QUOTE(sylista @ Apr 29 2010, 01:26 AM)
Hi Wyatt,
Followings are my replies:
>where can I get clothes from suppliers?
#People will not reveal their sources as you will their become direct competition. This one you gotta source from websites like Alibaba.com and there's another one which I couldnt remember (it starts with G....). Getting wholesale price from people who are already doing it translates to slim profit margin. I suggest doing alot of research through forums. There are so many blogshops and shops around that you gotta find your niche market instead of selling just because everyone else does so.
>How much do i need to start up my own business?
#You will need alot of TIME when it comes to online business.
Stage 1: You need to setup your blog - it is free but again you will need to invest time on the layout and UI.
Stage 2: Product photography + photo editing (using graphic software like Adobe Photoshop) + uploading them to your site + writing description for the product.
It's pointless having a shop no one go into.
So Stage 3 is online marketing campaigns.
Stage 4 is Analytics - so you can know whether your marketing campaigns are working, if not fix it, change it, do something.
That's why you will need to invest alot of TIME instead of $$$ to make your online shop 'maju jaya'.
>How do i create a network with the suppliers and fashion designer?
#If you're serious and passionate about fashion, the best approach is to travel far and wide before you buy your merchandise so you can see for yourself the quality of the items. If you cannot travel, the alternative is to Google. I am pretty sure there's a forum for fashion designers. For lingerie online suppliers, try Alibaba lorrr...
>Do i need to register to start an online business?
#Not really, you dont need to. Also, it's legally proper to do so. Especially if that's gonna be your source of income which you need to declare to LHDN the following year. Plus the good news is (if you register a business that is) you can push all your expenses to the company haha... If you do lingerie online register, I suggest you hire a freelance accountant's service to advise/help you sort all the matter you need to know lingerie online pertaining to business registration and eventually tax submission.
I've been in IT/web business for more than 10 years but I never bother setting up my own blogshop etc. It's too time consuming for me. Even my own personal space which I created just to post some personal items I wanna sell off (link below) took me weeks to finally make a few good posts because I procastinated. Here is your blue print above! I run a online lingerie store and trust me
its a lot of hard work and the main steps to start are mentioned above.
Theres 2 types of online stores you can
1. dropshipping where you make sales and then send the order list to the
supplier and they will ship to your customers ( a lot easier because you never have to deal
with inventory)
2. Wholesale where you import items in to your house or warehouse and u will have to ship it out
your self. Usually this is a better profit margin. You collect payments from paypal at first and then
get a merchant facility from your bank to accept cc etc.
Don't worry about fashion designers yet, get your foot in the door, theres many ways to promote online
Google adwords. Facebook is amazing too.
The most hardest thing for me was to get a design and a logo but once you have that set
your pretty much golden.
Keep persisting because once you make your first customer you will never want to give up, and if i can
do it so can you... im 21 btw and my site has been up for 2 months and i decided to do this 4 months ago....soooo THERE YOU GO!!
Just need to be determined I was in the same position!
thats my 2 cents
This post has been edited by josiii: Aug 25 2010, 11:05 PM