The most common form of individual-owned business online is selling products. Just like how your average brick-and-mortar shop gets its products from suppliers and sells them, so to can you buy sellable items at bulk discounts and sell them at a profit via a website. You do not even have to have your own website to sell products online. You can sell via websites like eBay, which even facilitate digital-world “shops”. This is traditional buy-and-sell business in a digital context.
The biggest problem is choosing the products that you will sell. There are so many kinds of products out there and so many variants of each type too. You will need to conduct your research to identify which may prove most profitable so you know what and how much to purchase and subsequently sell. You will also want to examine the market to identify what the going prices are so you can maximize profit without offering prices that are too low.
Advertising can play a major role if you have your own website. You need to get people to come to you and browse your offerings, so you need them to know your shop exists in the first place. You can choose to employ banner ads and many other advertising methods. You can even hire affiliate marketers to spread the word for you and pay them on per-visit bases.
You can choose a blog-style website or a full-blown website with multiple pages and linked structure. If you are selling many products, you should know how to categorize them.
As expected of such a business, you will need the physical space to store your inventory, as well as an organized inventory system to keep track of stocks and item locations. You should also explore your options for receiving payment from customers. PayPal is highly recommended, but make sure to provide options for potential customers who don’t have PayPal accounts.