The arrival of the digital era has opened a lot of possibilities for entrepreneurs that are willing to set up an online business. Before the internet a person that wanted to be self-employed had to invest significant amount of cash in a building and also inventory in order to open a business of their own.

Nowadays all you need basically to start an online business is just a laptop, a smartphone and a decent internet connection. You can do that from everywhere in the world and you are not tied to a specific location.

However being able to set up a business is one thing, being successful is another thing. Especially if you are looking to set up a business in competitive industries like sport you have to have something that diversify your offering and basically you have to provide a service that is better than the majority out there in order to make it longer term. You have to be consistent, skilled, prepared for plenty of hard work and put in long hours when is needed.

This is because regardless if you are having an online or an offline business: a business is always a business and does require lot of work to make it. ‘Competition in most online sectors is fierce as all the barriers to new entrants have basically gone since everyone can open a website and set up a business online very quickly. We are working with online casino and sports and on a daily basis we have new entrepreneurs trying to steal some of our success. Staying ahead of the pack requires a huge focus and yet it can be tough some days’, said John Pentin co-founder of UK famous online casino bonus aggregator site casinoBiggestbonus.com.

So before you are quitting your daily job to open an online business make sure you consider all the aspects and risks that come with it.

Things to consider before starting a sport online business

So you love sport and you want to open a website or a web-shop? There are some important steps you need to take in order to do that successfully. The first thing is to build a Business Plan

Develop a Business Plan

A business plan is a proper document that you will need when talking with banks or investors but it is also important for yourself so that you will make sure your business is on track to deliver on expectations. The most important things of a business plan are the goals and objectives. The business plan will answer a number of core questions like: what do you want your business to accomplish? How are you planning to reach the objectives? How you will measure your business success?

In your business plan you will also include whatever investments are needed for the start: if for example you are planning to do a sport website than you will want to include the hosting costs, design costs, content, advertising and so on. You will also need to detail how you are going to attract clients or visitors and how you are going to monetise the traffic that will hit your business/website. You will need to explain what are the products or services you are offering and the margin expected.

A very good business plan will not bring you success but will surely help in keeping you focused and also attract potential investments. If you not sure how to write a business plan take a look online as there are lots of templates and guides freely available.

Decide your Business Name and Your Brand

The next thing you will have to do is to decide what is going to be your business name and also since it is an online business what will be the domain name of your website (which is the equivalent of a physical address for an online business, even more important). It is very important that you get this right as you want people to notice it. It has to be also descriptive so that the potential customers will know immediately what your business is offering.

You will also need to decide on the brand’s logo. The color palette and everything that has to do with the look and feel of your brand. If you do things right over time people will remember your brand by just looking at the logo. You will also be able to tell the story of your brand if you do things correctly and create a brand identity overtime.

The website has to be good!

If you are doing an online sport website you have to ensure that it will be good and well designed. If you are not a coder don’t worry as you will easily find someone in the net that will be able to help you for a small charge. It is very important that eventually you will have a website that has an attractive design, it will be easy to navigate and functional. If are building a sports website you also want to ensure you are covering the right categories and that the most important pages will be easy to reach from users. Spending time to create a very good website is very important as it will attract more users overtime.

Marketing Strategy

But a good website is like a good window of a shop. It is very important but if nobody can see it, what is the point? This is why you need to do some marketing activities that will bring quality traffic to your site. So in order to do a good marketing strategy you need to first start from describing what is your target audience. Than you need to set a budget aside and define your goals.

Once you are happy about your plan than you will have to start implementing your strategy. Online marketing is like an art on itself and if you do it correctly it will allow your business to grow. With a good marketing strategy you will acquire visitors at the right cost and ensure you are making a margin out of it.

How to increase revenue

If you are setting up an online sports business and you are doing things correctly your traffic will increase overtime. Regardless of your business model a smart way is to try to monetise all the traffic you are getting on your website. One way to do so is through online affiliate marketing. You will be making deals with other brands that are interested to pay a commission to you for any sales that will be generated by your referrals. In some cases you will also be able to get paid for clicks that will happen on banners or links you are displaying on your site. So the more relevant traffic you will bring the better it will be overtime as you have different ways to monetise it.

Think outside the box

If you enjoy what you are doing and keep yourself away from distractions than you will reach fantastic results. Surely you will need to have a bit of luck but if you are consistent and determined you can really make it online regardless of the type of business you are looking to set up. Be always open to learn new things and don’t be scared of thinking outside the box. It important however that you stick with your objectives: you can always adapt the strategy to suit the real situation but do not completely revisit it everytime. Over time you will expand your skills and you will get better and better. Push yourself to the limit and you will see that your comfort zone will grow larger and larger. This is good for you and for your business!