When I was in college and during the latter part of high school, I worked for a smattering of retail stores in the local mall. One of the stores was one that I was far more involved in, and as the “store manager”, I balanced the budget, scheduled staff, dealt with employee relations issues and generally kept the store running.
It was a lot of fun and the best part of it all was that I learned so much about businesses and how they work. It was awesome to be able to order stock, work with the budget and deal with the people.
Even then, though, I knew that if I were ever to go into business for myself, I would do so online.
There are many advantages to online businesses over brick and mortar businesses (and I am sure vice versa).
Equipment
You do still need equipment for online businesses. For my blogging businesses, I need a good laptop, a camera and a phone with a data plan so I can stay connected.
With e-commerce businesses, you’d need whatever equipment it is that makes that ecommerce business tick. Whether that happens to be printers, cameras, or cash registers, there is still a need. Equipment is an investment to your business generally, and you can come by it at a reasonable price, like the ones at CRS Ipswich, but with an online business you need a lot less equipment.
You wont’ need cleaning equipment for the store, display equipment, scanners, or other sales electronics.
Staff
If you need staff or to outsource any of the work that you do in a brick and mortar business, you generally have to find somebody local who is willing to do the work and pay them to show up. There’s the potential for paying the staff member for their time so you can stay open even when there are no clients and no work to do. This is harmful for your business’s bottom line.
Online businesses allow you to select contractors or staff from all over the world, meaning it is easier to find a competitive cost and you can pay them only for the work they do.
Hours
There are some things you can only do doing business hours, even with an online business, but generally you can play with your schedule and conduct business whenever you want, with an online business. WIth a brick and mortar business you don’t have that much freedom. If you’re most productive in the evening, with an online business you can get everything done then, but in person, you have to go by the store hours that society generally sets as acceptable because that is when your client is going to be looking for your service or product.
There are definitely mistakes that can easily be made with online businesses, just like brick and mortar type businesses, however online businesses are better suited to me because they are easier to set up and maintain, and I can do so during the times that I want to do business.