Below is a list of questions you should definitely answer before you get started with your e-commerce business. This will give you a solid foundation to really have a handle of what you are getting into.

Step 1 – Product

• Do you have intimate knowledge of a specific product or industry?
• Is there a product you wish existed but doesn’t?
• Is there a product that exists, but just doesn’t seem to be doing something right?
• Is there a product that hasn’t targeted a niche it could be great in?
• What is the product you want to sell?

Step 2 – Brand and Image

• Why would someone want to buy your product?
• What is the lifestyle that surrounds your product?
• Who is your product’s customer?
• Who is your customer aspiring to be?
• What problem are you solving?
• What is your logo and why?
• What is your color palette?

Step 3 – Supplier

• Where are you getting your product?
• Does it need to be manufactured?
• Can it be white-labeled?
• What is the cost per unit of your product?
• How many units do you need to get started?
• Can you get terms with your supplier or do you need cash now?

Step 4 – Technology

• What platform are you going to need to build your e-commerce store on?
• Can you do it yourself or do you need a developer?
• Will you bring on a partner or hire a developer (inside or outside)?
• What other technology will you need to handle your business?
• What are your initial tech costs?
• What are your ongoing tech costs?

Step 5 – Fulfillment

• Are you going to handle your own fulfillment or outsource it?
• Can your supplier drop ship or are you going to pay a fulfillment center?
• What are your costs in fulfillment?
• If you are going to bring it in-house, how much space do you need and how many man-hours does it take to ship your product?
• If you outsource it, what are the costs associated?

Step 6 – Customer Service

• How are you going to manage your customer service?
• Is your strategy scalable? (Don’t get caught with the “we can handle that later” mentality.)
• What is your return, exchange, and refund policy?
• What FAQs do you anticipate?

Step 7 – Marketing

• What is your marketing strategy?
• What is your marketing budget?
• What budget do you have allocated to risk and test different marketing channels?
• What channels are you going to take advantage of to market your product? Why?
• Do you have a full marketing funnel mix? Top of the funnel? Retargeting? Etc.

Step 8 – Financials

• What are all the initial costs to start your business?
• What are your ongoing expenses?
• What is your cost of goods?
• What are you going to price your product at?
• Are you leaving room to wholesale as well?
• Are you leaving room to do affiliate and commission-based marketing?
• Do you make enough cash per unit to justify marketing spends?