If you are interested in running a small e-commerce business, you’ll first need to take stock of everything you need to operate.  This is useful for making sure that you have everything you need — including sufficient funding — to get started.

Here is a basic list of some of the main things you’ll need to get started:

• A website.  Well, obviously you can’t run an online shopping site if you don’t have a website.  But it’s not as simple as just getting yourself a website.  Choose your domain name carefully, as this is essentially your calling card.  Much like a toll-free number had to be memorable back when that was the main vehicle for mail-order shopping, an e-commerce site’s domain name needs to be something that customers will remember easily.  For example, if you are selling auto accessories, it’s helpful to have those words in your domain name!
• A shopping cart.  In order for people to place orders, your website has to have a shopping cart setup.  You’ll lose a lot of potential customers if you make them email their order or call in, because it seems kind of hokey.  Your best bet is to provide a way for people to add and remove items from their shopping cart as they wish, then edit and review their cart before they check out.
• Speaking of checking out…  Another thing you’ll need is a way to accept credit cards online.  Again, having to send a check will feel kind of hokey to potential customers.  Luckily, services such as PayPal make accepting credit cards and echecks from your website really easy!
• Someplace to warehouse your merchandise.  Unless you are running an affiliate business, where orders are placed with the parent company from your website and you just get a kickback, you will need to have space to store all of your merchandise.  Not only that, you’ll need to make it easily accessible so that you can fill orders quickly and easily.  How much space depends on what you sell.  For instance, if you are selling auto accessories such as pre-formed plastic truck bed liners and bull bars, your merchandise will take up a lot of room and require more warehouse space than smaller merchandise.
• A streamlined system for packing and shipping orders.  Packing and shipping can take a long time if you don’t do it efficiently, so have a system in place.  This will probably require keeping boxes and other packing materials on hand, and having a setup where you can print postage and have packages picked up every day by USPS or UPS.

There are probably some other things you’ll need that I’m forgetting, so make sure you research your venture thoroughly before launching it.  You’ll want to have everything ready from day 1 that the site is live!

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