Ecommerce in India: Small Merchants Finding Niches

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• Ecommerce in India: Small Merchants Finding Niches
• UPS Stores Launch 3D Printing for Small Businesses
• 20 More Resources To Sell Your Handmade Crafts
• Microsoft Drops Price of Surface Pro Tablets Too
• 5 Quick and Easy Tips to Boost Your Small Business Cash Flow

Ecommerce in India: Small Merchants Finding Niches Posted: 08 Aug 2013 04:00 PM PDT Indian marketplaces bring to mind colorful winding roads lined with family and individually run storefronts where retailers can build personal relationships with their customers and deals are negotiated through these relationships.  It's no wonder that when the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh, approved opening Indian retail to foreign retailers such as Walmart, local retailers strongly objected. While individual merchants oppose foreign retailers like Walmart for fear of losing their business, corporations and farmers see the introduction of foreigners as a way to modernize the archaic Indian retail supply chain.  But whereas commerce in India faces this David versus Goliath dilemma, the Indian market is evolving very fast in terms of adoption of online commerce. Ecommerce in India Indians are now beginning to value the convenience of online shopping and many traditional businesses are now eagerly looking to join the online retailing space.  Ecommerce firms such as America's Amazon and India's Flipkart lead the pack. But small retailers like Ayurvedic products store Nirogam are also flourishing. And powering many small online retailers is IQeCommerce, a cloud-based software platform to help them sell electronically. Since putting its first toe in the Indian water last year with the introduction of Junglee.com, an online price comparison site, Amazon has recently launched its own full-blown site for the Indian market.  Also, any third party retailer can sell products on Amazon's Indian marketplace, and through a fulfillment center near Mumbai, customers will receive the merchandise they ordered straight to their door. In addition, Amazon Marketplace makes it easy for sellers to upload their products onto its website and provides shipping for them if they prefer.  Amazon.in also offers a promotional rate when sellers sign up for a two-year deal, making monthly subscriptions free, closing fees per sold unit only Rs.10, and referral fees 5%. Although only offering books, DVDs, and e-readers, Amazon will soon be widening its product offering. But Amazon has quite the competition in India with eBay's long standing marketplace business, as well as Sachin Bansal's Flipkart having already established its presence as the place to buy books, CDs and other items online in India. Flipkart started out selling books in late 2007. Sachin and his cofounder Binny Bansal launched Flipkart after quitting their jobs at Amazon India earlier that year. Six years later and Flipkart not only sells books but all kinds of products ranging from clothing to accessories, to laptops, games, movies, household items, sports and fitness equipment and then some.  It would be fair to say that Flipkart is the Indian Amazon and what's great for them is that they have already established trust with clients. Flipkart, too, has a marketplace with a fixed fee for sellers and offers Cash on Delivery, a 30-day replacement policy, EMI options and free shipping for buyers. Having jumped on the Indian eCommerce trend early on, Flipkart has grown exponentially since 2007 and has been able to raise significant funding in preparation of going public in the near future. While Flipkart and Amazon are broad eCommerce portals, other businesses have chosen niche eCommerce offerings. Puneet Aggarwal's Nirogam sells herbal supplements and Ayurvedic medicines online.  And whereas Amazon and Flipkart cater to the Indian population, Nirogam has taken a product of India and sells it both at home and abroad. Puneet started Nirogam after meeting research scientist Dr. Pushpa Khanna who had discovered a holistic medicine and asked Puneet to help her sell her product online. The two launched Nirogam in 2002 and expanded their collection to 10 herbal products right off the bat. Over a decade later, Nirogam has annual revenues close to half a million dollars and a monthly growth rate of 15%.  Puneet now plans on expanding Nirogam's scope into additional health care niches. Powering many such small merchants with their own online stores is Nilmoni Basak's iQeCommerce.  With Nilmoni as CEO and co-founder Abhisek Kumar as CTO, iQeCommerce works diligently with their clients in order to seamlessly manage many small business websites. With iQeCommerce, entrepreneurs can design their storefront for desktops and mobiles, upload products for sale, market these products via email and social networks, and utilize their easy to use shopping cart checkout solution.  This makes selling online simple for small merchants, and importantly, it allows businesses to sell under their own retail brand instead of an Amazon, eBay or Flipkart marketplace. Some small merchants that run on iQeCommerce are The Skin Mantra that sells laptop cases as well as similar customizable gadget accessories and Paxsport, an online sportswear store specifically selling soccer goalkeeping gloves as well as other soccer wear. Completely bootstrapped, iQeCommerce has over 100 customers and generates $2000 per month in revenue, hoping to become a profitable company by the end of this year.  Through the iQeCommerce platform, customers have sold more than $400K worth of merchandise.  Nilmoni is aiming for 1000 customers in the next 8-10 months and endeavors to reach $1 million yearly revenue with 10,000 customers longer term. Thus, small online merchants in India are creating niches of their own and successfully selling their wares, even as the giants – eBay, Amazon, Walmart, and Flipkart duke it out for the big prize. India Market Photo via Shutterstock The post Ecommerce in India: Small Merchants Finding Niches appeared first on Small Business Trends.

