Be An Online Distributor
Enable people. That’s my slogan. That’s the measuring stick by which I measure any venture: does it enable people to do or get what they want?
A good friend of mine David Krug gave me what I think might be the official business idea for 2007. Official according to who? Me, that’s who;-)
Here’s the idea: be an online distributor of real world products that don’t currently have an online presence. In other words, enable people with good products to find online customers and enable the customers by providing unique products.
Yep, that’s it. Simple and straightforward. Now here’s how you make it work.
First, make sure you find good products. My brother makes beautiful, custom guitar designs. He also makes a few simple but high quality wood products. I’m currently discussing the possibility of bringing his products online.
Second, set up the deal. Make sure to keep full control over the online store. You are their online distributor, and thus you effectively resell their product. Make sure that the relationship you setup clearly states that you will be purchasing product at an agreed upon wholesale price and that you will have full discretion to set the online pricing (and other things like the design of the website). This also allows you to carefully select the products that will be sold online, keeping you from wasting time on products in which you have less confidence.
Third, keep it simple. Start off with a few money products. Don’t get bogged down in a cumbersome e-commerce website. Rather, try to start off with 5 money products. If the site is successful, you can expand your product offerings, assuming that your supplier has more products to offer.
Finally, market the products. This is where your experience in SEO and online marketing comes in handy. This is the value that you bring to the project. You are drastically enlarging the marketplace of the product, and if you handle things properly, you should be rewarded for this work.
It’s all in the product. You have to get one dudeski.