![\"\"](\"https:\/\/hacktheentrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/The-Ultimate-Online-Business-Checklist-2.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nStarting is the hardest part of becoming an entrepreneur<\/a>.<\/p>\n Creating an online business from scratch is daunting at first. There are a lot of things to keep track of, and it can feel overwhelming.<\/p>\n It\u2019s all too easy to get stuck when you\u2019re not sure how to start. But spending months in analysis paralysis is only going to set you back.<\/p>\n To start a business, you need to have a solid plan in place. An online business checklist will make sure you\u2019ve got all the bases covered. That\u2019s why we\u2019ve created one for you to follow.<\/p>\n Because there\u2019s so much to tackle when you\u2019re starting a business, it\u2019s a good idea to start mapping things out ahead of time. That way, you won\u2019t feel as overwhelmed.<\/p>\n An online business checklist is a great way to stay organized during this process. <\/p>\n Your checklist can vary, depending on what kind of business you\u2019re planning to create.<\/p>\n You might want to go into ecommerce, like Christina DuVarney, founder of Beautiful Disaster clothing<\/a>. Her store does $400,000 a month, showing the potential that this online business model<\/a> can have.<\/p>\n Her store is based on Shopify, an easy to use platform for selling physical and digital products online. <\/p>\n You can sign up and get started building a slick Shopify site by following this link<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you want to sell on Shopify, you\u2019ll need to source products, and that will become part of your initial checklist.<\/p>\n You could also consider using affiliate marketing<\/a> to monetize a site in a particular niche or sub-niche. David Tao, founder of BarBend<\/a>, created a site like this by focusing on a niche nested within another, larger niche.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re planning to make an affiliate site, you\u2019ll need to sign up with an affiliate program and start looking at products that you can promote.<\/p>\n If SEO is going to be a major source of traffic for you, you\u2019ll want to do some keyword research as part of your online business checklist. (Or, hire us to do the hard work<\/a> and get you more traffic.)<\/p>\n If social media is where you need to focus, you\u2019ll need to start planning and scheduling posts.<\/p>\n There are a variety of tools you can use for creating and organizing your checklist. <\/p>\n Some people prefer a good old-fashioned pen and paper. You can also use tools like Evernote, Trello, and Asana to manage task lists.<\/p>\n Any way you choose to do it, organization is key to completing your list.<\/p>\n This online business checklist covers what you\u2019ll need to do when you decide to start an online business. It covers setting up your website, creating an email address, finding products, and other necessary tasks that need to be done.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s start with the big picture. What are your long term goals for your business?<\/p>\n Are you trying to:<\/p>\n These are just a few examples of big picture, long-term business goals.<\/p>\n You need to be in an entrepreneurial mindset to start an online business.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a way of thinking that empowers you to overcome challenges, be decisive, and embrace responsibility for the outcomes of your actions.<\/p>\n Over time, you continually improve your skills, learn from your mistakes, and keep taking action on your ideas.<\/p>\n The biggest obstacle to an entrepreneurial mindset is self-doubt.<\/strong><\/p>\n To do, you have to believe that you can<\/em>.<\/p>\n So many people are afraid to start, and never end up pursuing their ideas — even if those ideas have enormous potential for success.<\/p>\n Begin practicing the entrepreneurial mindset<\/a> every day, and develop the courage to take action.<\/p>\n At this point, you might have several online business ideas<\/a>, maybe clustered together in a similar niche. This is the time to narrow things down and decide exactly where you want to focus.<\/p>\n To do this, you\u2019ll probably want to do some additional research into your market.<\/p>\n Are there other companies out there doing what you\u2019re planning to do? If so, that\u2019s not a bad thing. Competition can be a very good sign — it means that there is, in fact, a market for the type of business you want to build.<\/p>\n What are other, similar businesses doing? What is their audience like? What problems are they solving for people?<\/p>\n These days, the barriers to entry for entrepreneurship are lower than ever. Tons of successful online businesses have been created with very small starting budgets.<\/p>\n That said, you\u2019ll need at least a little bit of money to start. Some of your expenses will include things like registering a domain name, setting up website hosting, and paying for any tools you might need that you can\u2019t get for free.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll need a website for your online business.<\/p>\n The first thing you\u2019ll need is a domain name. Then, you\u2019ll want to set up hosting for it. (We recommend Bluehost for WordPress.)<\/p>\n You can sign up for Bluehost here<\/a>.<\/p>\n In many cases, you\u2019ll want to use WordPress.org<\/a> to actually build and create your site. You can find all kinds of customizable themes that can help make your new site unique. (We recommend StudioPress for free and paid WordPress themes. Check out our StudioPress review<\/a> for more info about what they offer.)