In the beginning, Walmart was just Sam Walton and his first store, located in Arkansas. Now, it’s the largest retailer in the United States and perhaps the world. That meteoric rise means an opportunity for entrepreneurs who want to launch their own businesses using the Walmart model of convenience and low prices. Here’s how to start your business in Walmart, whether you want to open a physical store or just sell through Walmart’s online marketplace.
Resources
Getting started with e-commerce involves a lot of moving parts. You’ll need a warehouse, an online store, shipping software and other tech resources. Hiring staff can cost anywhere from $5,000 to more than $200,000 per year.
Landing Pages
If you’re selling a product or service, you’ll need a landing page. Landing pages are usually simple pages on your website that direct traffic directly to what they need—often with information on how to purchase. If you sell services, your landing page might be: get your resume critiqued by an experienced business executive. If you sell products, it might be: get your resume printed on high-quality paper and shipped fast.
Helpful Assets
A business license is required for any company that’s selling goods or services. In most cases, your state or local government will issue a business license after you’ve registered your business with them. Check with your local government office to confirm what you need and where you need it; they may have rules about how close together multiple businesses can be in one area, so being upfront and transparent helps prevent conflict down the road. You also need insurance on anything that might get damaged by customers.
Marketing Strategies
One of your first steps when beginning a business is identifying a profitable niche. You need to find a segment of customers that you can serve, and do so better than anyone else out there. When choosing what products or services to sell, it’s important that you stay on top of industry trends, as they are constantly changing and altering customer desires. It’s also important that you understand your target audience by conducting research into their likes and dislikes, buying habits, demographics and social media usage patterns.
Initial Product Research
If you have an idea for a new product, get started by brainstorming your initial concepts. Visit stores, read reviews and compare prices of your competitors’ products. Check out Amazon’s niche directories to see what products are on trend and which ones are popular with customers. If you’re still at a loss, check out Indiegogo or Kickstarter campaigns that have been successfully funded—these companies will provide all of their research with their crowdfunding project so that you can make informed decisions about future projects.
Keywords Research
The word Walmart alone isn’t a keyword that someone would actually search for. In fact, most people won’t ever type it into Google at all. Instead, make sure you know what your target audience is searching for and make sure those words are part of your content (especially if you want lots of traffic).
Long-Term Goal Research
Now that you have a business plan, it’s time to dive into research. Search Google and Wikipedia for answers to your questions: How do I get started with my idea? What do I need before I launch? What local laws affect my business? To make sure you know what resources are available, contact your city or county offices and ask if they host any seminars on starting businesses.
Initial Product List and Budgeting
Before you even think about packing your bags for Bentonville, Arkansas, it’s crucial that you’ve done your homework on what products are currently being sold at Walmart. Otherwise, there’s a chance your new and exciting product could go unnoticed. First, look at your competitors. What do they offer? Why would customers choose one over another? Is there anything similar available?
Getting Paid Section
No one likes doing work without getting paid for it. For many budding entrepreneurs, payment is an all-important step on their entrepreneurial journey, but what are you supposed to do when there’s no money coming in? The good news is that there are a lot of ways to start your business with little capital.
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