Question by Mike T: I need help with an online business?
Hi
Ive been asking around on yahoo for days now cause im trying to start my own business. Im 14 which causes many problems with the bank and contracts and much more so i gathered why not start and online shop selling aquatic products and then when im 18 then start a shop and then a chain hopefully. My problem is i don’t know where to get started with building an online shop. What sites to use, where do i get my products and how to advertise it. My dad is currently spending a couple of thousand on building his online company after 20 years of not having one. Im working of pocket money so £2,000 would be alot to fork out. I currently have a webpage for my youtube account which i made on moonfruit which i love. But im not sure whether it would be right for an online shop. I would have to upgrade to the highest package so i can sell things on a site ( btw i don’t plan to use my current website) but here is my current one that i made in about 10mins which isnt very good, but im thinking if i take my time and really work on it then maybe.. just maybe it would look like a proffesion site, but here is my current:
http://1filmproducer.moonfruit.com/
As you can see, not great
But im thinking use that site cause id only have to spend £72 i think looking at this, i correct my self from early, i wont need to buy the higest aslong as i can use paypal, heres the pricing, tell me what you think 
:
http://www.moonfruit.com/pricing
And the money i save i can spend on advertisments and getting my site out there, i would really appreciate if anyone could help me, maybe even teamspeak and have a chat, maybe to personal, just so someone can really help me with wat im aiming to do cause ive been wanting to do this for years and i feel the time is righ,
Thanks and sorry for the long question, long answers are great!, love to read them,
Thanks
Mike
Best answer:
Answer by FishGuru
This is going to require a LOT of time, money and patience on your part.
First you need to find what people want in an aquatic website. There are SO many aquatic retailers on the web, you need to make yours stand out from the crowd.
You need to make your website look proffesional. Whenever I’m searching online for aquatic retailers, one of the main thing which puts me off is a cluttered, amateur-looking website. Also it’s a good idea to make sure you have your own URL. Websites which have .moonfruit.com on the end or .webs.com make the viewer think the sight is unproffesional and not serious about dealing with customers and shipping out quality goods.
Next. Ask yourself this; ‘where will I get the goods from?’
Are you going to sell second hand goods? Will you use a wholesaler? Will you agree a contract with an aquatic goods manufacturer? You need to make sure you are certain what sort of things you want to sell and where you are going to get them from. I would recommend you spend a long time researching this as you will want to be supplied with good goods (lol), at a low price.
What sort of things are you going to sell? Some aquatic websites are specifically aimed at planted tanks and plant enthusiasts. Some are aimed at general aquatic supplies. Some are aimed at aquarium equipment such as filtration and lighting. Work out what your target audience is and what kind of things you would like to sell.
Advertising is a tricky one. You could chum up to, say, dustinsfishtanks (youtube) and ask him to recommend you. He is a nice guy and sometimes gives shoutouts. You can use google advertising, it’s cheap and quite effective. It certainly gets you viewers and buyers. I’m not particularly knowledgable at advertising, but I do know it takes time and you will not be an instant success.
I’m no businessman so I can’t advise you on funds etc, I’m simply an aquarist and a member of quite a few fish forums, so I know what people want.
Hope I helped a little bit. Again, I do not know a lot about this business, I simply provide an aquarist’s point of view.
What do you think? Answer below!