<\/p>\n For ecommerce, you may also want to consider Shopify. It\u2019s a solid option if you\u2019re doing something like dropshipping, or selling your own products. <\/p>\n Generally speaking, though, WordPress is the gold standard. We\u2019d recommend avoiding site builders like Squarespace and Wix. While convenient and simple to use, they come with a lot of drawbacks, especially when it comes to SEO.<\/p>\n Getting on the first page of Google<\/a> can be an uphill battle with a Wix site.<\/p>\n If you have the starting capital for it, you can also consider hiring a freelance web developer to put your site together. This generally isn\u2019t cheap, however, so a lot of starting entrepreneurs take the DIY route instead.<\/p>\n This generally applies to ecommerce and affiliate marketing, especially the former. If you\u2019re doing something like dropshipping, you\u2019ll want to start looking for products for your online store.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re planning on using affiliate marketing<\/a> as a monetization strategy, you\u2019ll want to start considering what products you could promote that your audience might be interested in.<\/p>\n Lead magnets<\/a> are things you can offer your audience in exchange for their email addresses.<\/p>\n Usually, this takes the form of some kind of gated content. You make an offer that\u2019s appealing to your customer base, and give it to them for free, in exchange for their email.<\/p>\n This is a key factor in building up your email list. An email list is an invaluable asset for online businesses of all kinds. You can send newsletters, offer deals and discounts, and promote affiliate offers, all to a targeted audience of potential customers.<\/p>\n Here are a few different kinds of lead magnets you can use:<\/p>\n Successful lead magnets tend to have a few key qualities in common. They\u2019re specific, easy to understand and use, targeted to your specific audience, action-driven, and most importantly, they solve a problem that your audience has.<\/p>\n Email marketing<\/a> is a great tool for driving conversions and keeping your audience engaged.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll need an email address @yourdomain.com. <\/p>\n You can create a series of several emails to be sent out, on a schedule, to each user once they\u2019ve signed up to your email list.<\/p>\n You can\u2019t just send out mass emails from a regular Gmail account on its own. Most of the time, you\u2019ll be flagged as spam.<\/p>\n Instead, you\u2019ll want to use a service like ConvertKit or ActiveCampaign to create, schedule, and send your emails. If you\u2019re just getting started, you can use ConvertKit for free by using this affiliate link<\/a>. <\/p>\n A welcome sequence gets your audience more engaged<\/a>, and increases the chance that they\u2019ll open, read, and take action on your other emails.<\/p>\n Here are some things to consider when creating your email sequence:<\/p>\n Content is one of the number one ways you can drive traffic to your online business\u2019s website. Whatever it is you sell or promote, the right content can help guide the right people — those likely to buy — into your sales funnel. <\/p>\n Building your list starts with your opt-in offer, usually a lead magnet that appeals to your audience.<\/p>\n On your website, you\u2019ll want to create an opt-in form that invites people to join your list. At HTE, we use Thrive Leads for this.<\/p>\n a href=”https:\/\/hacktheentrepreneur.com\/go\/thriveleads” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow noreferrer”>You can go here to get started with Thrive Leads.<\/a><\/p>\n Over time, you can build out a substantial list of subscribers that are interested in your brand. As you build a relationship with them, you\u2019ll be able to turn your list into revenue, as readers convert on your offers.<\/p>\n Using an online business checklist can help you stay organized and make sure everything is taken care of, as you embark on your entrepreneurial journey.<\/p>\n For more ideas on what you should do to start an online business, check out our Roadmap to Freedom download below.<\/p>\n The post The Ultimate Online Business Checklist: 21 Steps to Starting Today<\/a> appeared first on HTE<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Starting is the hardest part of becoming an entrepreneur. Creating an online business from scratch is daunting at first. There are a lot of things to keep track of, and it can feel overwhelming. It\u2019s all too easy to get stuck when you\u2019re not sure how to start. But spending months in analysis paralysis is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":95,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-96","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nYou need a plan.<\/h2>\n
![\"planning](\"https:\/\/hacktheentrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/planning-an-online-business-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure>\nTips & tools for staying organized<\/h2>\n
Online business checklist: What you\u2019ll need to get started<\/h2>\n
![\"creating](\"https:\/\/hacktheentrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/checklist-1024x681.jpg\")
<\/figure>\nChecklist Overview<\/h3>\n
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Set your long term goals<\/h3>\n
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Get into the right mindset<\/h3>\n
Finalize your online business idea<\/h3>\n
Figure out how much capital you\u2019ll be starting with<\/h3>\n
Build a website<\/h3>\n
Source products (if applicable)<\/h3>\n
Create one solid lead magnet<\/h3>\n
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Set up your business email<\/h3>\n
Create a series of welcome emails for new subscribers<\/h3>\n
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Create content to start driving traffic<\/h3>\n
Build your email list<\/h3>\n
Start Building Your Business Today with an Organized Online Business Checklist<\/h2>\n