UPS Stores Launch 3D Printing for Small Businesses Posted: 08 Aug 2013 01:30 PM PDT If the cost of owning a 3D printer is holding your business back from taking advantage of its benefits, The UPS Store plans to lend a helping hand. The franchise retail division of UPS recently announced that it is offering 3D printing capabilities at some of its locations. The idea is being tested first in the San Diego area. The company expects to expand the service elsewhere soon. In a prepared statement, Michelle Van Slyke, vice president of marketing and small business solutions at The UPS Store explains: Start-ups, entrepreneurs and small business owners may not have the capital to purchase a 3D printer on their own, but they may have a need to show prototypes to their current and potential customers. By offering 3D printing capabilities in-center, we’re able to help further our small business customers’ opportunities for success. 3D printers start at over a thousand dollars and take up considerable space so it’s not feasible for some small businesses to purchase their own, especially for only occasional use. A recent poll of small businesses by The UPS Store discovered interest in the service for creating artistic renderings, prototypes and promotional materials, the company said. Select UPS Stores will be equipped with a uPrint SE Plus 3D printer. These units can print up to nine colors and are capable of creating usable prototypes. Stratasys, the company that makes the printer, says it uses ABSplus thermoplastic to build its 3D renderings. For more on the technology and the service see the video from The UPS Store below. Image: Video Still The post UPS Stores Launch 3D Printing for Small Businesses appeared first on Small Business Trends.

20 More Resources To Sell Your Handmade Crafts Posted: 08 Aug 2013 11:00 AM PDT The maker movement started to gain major awareness a few years ago, but it is a “movement” that has been going on for a long time. Most cultures have innovation and creativity in their DNA and making something by hand is part of how you solve a physical problem or need. It’s been a while since I previously compiled a list of 29 places to sell your handmade creations. As the saying goes, time flies, and I decided it was time to revisit the topic by providing another 20 sites and resources for selling craft and homemade items. A quick note: There are many general eCommerce platforms to help artists, crafters and makers, but the goal of this post is to share marketplaces and solutions that focus on this niche.  More clearly, I’m not profiling all of the eCommerce leaders like BigCommerce, Shopify, and others. (I’ve done that with 68 eCommerce and shopping carts for small business along with 19 new eCommerce additions. ) 20 Places for Selling Craft and Homemade Items Meylah allows indie artisans to create a “social storefront.” More interesting is how they have built it with a community focus. Individual neighborhoods or marketplaces can build an online community with individual merchants in it. For example, the Sammamish Chamber of Commerce built one and it highlights the community first, then you can “walk” into an individual store or offer. Another example of this community first approach can be found in almost every U.S. State. You can search for “handmade marketplace [michigan]” — obviously insert your state. You’ll get a great list and that’s how I found Handmade Detroit, which offers a Google Map that shows craft stores, resources and more for DIY types. West Virginia has The West Virginia Handmade Marketplace. Foodies and farmers will want to do the same type of search “farmers markets [insert state].” Nearly every state has something to help you find farmers markets, food festivals and healthy food providers. Using Michigan as an example again: Michigan Farmers Market Association. Frequent contributor to Small Business Trends, Robert Brady, points out there are some specialty providers like the Grass Fed Beef Directory for consumers looking for organic or healthier meats. But you can also list your farm. Sourcing Handmade is a boutique consulting firm that specializes in helping artisans get their products into retail stores. And the reverse, to help retail shops find great new products that will become strong sellers. Crafters Town lets you build your own store, but also curates shops into collections and storefronts so that consumers can easily browse. ToSouk is similar to Crafters Town but adds the vintage and collectables focus alongside handmade items. The Craft Star is a handmade boutique collection of indie storefronts. They offer a flat $5 per month fee (instead of a listing fee), but has a transaction fee. Goodsmiths states that it is a marketplace for makers. They have no listing fees, but also charge transaction fees. The site is believable with store owner testimonials. There is a “free forever” version, then premium paid accounts. The Indie Business Network is a great resource and membership site.  