When you think about building a profitable online business, what comes to mind?
An online personal training business? Maybe a successful boutique clothing store? Or even a store selling children’s clothes and toys?
All great ideas, but what if I told you they all pale in comparison to mobile accessories.
It might come as a surprise, but if you play your cards right, selling mobile accessories online may very well be one of the most profitable business ventures on the planet. I mean, literally everyone has a mobile phone — and that is not changing anytime soon.
As a result, the market for mobile accessories is the largest in the world.
And here’s how you can capitalise on it.
1.Scope out the market
I will be the first to acknowledge that there are a lot of people selling mobile phone accessories online (and for good reason too).
But this does not mean you shouldn’t.
In fact, by getting a feel for the market and taking an in-depth look at your competitors, you can work out what is selling, and what is not. You can use others failures to build a database of products that sell well, while creating a list of those that you should stay away from.
From here, you can find a niche product that sells really well, but only a few people are stocking, and build your business around it.
This could be something as fancy as a high tech as a power case, or something as simple as a selfie stick — the product doesn’t matter.
What matters is that people want it.
2. Find a good Wholesaler
Ok, so you have found your product — now it’s time to find a wholesaler.
To put it simply, you want a wholesaler who sells good products at an affordable price. The easiest way to go about this is to hop on google and search for the product you plan on selling, in conjunction with the keyword “manufacturer” or “wholesaler.”
This will allow you to very quickly find a list of possible wholesalers. Check wholesale phone case here and wholesale wooden phone case here.
However, it is important to note that not all of them will be created equal.
In general, products made overseas are much cheaper than those made locally. But, they can be difficult to get into the country, depending on their customs rules and regulations (which seems ridiculous for something as simple as cell phone accessories…).
With this in mind, it is in your best interest to find a wholesaler that makes their products overseas, but has a domestic headquarters — this means you get the best products at an affordable price, without ANY hassle.
3.Consider dropshipping
This third point is not a ‘must do’ — but it can make your life a whole lot easier.
In a more traditional store, once you have lined up a few possible wholesalers, you would buy a heap of stock, and start to sell it. While this was the norm, you do run the risk of purchasing stuff that never sells.
Which leaves you out of pocket.
But, with the wonder of modern technology, there is a way to mitigate this risk — and it lies with dropshipping.
Dropshipping describes the process where you find a wholesaler who is happy for you to advertise and sell their products, but never actually hold the product. Instead, you pass the order onto them, and they ship the product straight to the customer.
Then, any of the profits that lie between what the wholesaler charges you and what you charge the customer are yours to keep.
Simple!
While this has a lot of positives, it does mean that you have no control over when and how your orders are shipped — which could impact your reputation negatively if you’re not careful.
Which highlights the importance of finding a good wholesaler.
4.Name your store and get your domain
Alright, so you have found a great wholesaler who can give you great products at a great price — it’s now time to choose a name for your store, and register it.
The first step here is to shortlist a few names that you would be happy to use for your online store. Keep in mind that they should be short, easy to say, relevant to your business, and original.
Then, once you have a shortlist of potential business names, you want to make sure their web domains are not taken
The easiest way to go about this is to jump on the website “Name” and search for the names you have come up with. It will quickly tell you whether someone has already taken it, or if it is still available.
This is why you want to have more than one name ready to go — because there is a good chance that at least one of your options is already taken.
5.Set up an eCommerce platform
Our final step is arguably the most important.
Once you have got everything else organised, it is time to set up an eCommerce platform.
An eCommerce platform is a type of website that makes it super easy to run your online store. It streamlines the purchasing process, allows you to sell in foreign currencies, and makes sure that there are no privacy issues with your site.
Which, when you are dealing with people’s personal information, is pretty important.
While there are a number of good eCommerce platforms available on the market at the moment, it’s hard to look past Shopify Plus. This particular platform is the easiest to set up and use, meaning you will be up and running in no time.
And let’s face it, the faster the better, right?
Key Message
Mobile accessories are one of the most profitable online business solutions on the planet — well, if you do it right, that is..
The trick comes down to selecting your products wisely, and finding a wholesaler who provides great service and affordable prices. Then all you need is a domain name and a good eCommerce platform, and you are ready to go.
Seriously, if you want to take advantage of the online business environment, this is your chance — so why not start now?