23 Jun, 2009
Getting a Piece of the World Pie
Posted by: Singapore Entrepreneur In: Strategies & Tips|Web 2.0
I know several Singaporean micro entrepreneurs (some who are very young- JC level) who are making quite a bit of money during this downturn by providing products to overseas markets via ebay, secondlife, and even multiply. Those who have made a significant mark (selling something as simple as customized badges, rings, t-shirts) have opted to set up their own online stores to ease transactions.
There are a lot of sites that offer e-commerce solutions but I’ve found most to be terribly confusing (can’t work with my host because they have their own solutions) or filled with hidden charges. That’s until I found Interspire’s shopping cart. I was skeptical but a quick look (20 minutes) through its video tutorial and screenshots made me a believer.
First of all, there is a full control panel demo so you can test-drive before buying. There’s also around 20 free store designs to choose from so it’s really easy to set up. The search function is quite good, the ability to customize easy and for the geeks, lots to customize, and they accept all major credit cards and full integration with Paypal. There’s also a video presentation to guide you through if you don’t want to deal with looking through the site. The best part, for me, is that you can cancel at any time (60 days notice) instead of being locked up for the year, whether your online biz is doing well or not.
Of course, all this is meaningless if you don’t have something to sell … make sure you offer a unique enough product first. You also need to do marketing, don’t expect them to just come after you’ve built your online store. This is just a tool, a great tool no doubt that brings down costs tremendously, but the business principles still apply, on or off-line.
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