It offers a membership directory in addition to lots of education for indie artisans and product creators. I like their Pinterest board and pins which go direct to member sites. Artulis is focused on helping the UK artisan, craftsperson and vintage product creator to market their wares. They have a craft forum and offer lots of advice to help their sellers succeed. Jumping to the foodie front again, if you love indie, artisan-made food, then you have to visit Mouth. They started as “New York Mouth” to highlight locally made foods and then decided that “online local” could include many more local hotspots for good food. Great site and products. To be clear, they pick the products they will accept in their marketplace, so in that way they differ from most of these services. But if you have an established, stellar food product, you will want to consider sending in a sample. But you can also get ideas for how to market your own products by following their lead. Hat tip to The Kitchn for a blog post that listed out a number of artisanal foodie marketplaces (some of which I included in my last post so I did not repeat them here). The GLCmall is a collection of craft stores. You can create a basic store for free with no monthly fees or commissions or setup fees (up to 12 items). If you are a hatmaker or just love hats, then That Way Hat is a site you will enjoy. They offer a free listing in their directory and a premium = level listing, too. Flows in a Pinterest-like format. ShopHandmade is a totally free marketplace based on members and buyers who want to contribute, as in donate, funds to keep the community venture going strong. Interesting model, for sure. Elegant website design, too. ArtsyCrafters has an admirable mission: “To help our fellow disabled artisans present their work to a broader marketplace. We showcase their abilities and talents while also connecting them with others who share our special challenges.” The site promises to handle many of the day-to-day operational tasks of running a business so the artist/maker can focus on their craft. BigCartel looks like a huge eCommerce provider, but they have a solid focus on the handmade indie shop owner. They have a light “free” plan that will probably work for most indie artisans. Worth a look. Ruby Lane has a terrific name that makes you want to stroll through their shops. They have built their niche in vintage products and have a number of handmade makers in their midst, although you will also find vintage products from collectors as well. FarmMade lets you buy and sell, well, products that come from a farm. Great niche focus and well designed site. It is $5/month and five percent commission on all products sold through the site. You can create your own shop, what they call a showroom, on ezebee. The site is well-designed and captures the eye. They have several unique offerings, including their own “currency” modeled, it appears, after BitCoin: “We also offer BeeCoins, our internal currency. BeeCoins are easy to use and a great way to sell more easily to international shoppers.” Based in Switzerland, they operate in multiple languages, as you might expect. Last item: If you are selling at physical markets in your local area, do not forget to look at  Square, Stripe or Intuit’s GoPayment card readers that connect to your smartphone or iPad. Some work with the Nexus 10 (I’m a huge fan of Google’s tablet). These tiny card readers allow you to process payments on-the-fly – and in the case of Square — it is pretty affordable with a flat-rate of 2.75 percent per swipe. If you have been watching the maker movement, now is your time to start an indie business. Handmade products are in high demand. But perhaps not all of them, so do your research. There are many local physical marketplaces starting to shift their focus to handmade goods. How are you marketing and selling craft and homemade products? Crafts Photo via Shutterstock The post 20 More Resources To Sell Your Handmade Crafts appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Microsoft Drops Price of Surface Pro Tablets Too Posted: 08 Aug 2013 08:00 AM PDT If your business is looking for a powerful tablet but unable to budget for a high end price, there’s more good news from Microsoft. The Redmond, Washington-based software giant has decided to cut the price on its Surface Pro tablet by $100 after a similar price cut on the Surface RT announced last month. The price reduction for U.S. customers began this month and will likely be permanent, reports TheVerge.com Price Cuts on Surface RT Successful Thus Far The reason for the