What is a PEO and do you need one?
A PEO or Professional Employer Organisation is a type of outsourcing firm that makes running your business easier. Typical services they offer can include; human resource consulting, safety and risk mitigation services, payroll processing, employer payroll tax filing, workers’ compensation insurance, health benefits, employers’ practice and liability insurance (EPLI), retirement vehicles (401(k)), regulatory compliance assistance, workforce management technology, and training and development.
Many businesses are started with the goal of doing something they love, but what they quickly realise is that there is a lot more that comes with it. There is a lot of paperwork, organisation and other meaningless tasks that make running a business tricky and that is where PEO’s come into the picture, they help get rid of the paperwork and hassles.
So what do you need to look for when choosing a PEO?
Well here are some of the Best PEO Companies.
So lastly, do you need one?
Well to put it simply, no, you can do all the hard work yourself. But if you want to focus on the things in your business and have more time to do what you enjoy, then it could definitely to at least look into what the cost is for your convenience.
How to Build an eCommerce Brand from Scratch (Explained)
Introduction to Building eCommerce Brands
Getting Started – Building an eCommerce Brand
Building an eCommerce brand can be an extremely good way to make some good coin on the side. But before getting into it, it is important to know exactly what is required to be successful in the eCommerce market.
When it comes to building a brand, there are millions of ways you could do it, this is just one of many, but probably the simplest way top succeed initially. As time goes on, I will be actually creating this brand and you will be able to follow along and hopefully succeed in eCommerce yourself!
When it comes to building an eCommerce store there are 9 main steps to consider to really get things off the ground. Before we get into it, I want to clarify, that we are focusing on building a real brand and following, rather than just a mere online store.
Sure, we could get sales by just building an online eCommerce store, but we want to build something a little bigger than that!
Here are my 9 steps to Building an eCommerce brand:
1) Concept/Idea
What is going to solve a problem? Do you need a business plan? Who are you going to help?
2) Market Research
It is important to know who your competitors are and how you can beat them? What is your point of difference?
3) Brand/Identity
What is the brand story? What is the brand personality? What is the name of your brand? And are you building an eCommerce store or an eCommerce brand?
4) Brand Assets
What is the look and feel of your brand? How do you build a logo? What other assets do you need to get started with eCommerce?
5) Products
What are you going to sell? What does your product mean to people? Is your product remarkable?
6) Website Store
What platform are you going to build your eCommerce store on? What are the pros and cons of that platform? Is the user experience important?
7) eCommerce Logistics
What do you need to consider when starting a store? How do you setup shipping? How do you take payments? (Yes, these are important…)
8) Marketing Systems
What platforms are you going to use to market your new brand? What strategy or approach should you use?
9) Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO)
How are you going to improve your conversions on your eCommerce website? How do you make people buy more?
10) Content Strategy
Is it important to post and be present? Does this even help sales?
And that’s it! That’s exactly what we are going to do to ensure you can build a successful eCommerce business – and I will walk you through every step of the way to ensure you can succeed!
1) Crafting an eCommerce Business Concept
When first coming up with the eCommerce concept, you don’t just want to dive straight into what the product you will be selling on your eCommerce business, there are a few things to consider before talking about your product.
The first thing to understand is the difference between setting up an eCommerce brand vs an eCommerce store. Although they sound to be very similar, and in actually starting each one there are a lot of similarities, the end result is really quite different.
The main differences are that an eCommerce brand isn’t recognisable by just one product, it has more value than just what it sells, people want to identify with it and people want to buy more of it, no matter what they sell.
But how do we get there?
Well, we get there by selling products, however, as we sell products we communicate the issues that we are solving by selling them. Ecommerce brand also typically have particular values they follow, they have a personality, they communicate in a certain manner.
When starting up an eCommerce brand, this is important to keep in mind.
So step 1 is to put together the ideas! Come up with a few considerations as to what you could sell. Don’t make it a reality yet, just if you were to own an eCommerce brand what could you sell. Let’s keep this simple!
The next question to ask yourself is “Who am I trying to help?”.
The reason we ask this is to firstly, understand that your product needs to appeal to a specific audience (So many people do this wrong). But secondly, your product needs to solve a problem. It doesn’t have to be a life saving product, but it needs to have some sort of purpose so people are motivated to buy it, more specifically, your sub demographic that you’re defining.
