and start doing e-commerce for my B&M store

[wvc]

We have a mostly successful B&M store and I know I'm leaving money on the table by not being online yet. I'm not resistant at all - I am just experiencing paralysis I think.

We have thousands of products. Photography I know is essential, but so incredibly expensive. I know I don't need to put my entire store online, but even the essentials are about 500 products. I think this is the hardest part for me... the most affordable cost at $20/product is a lot to swallow. Is it worth it? Should I get a light box and do it myself? I do have a nice smart phone...

Should i just hire someone to handle creating the website? We have square so loading the inventory, I imagine, won't be THAT hard. Or am I being naive? I have no developer experience... so I should probably just hire someone?

Ugh. Seriously I think I need some serious hand holding with these decisions. I'm frustrated with myself. Help?

 

[613jono]

@wvc Start small. Pay someone for a basic WordPress site And list one item A day. Launch in 3 months

 

[moogie]

@wvc https://zapier.com/blog/best-ecommerce-shopping-cart-software/

You probably have already done some research but based on what this article says about Square, it sounds like it might be reasonably cost-effective and easy for you to include your online platform. Plus it says it offers a good onboarding experience which I'm sure you would appreciate!

Take a couple of weekends with Square and see how easy it is to build the platform. Start with your own light box and your phone for the photography; you can always upgrade later if needed. I got a light box for about $50 on Amazon and it worked fine for 90% of what I needed. If the platform building goes well and the project seems do-able, you can always turn the rest of the photography over to some kid.

Don't aim for perfection to start, just start! Good luck to you!

 

[rom837]

@wvc Do you make all your products? Are they each unicorns?

If you are selling stuff that you bought from someone else, see if they have a photo online that you can use (with their permission).

 

[jasonspence]

@wvc EasyCart and Stripe are quite easy to set up in WordPress, hosted on WP Engine. I would also get the Enfold theme. If money is a bigger issue than time there are some great videos for setting everything up.

 

[613jono]

@wvc Congratulations to your new sales avenue.

Try Square retail (you're already using) and start listing your top 10 best sellers first. Then decide if you need people to do it for you.

Usual lighted image will do since you already have ready customers so a light box or not, is not the point.

Don't use WordPress, it's slow, buggy and you're on your own to debug, overall is a waste of time for established business owners like you.

Thing to worry about is your delivery fulfilment.

More success to you.

 

[eriksun]

@wvc You said already have Square. You can easily do it with Square Online, as long as you have your products inputted into Square Item Library it will auto sync. More info and pricing here: https://squareup.com/help/us/en/article/6852-get-started-with-square-online-store

Feel free to PM me if you need more help. Good Luck!