latest price reduction is simple. Microsoft says the recent cut in the price of its Surface RT tablet computers has already boosted sales. Remember, the price of the Surface RT was drastically cut by about 30 percent and costs just $349 in most markets today. The Surface Pro has already been reduced in most major markets around the world. For example, the Microsoft website now lists the device starting at $799. The company reportedly took a $900 million loss on the Surface RT in the recent quarter. New Price Better for Small Business Frankly, the price cut on the Surface Pro is bigger news potentially for small businesses than the earlier cut in price on the Surface RT. So what’s the difference? Ultimately the distinction comes down to the operating system. The Surface RT runs an RT version of Microsoft’s Windows 8 different in several ways from the regular system. Most importantly though, the RT version won’t run software that works on earlier windows versions, big trouble for some small businesses. By comparison, the Surface Pro runs the full version of Windows 8 making it more compatible with the older Windows software many small businesses may still rely on. The post Microsoft Drops Price of Surface Pro Tablets Too appeared first on Small Business Trends.

5 Quick and Easy Tips to Boost Your Small Business Cash Flow Posted: 08 Aug 2013 05:00 AM PDT Maintaining a healthy cash flow is a big challenge for many small businesses. It can be hard to balance everything so that you have enough cash on hand to pay your bills and your employees' salaries—and if your credit is tight, coming up with the funds is even more challenging. A solid cash flow will not only help you pay everything on time, but may also allow you to take advantage of higher-ticket, cost-efficient opportunities, fund expansions, and more. Below are some quick tips to improve the cash flow for your small business. Boost Your Cash Flow Earn More Cash With Your Cash If you keep your cash balances in a personal or business checking account, upgrade to an interest-earning checking account. Most banks offer them, and if you keep a minimum balance, you won't have to pay a monthly service charge. The interest rates for checking accounts aren't terribly high, but you can earn even more by placing the bulk of your funds into higher-paying options like certificates of deposit (CDs), savings accounts or money market accounts and then transferring money to the checking account a few days before you need it. Put Your Credit to Work You can save money on office supplies, fuel, client expenses and more—freeing up the cash you would've spent for other things—with a loyalty credit card. Look for one that offers rewards you can use on a day-to-day basis. Some even offer cash rewards that can really add up toward the end of the year. Hold Off on Paying Your Bills Many small business owners are conscientious about paying their bills immediately to get them out of the way. However, most vendors and suppliers give you 30 or 60 days to pay bills—and it's good to take advantage of that grace period. You'll be able to hold onto your money longer and use it as needed (such as in the event of an emergency) before paying out for bills. Read over your invoices and find out exactly when bills are due. You can schedule electronic transfers to pay them off on the due date or a few days ahead of time if you're concerned about potential bank snags or late fees. Switch to Paperless Systems The less paper you use, the more you'll save on printing, postage and other expenses. If you're not already doing it, consider using electronic invoicing for customers and direct deposit to pay employees. If you have any paper systems in place, chances are there's an electronic alternative that will cost you less. Encourage Faster Payments from Customers and Vendors Speeding up your collections process can make a big difference in your cash flow. If, like many small businesses, you send out invoices at the end of the month, it's time to change that process. Instead, invoice immediately upon delivery or completion—so even if the accounts take the 30 or 60 days you allow for payment, you'll get your money that much faster. Another way to speed collections is to offer incentives for early payments, like discounts or reward programs. Many people will take advantage of discounts ranging from 2 to 5 percent, especially on larger orders, by rendering immediate payment. Taking a few easy steps to improve your small business cash flow today will help things run more smoothly and you may see an impact within the first few weeks. Cash Flow Photo via Shutterstock The post 5 Quick and Easy Tips to Boost Your Small Business Cash Flow appeared first on Small Business Trends.

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