You really need to deeply understand your audience, their motives, needs, hobbies, interests and pretty much everything about them!
And the last questions, how is your product going to help them?
For some examples watch the video below!
Now lastly, for this section, we need to understand product-market-fit.
This a simple term to understand, does your demographic NEED this product? And the answer is quite often no.
I am a big believer in analysing businesses who have tried before me and understanding where they may have gone wrong, and unfortunately this is a stage where many businesses tend to fail.
They build the best product in the world and believe that it is going to appeal to a specific demographic, then when it gets there, they try it and they are not really all that fussed by the new product and in their old ways they go ahead to use the old product they’ve used for years.
So what is the best way to go about this? Well before developing a product, it is essential to deeply understand the people you are trying to target.
How do you find out what they like? Ask them!
For the conclusive guide watch the video below!
More coming soon!
Do you need a website or an app?
In today’s age, both websites and applications are getting very popular. All kind of businesses are trying to reach their customer on any device possible.
So the question you may want to ask yourself is – Do I need a website or an app?
The real answer is where does your customer hang out most and where are they visibly going to find you?
But here are a two more things to consider before making a decision…
1) How personalised do you need to be?
Generally speaking both are fairly personalised, but due to the app user experience apps can offer a more personalised experience. Here are some great ideas for an app – Top App Developers.
Though given the same environment and user setup a website could offer a similar user experience.
2) What’s your budget?
With most of these projects, budget is very important for making a decision.
Typically speaking, websites are always going to be cheaper than apps and take less time to create, well given you have the right team on your side (see Volt Agency)
Websites will usually cost somewhere between $1,500 to about $6,000 depending on the complexity of the website. While apps will usually start at about $10,000 and go up to about $120,000 depending on the complexity of the app.
I hope this helps you make a good judgement on whether you want an app or a website.
All the best!
Revolutionary Websites
Websites are just about as common as a mobiles phones these days, everyone’s got one! In our experience though, there have only been a few websites that have truly blown us away.
What I’m trying to say here is, websites are extremely common and you really need something cutting edge to stand out amongst the pack.
So, what stands out?
Well a good place to start is to look at website developers websites, although some of them are extremely outdated, some developers spend the time to ensure their website is bold, striking and everything you want.
Go check out our website for example – Volt Agency
Although we have not embedded our website with all the bells and whistles, we have built a power converting website that generates us tons and tons of leads. Through the pairing of elegant design, and the latest marketing know-how our website has an edge that many developers don’t – simplicity.
When it comes to a “wow-factor” website there are a few things that play a key factor in your success.
Here is a little list for your convenience:
- Visuals – imagery is everything
- Design/Layout
- A simply user experience – complexity kills conversions
- Effects
- Functionality – but simple!
- Elegant Uniqueness
That last point is really crucial.
You need to stand out and be the Purple Cow.
The reason great websites are great, are not because they blend into the crowd, it’s because they pop out amongst the crowd to excel.
Here are a few examples of some websites that really bring the Elegant Uniqueness I speak of – Best Designs.
So next time you are updating your website, think about how you can also be the Purple Cow.
All the best!!
Why choose an eCommerce specific agency?
When it comes to picking an agency to craft the ideal website, or market for your company, quality definitely matters.
There are a ton of great developers, marketing agencies and specialists that can help you grow your business. But who is right for you?
So many agencies tend to do a little bit of everything, they service all industries, and unfortunately this leads to b-grade results.
Let me give you another way to look at it, let’s say you needed a knee reconstruction, you go to your GP and they recommend a knee surgeon, someone who only looks at knees. That seems reasonable, right?
But, what if they recommended you someone who primarily does brain surgery and on the side does a little knee stuff. I’m not sure about you, but I would not feel comfortable at all.
But that’s how so many agencies operate.
Here at Volt Agency, we only do eCommerce, because we know that what we do, we do really well.
We do it so well that Design Rush, just listed us in the Top eCommerce Web Design Companies of 2020 – check it out here.
Next time you are looking for a developer, look for one that is specific to your needs and thing will go a whole lot smoother!
