A good online business starts with a specific customer problem. The website, social page, marketplace account, or app is only the channel.
A practical startup sequence
- Pick a customer and painful problem you can explain in one sentence.
- Validate demand with conversations, pre-orders, search data, or small paid tests.
- Choose a model: products, services, subscriptions, digital products, marketplace selling, or lead generation.
- Register and set up tax or licensing where appropriate for your activity.
- Choose sales channels: marketplace, social commerce, website, WhatsApp, or a combination.
- Set up payments, delivery, returns, customer support, and basic record keeping before scaling ads.
Common mistakes
- Building a polished site before proving demand.
- Ignoring delivery costs and return handling.
- Depending on one social channel without customer records.
- Pricing without considering payment fees, packaging, fulfilment, and refunds.
