. Working with a familiar target audience is always easier.

Creating an assortment of clothing

The assortment depends on the target audience for which it is intended.

It should be:

  1. As widely as possible - so that all purchases are made in one store and the client does not seek the services of a competitor. For example, if a store sells scarves, it is desirable to have hats, gloves and other products.
  2. Different sizes. If a store has a T-shirt that a visitor likes, but does not have his size, he will buy it from a competitor.
  3. High Quality. Quality is a guarantee that the buyer will come back and recommend the online store to friends. This is especially important at the initial stage of business development.

Supplier search

Suppliers can be divided into two large groups:

  • domestic;
  • foreign.

The choice is made based on the specifics of the product, its wholesale cost and expected profit from retail sales.

Suppliers can be found:

  1. In the Internet. This is the most common way. In Russia there are many wholesale warehouses with a wide range of clothing. Searching for them on the Internet, the entrepreneur appears big choice, and this is an opportunity to find the most favorable conditions.
  2. On the manufacturers' websites. Even if the manufacturer has his own store, as a rule, he sells the goods in bulk. Usually at the bottom of the site there is a column that describes options for purchasing goods.
  3. In newspapers and magazines. Printed products are still popular, especially among women. Magazines often advertise clothes. Usually the manufacturer simply provides contact information, and the terms of cooperation are discussed individually.
  4. Through sales representatives of clothing companies.

Advantages and disadvantages of working with the dropshipping system

Dropshipping is a type of trade based on direct deliveries. The owner of the product enters into an agreement with the sales representative (store) for the sale of his products.

The cost of supplying products is set in advance, that is, the supplier receives a fixed fee for each unit of goods sold, regardless of its market value. The entrepreneur independently sets the retail price of the product.

The store acts only as an intermediary - it finds a buyer for the supplier and sells his goods at a premium, keeping part of the profit for himself. After the buyer orders a product, the supplier handles its packaging and shipping.

Advantages of dropshipping:

  1. No need to purchase goods.
  2. There is no need to maintain a warehouse - all goods are stored with the supplier.
  3. Wide range of goods.
  4. Possibility to connect several suppliers.
  1. All responsibility to the buyer lies with the store. If the product is defective or does not meet the stated characteristics, the store will be responsible for this.
  2. The supplier receives the store's customer base for free.
  3. Risk of fraud. For example, a store’s website sells original Swiss watches, but the supplier sends a fake. This will greatly damage the store's image.

Production plan

Registration of business activities

Selling clothes online is a type of business activity that requires state registration.

There are two ways to register - get status individual entrepreneur or register a legal entity. The second option requires more time, money and effort, so it is recommended to register an individual entrepreneur.

For this:

  1. You choose a registration method - at your place of residence or via the Internet.
  2. Are being selected OKVED codes. They inform the authorities which business is being registered. Current OKVED codes are available on the official website - code-okved.rf.
  3. An application is written in form P21001.
  4. State duty is paid.
  5. Registration with the tax authorities is carried out.

ATTENTION! During registration you must provide your address Email. All documents will be sent to it. Since April 2018, regular mail is no longer available.

When the documents are submitted, you must register with the tax office.

For this you need the following documents:

  • copy of the passport;
  • copy of TIN;
  • certificate of registration of an individual entrepreneur;
  • statement.

IMPORTANT! The application must indicate the taxation system. It is recommended to choose the simplified taxation system - a simplified taxation system.

After all documents have been submitted to the regulatory authorities and positive responses have been received, you need to open a bank account. Only after this can registration be considered complete.

Website creation

The website is the face of the online store. In many ways, the success of this business depends on how high-quality the website is.

Ways to create a website:

  1. On one's own. Suitable for those with experience in web development.
  2. Buy a ready-made website. There are companies that sell template websites. They are inexpensive and convenient.
  3. Order from professionals.

To get a good website, you need to competently draw up a technical specification - a technical task from which the web developer will build.

The TOR must indicate:

  • site structure;
  • desired design;
  • prototypes of pages and tools that should be on them - for example, a button for ordering a product, a shopping cart, etc.;
  • structure and logic of site transitions;
  • examples of successful competitor websites;
  • additional wishes.

Online store advertising

Creating an online clothing store is not enough. It needs to be advertised. E-commerce is dependent on marketers. No advertising - no sales, especially at the initial stage of business development.

Internet traffic sources:

  1. Contextual advertising. This is an advertisement for a website in Yandex or Google search results.
  2. Targeted advertising on social networks. Allows you to divide your audience into narrow segments and create a separate advertising campaign for each of them. Advertising is not shown to everyone, but only to those who may be interested in it.
  3. Communities on social networks. There are two options for such promotion – selling posts in other people’s communities to which the target audience is subscribed, and developing your own public. Your own public page is needed to maintain the popularity of the brand; it will also allow you to attract additional traffic to the store’s website.

Staff

Staff for servicing the online store:

  • SEO specialist – responsible for website promotion in search results;
  • marketers - responsible for advertising;
  • site administrator;
  • operator – calls customers for orders;
  • courier – delivers goods around the city or sends them by mail;
  • accountant.

Financial plan

Initial Investment

Initial investment:

  • purchase of goods – 400 thousand rubles;
  • creating a website and filling it with content – ​​from 50 thousand rubles;
  • advertising – 80 thousand rubles;
  • payment of state duty – 800 rubles;
  • paperwork – from 3 thousand rubles

Investments and expenses

Current expenses

Monthly expenses:

  • warehouse rental – 10 thousand rubles;
  • salaries employees – 180 thousand rubles;
  • advertising – from 80 thousand rubles;
  • taxes.

Income from the sale of clothing

The profitability of an online store depends on a number of factors:

  • selected product;
  • demand for it;
  • purchasing power of the target audience;
  • seasonality;
  • success of the advertising campaign.

Profit

The average profit from each unit of goods sold is 200%, and this is not the limit. There are product categories whose margin is more than 500%.

The monthly profit of the online store is 400 thousand rubles. The costs of advertising, website maintenance, employee salaries and taxes are deducted from this amount.

Net profit for the first month is 100 thousand rubles.

Profitability and payback period of an online clothing store

Profitability and payback periods depend on how productive marketers will work - how much money will be spent on carrying out advertising campaigns how many clients they will bring, etc.

The profitability of a business depends on what clothes are sold. If the store is open all year round and has no serious seasonal drawdowns, it will pay for itself in a year.

Despite the rapid development of the e-commerce market, it is still free to explore. Competition is not significant. There are many areas in which it is minimal or completely absent. Creating an online clothing store is a promising direction for business development. Trade is increasingly moving to the Internet, this is the future.

Order a business plan

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