Hey, mom, you don’t have a lot of capital, but you know you need to start a business. Here is the best online business to start with R2000. If you are ready to work hard to build a strong foundation, this business will have you enjoying the benefits of earning a passive income.

What We Will Cover

In this blog post we will cover the online business to start with R2000 or less. We will break down how to start and how to market your business for free on social media. And why this business is a good idea for a mother who is ultimately looking to spend more time with her family.

Online Business to Start with R2000 or less

The business you can start is an online marketplace, who says only Amazon and Takelot must be the only who operate in this market? Now, I know it sounds daunting to start a marketplace, but technology will make it so easy. And in this post, I will walk you through how to get started.

What is an online marketplace?

An online marketplace is a platform that allows multiple vendors to trade their goods and services. The platform acts as the middleman between the vendor and the buyers. It also allows both vendors and buyers trade safely. A marketplace is what Amazon, Yaga and Takelot are, and you can create your own marketplace with a click of a few buttons.

How to Build Your Own Marketplace

To build an online business with R2000 or less, you will first need a Godaddy website with WordPress Hosting. You will choose the Basic or the Deluxe plan, each cost less than R2000 for the first 12 months.

When you pay the once off payment for the website, you will spend less than R2000. If the upfront payment for the year is still too steep, you can pay R99 per month for the basic package, and R149 for the deluxe package. Both options give you a website that is also an e-commerce store.

Free Multi-vendor WordPress Plug-in

Once you have your website and store setup, you need to install a multi-vendor plug-in. The plug-in will take your site from a normal e-commerce site to a marketplace where other can open their mini-stores and trade on your website. The best WordPress plugin for this is Dokan. When you have your WordPress setup, you will navigate to plugins on your backend dashboard, and head over to Install Plugin. In the search bar you will enter Dokan and click activate. From there you follow the prompts, and you have a multi-vendor site.

Market Your Platform

Now, you have a platform it is time to market your site. To start, you will need to three things:

• Pick a niche
• Pick a social media platform
• Create content

Why Pick a Niche?

You are one person starting a multi-vendor platform in a world that has the likes of Amazon and Shopify. If you don’t narrow down, you will be lost in the sea of these bigger companies. Picking a niche also makes it simpler for you to market your platform and bring similar vendors together. It also helps buyers have your site as front of mind when looking for the niche products your vendors sell.

Pick a Social Media Platform

When starting out, you don’t want to overwhelm yourself with multiple social platforms. Pick a platform where your potential vendors advertise. If you pick skin care as your niche, there is very little point spending all your efforts on LinkedIn. And it is also worth keeping in mind that most South Africans spend their time on WhatsApp, Facebook and Tik Tok. You need to figure out where people who sell skin care products advertise their products. And that will be the platform you hang out on.

Create Content for Your Potential Vendors

It is now time to speak to your potential clients. Get clear about the pain points a sole business owner face. For instance, vendors who rely on people DMing them to get payment details. Highlight the benefits of listing their products on a platform that makes it safe for their buyers and for them. Emphasis that with the high risk of being scammed online people prefer the safety of knowing that if their products do not arrive their money can be refunded. And that a safe buying environment has the potential to increase sales.

Bonus To Increase Your Income

To increase your revenue, you can offer advertising on your site to your vendors.

• Put up a banner of a vendor on the homepage and as a pop-up and charge a fee.
• Do a blog write up about a vendor and their product and a charge a fee.
• Run a promo on for a specific vendor in your monthly newsletter for a fee.

Conclusion

With R2000 or less you can start and run a business that can bring you millions of rands over time. Onboard quality vendors, run a seamless checkout process and you will be making money on every single sale that takes place on your site!

You can do this, mom!

Let me know in the comments if you will go for this. And if you need help with any step in the process. It is time moms lived their best lives and making money while you sleep, is as good as it gets.

Until next time, I wish you the courage to live the life of your dreams!

Bye, Mama Xx