Starting and financing a remote retail startup: ready, set, go!

Retail businesses — especially fully online retail businesses — are the top types of businesses that were started during the pandemic, according to the Census Bureau's Business Formation Statistics.

As e-commerce continues to grow and more businesses become fully remote, opening your online retail business is easier than ever before.

All you need is a bit of planning, the right kind of funding, and some technical support to ensure a smooth flow of operations at every step. We’re prepared a handy guide to help you get started toward making that dream retail business a reality. Let’s get started.

Starting and financing a remote retail startup: ready, set, go!

Creating a formal business plan beforehand makes you 16% more likely to have a successful business venture. Here are the key elements that should be in your business plan for a remote retail startup:

a)     Identity documentation — These include a virtual address, a bank account, and a physical mailing address.

b)     Registration formalities — Check the procedure in your country, state, and local region to make sure you follow all the steps correctly.

c)     Funding — you need to have a funding plan to ensure a smooth flow of cash flow at all times.

d)     Remote working policy — There are many ways to operate in a remote business. Lay out the guideline of how you wish to operate your startup for employees to be able to follow with ease.

The above list is the absolute necessities you need to consider in your plan. Remember that businesses have different requirements based on nature, scope, and personal preferences. Include those elements as necessary.

Now let’s elaborate on some key aspects of a business plan to ensure maximum success in your business venture.

1.   Consider out of the box funding options

The following are the most common funding options entrepreneurs opt for:

●      Personal savings

●      Business loans

●      Crowd fundings

●      Venture capitals

●      Angel investors

The above options are ideal to ensure secure and trusted funding. However, you can also consider some alternative options that can help you secure more funding. They can serve as both primary sources of funds or a safety cushion for additional tasks.

Such options include raising money through the stock market — bonds, mutual funds, equity shares (IPO), etc. Another popular financing option that has gained prominence in recent years is cryptocurrency.

With more and more countries and companies coming forward to embrace crypto as a legitimate form of currency, you can raise funds for your business through crypto as well. It also provides newer ways to perform routine tasks.

You can pay employees through crypto payrolls — it will allow you to be more expansive in your payment optionsand attract employees that seek flexibility. You can make purchases via crypto and enjoy special discounts.

2.   Don’t compromise on security

Another important aspect to keep in mind when establishing a remote business is the security of your systems. As remote businesses operate entirely online, they’re prone to cyberattacks that can cause heavy damage to your system and privacy.

Online retail businesses, in addition, need to be wary of a special kind of cyber threat: sneaker bots. They’re software solutions designed to automate the purchase of limited-edition products, aiming to give their users an unfair advantage over human users.

They are the most active during a digital sale of a limited edition product. Their goal is to hog the products for themselves, leaving your customers unsatisfied and harming your reputation as a brand. They’re challenging to track and contain. 

You need to invest in the protection of the data, systems, and online spaces of your business via: 

●      anti-virus systems,

●      firewalls, and

●      insurance policies.

Doing so ensures that threats such as sneaker bots and other known viruses (DDoS attacks, phishing, malware threats) cannot enter your system. It also ensures your employees, customers, and associates that their information is safe with you.

3.   Invest in employee engagement for increased productivity

The key to the success of any business is the hard work and dedication of its employees. Engaged employees perform better and ensure that you achieve your goals each time. This becomes both important and challenging with virtual businesses.

You cannot physically be present with your team to motivate and engage them. You need to rely on tools and plans to align your employees to shared goals and a sense of togetherness. Engage them with the prospect of their growth and prosperity.

Employee option pools have emerged as excellent options to include employees in the equity of a business in ways that help them prosper as well. Your team is going to appreciate the invitation to be included in the firm’s expansion plans by way of equity shares.

Here is a distinction between employee stock options vs shares to help you plan your employee option pools better. There are many benefits to providing employees with options such as employee pools: 

●      They give employees options to invest.

●      They allow employees to grow and expand on their own.

●      Investing back in the company they work for strengthens their bond with it.

●      Employees see and appreciate the effort their employer is putting into their individual growth.

This leads to strengthening your bond with your employees. They’re likely to work with more enthusiasm and vigour for you, leading to better productivity and increased trust between you and them.

4.   Hire remote savvy people

Look for people who are adept at working in remote conditions when hiring. While people can absolutely learn to adapt to a remote setup, it might not be the best option for you as you’re a completely remote business.  

Remote savvy employees would

●      be able to slip into flexible working conditions with ease,

●      would know their way around the various communication channels, and

●      be able to maintain a smooth workflow.

This will help you establish a positive work culture in your retail store. The idea is to keep things moving at all times without creating backlogs or delays. And hiring remote savvy people will tremendously help with that.

To hire such employees, scan their candidate resumes for keywords that relate to remote working, such as — remote, virtual, work from home, and telecommute. Also look for keywords that imply that they’re well-versed in it, such as – self-starter, motivated, good communications skills, etc.

5.   Establish communication channels to keep everyone in the loop

It’s important to establish clear lines of communication beforehand when starting a remote business. It forms the basis of your entire work structure. People need to be able to communicate freely about work.

More importantly, they need to understand who to report to avoid delays, misunderstandings, and miscommunication. Communication lines are often understood and implied in in-office settings but need to be made clear in remote settings.

Make it a rule of thumb to include a guide to communication channels in every orientation program. Moreover, make sure that it’s pinned into every worker’s workspace so that they can refer to it as and when needed.

Mix sturdy funding with versatile tech tools to find success as a remote retail startup

The recent move towards digitalisation has simplified the process of launching new businesses.

Crafting a comprehensive business strategy is essential for achieving remarkable success in your online retail venture.

Pay close attention to critical factors like securing consistent funding, safeguarding all aspects from data to your online platforms, and fostering an engaged workforce. These efforts will enable you to attain operational excellence in no time.

Feel free to share your insights in the comments section about the most effective strategies for ensuring the success of a remote-based retail startup.

Author bio:

Atreyee Chowdhury is a professional content and copy writer with more than 10+ years of experience.

She’s passionate about helping SMBs and enterprises achieve their content marketing goals with her carefully crafted and compelling content. She loves to read, travel, and experiment with different cuisines in her free time. You can follow her on LinkedIn.