Master Thread on Starting a High Ticket eCommerce Store | Thread 1 of 10: Business Set Up 🧵
The first steps in starting a high ticket store are largely administrative in nature; for example: setting up your business structure, obtaining a business phone number, a business address, business banking and credit cards etc.
1/First: Business structure [not legal/accounting advice - just my experience] Options include operating as a sole proprietor or a corporation. As a sole proprietor, you are your business.
If your business makes money, it goes on your income return; if your business gets sued, you get sued. The advantages of a sole proprietorship is the cost-effectiveness, and the fact that it is extremely easy to set up; you can essentially start right away.
A corporation is a separate legal entity, and exists as a legal “person”. A corporation will provide you liability protection should your business get sued, and it will also provide numerous tax advantages depending on where you are incorporated and the type of corporation used
(A C corp in the US is a “pass through entity”, meaning the advantages are only liability protection). It also adds an air of legitimacy to your business when contacting suppliers.
If you're serious about your business, I’d recommend getting set up properly with a corporation to begin and saving yourself the headache down the road.
2/Second: Business Phone Number: Definitely sign up for a business phone number to add legitimacy for your business and to keep things separate (You'll thank yourself later). openphone.com is a great cost-effective option when starting out.
You may want to switch to something like Aircall down the line for more functionality (can listen and coach VAs during calls, track analytics such as missed calls during business hours etc.)
3/Third: Business Address - assuming you do not have an office, your home or residence will likely be your corporate address. That said, I’d recommend registering for a virtual mailbox to use on supplier applications and your website.
I use anytimemailbox.com. Ensure that whatever service you use does not give you a PO box address, but preferably something with “Suite___” or “Unit___”.
4/Fourth: Business Banking - very important that you set up a business bank account to keep your business finances separate. This will make your life much easier down the road. I highly recommend Wise; you can get set up in under 24 hours.
5/Fifth: A business credit card will give you some cool perks and cashback. I’d recommend signing up for an AMEX Platinum if you travel often, and if not, an AMEX Gold which has excellent cashback for advertising spend.
Jeeves is an excellent eCommerce option with 0 FOREX fees globally.
6/Sixth: Sign up for a Shopify account. This usually comes with a free trial; it is worth creating an account and browsing around the platform to get used to it.
Once you have done all of the above, you'll be in a solid position to start with market research and identify a good niche to begin your high-ticket store in.
Thanks for reading; retweet the first tweet if you got value. Part 2 coming tomorrow.
Thanks for reading; retweet the first tweet if you got value. Part 2 coming tomorrow.
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