Are you tired of the rat race? Are you tired of living from paycheck to paycheck? You don’t like working with annoying colleagues, right? Or you probably don’t like the struggle of commuting to work in traffic?
If you’ve had enough of the 8 to 5 race, then this is the article for you!
Running an online business simply means you are using the internet as the medium to connect your business to people. The field leveled by the internet simply means anyone can start a money-making business online.
You may ask “What are the perks of running an online business?”. Well, here are a few;
1. Offers many opportunities:
There are countless opportunities when it comes to an online business. You can make money off anything you use the internet to do. You can run an online shop, research competitors, schedule appointments, make reservations, manage suppliers, manage finances, and offer online services.
2. Round-the-clock global access:
You can run your business every hour of the day. This means you can attend to people across different time zones.
3. Minimal material waste:
You can run your business entirely using digital means. That means less paper works and less reliance on stationery.
4. Cost-effective:
There are several ways you can save costs while running an online business. you get to save on space, office accessories, and stationery.
5. Flexibility:
There is great flexibility when you are running an online business. This will allow you to be more effective and help you serve your customers better.
Other perks include an inexpensive start-up capital, freedom on the choice of location, part-time options, and unlimited potential.
How Do Online Businesses Make Money
Similar to how regular businesses make money, here is a list of how online businesses make money:
- Buying and selling of physical or digital products
- Sales of information products
- Donations
- Offer of services
- Subscribed communities and memberships
How Do Online Businesses Get Paid
There are several ways to make money online. You have gone through some of the ways you can make the money but you might want to ask how online businesses get paid?
As there are several ways to make money online, there are also several ways to get paid too. The most common ways are:
1. Credit and debit cards:
One of the easiest ways to get paid directly is through the use of debit and credit cards. Your customers can pay for products and services you’ve sold or rendered to them through credit or debit cards. You can also integrate third-party payment gateways such as Square, Stripe, or Paypal.
2. Blockchain:
Blockchain is a database that records digital coins and transactions. You can accept bitcoin or other digital currencies as a means of payment online. This payment is fast with an unbelievably low transaction fee. It is a common method for international payments.
3. Click-to-pay email invoicing:
This is yet another effective and efficient mode of getting paid online. All you have to do is to send a payment link via email to your customer. Upon review, your customers can then click the link and make their payment directly to you hassle-free.
4. Funds transfer:
There are several online fund transfers nowadays. All banks offer mobile transfer through apps. Some social media platforms in conjunction with financial institutions now offer payment via dedicated apps. For instance, you can transfer funds on SnapCash, a collaboration of Snapchat and Square. You can also use other P2P platforms to receive funds.
5. Electronic cheques:
e-Cheques are another form of payment accepted by online businesses. It features a direct payment into your bank account for a very low transaction fee which is usually lower than that of card payments. You would need payment processing software to accept e-cheques. ACH payment processing software allows the payer to enter their bank account information such as account name, number authorization, and amount to the interface to make payment
6. Online gateway:
Another common way online businesses get paid is through an online gateway. You can build your gateway by adding a payment form to receive payment directly from your website. If you do not want to start from scratch, you can integrate an online gateway into your site. Either way, you still get directly paid. Peradventure you do not want to do any of this, you can outsource this service.
7. Schedule recurring payment:
Should you have a recurring payment from customers such as a subscription fee or rental fee, you can set up an automated payment method. This will relieve you the stress of contacting the customer now and then for their payment. This method can charge the customer’s account a prefixed amount periodical.