Should I Turn My Online Business Into a Retail Store?

I started this post pre Covid-19 but thought I would share it anyway. Why? Well because we will get through this and I predict that when we do the number of online businesses will rise tri-fold. This situation we find ourselves in is rocking our reality and we will want a back up plan, a side hustle, an option to work from home. Many of you will join me in Affiliate Marketing. Some will set up online shops through Shopify and many others will find new ways of working and earning online.

So suspend your current reality and imagine you have built an online business and we are rid of the threat of a virus and we can again build a business offline. But should you?

Let’s say you have built yourself a comfortable little online business. Perhaps it is making just enough money for you to survive, or maybe you’re not content with your current successes and want something more. In a short time when things have settled, you might well be considering the possibility of growing your business by moving from an online-only store to a physical one. While it can sound extremely challenging, there are actually a number of good reasons to attempt this. In this article, I’m going to discuss a couple of questions that you can ask yourself before you decide to go through with it.

Is your website really doing as well as you think?

Just because you’ve had a good quarter, it doesn’t mean that you’re ready to move from an online business to a retail store. A great website should be scalable and you should have the metrics to prove that your online store is successful, but also forecasted to do continuously well. It can be difficult to predict the future, especially when it comes to your online store. We suggest operating your business for at least several months before you decide to move ahead and create a store. The longer you wait, the more money you can save and put into your new retail store. It’s a good idea to keep an idea on your financials to see if transferring your store into a physical location is a viable idea or not.

Do you know what running a physical store involves?

A lot of people simply don’t understand the challenges of operating a physical store. They might forget that it’s expensive to rent a location, they could underestimate how much time it takes to run a store, and they might even neglect the fact you need to hire more employees and staff members to even get your business to operate smoothly. For instance, hiring Evergreen Janitorial Services, Inc. or a similar cleaning service every week is important, and hiring security professionals to protect your store might also be required for the types of products you stock. There’s no shortage of concerns and considerations to keep in mind, hence why it’s important to understand the responsibilities involved in running a physical store before you decide to take your online business offline.

Is there a demand for a physical store?

One way to gauge how successful your store will be is to actually look at customer demands. If your audience is interested in a physical store then you might want to consider quickly drafting up some plans to see how viable and costly it will be. However, if there’s really no demand and you don’t have much of a local presence, then it’s unlikely that your retail store will be successful enough to sustain itself. In a time like this, it’s best to stick to your online business and attempt to pivot your business before you invest in a physical store. You might have far more success simply operating an online business, especially if your products or services are considered a niche category and won’t have much impact on the local economy.

How I Make A Living Online

I make my living online, through Affiliate marketing and I have learnt everything I needed to know about building such a business through Wealthy Affiliate.

Wealthy Affiliate is a comprehensive training platform for anyone wanting to either start an online business or build upon an existing one.

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Final Thoughts

If you do not have an online business yet then it is time to get one. Even if you are already A retail outlet, now is the time to go online. However, if you are just online then maybe Now is maybe the time to broaden your appeal on the high street once more.

If you have found this post useful then please do me a favour and give it a share on your favourite social media platform. Sharing is Caring.

As ever if you have any questions or want to share your own thoughts or experiences, please leave a comment below and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

With Grace and Gratitude

Karen

Please be aware that this post may contain affiliate links which means that if you click on one and then make a purchase, I will earn a commission but it will not cost you any more.

I hope that you have found this article helpful, and will use this advice to make sure that your business has everything it needs to succeed.