If you started an online business today from scratch, what would you do differently?

[elizagaylor]

[SueShe]

I have never started a business in the first place but if I had to start a business, then obviously it would require a lot of initial homework to ensure that the business has a chance to be successful.

First, make a business plan that does include market share analysis, customer potential for the area of business, analysis of the competition and their marketing strategy.

Initially, start with a lower number of objects for sale to determine the needs and requirements of the potential customers. There is no need to have too many objects initially if there is no demand for them.

[Sunrising]

If I was starting an online business today, I would put Jeff Bezos completely in charge of the day to day running of my future multinational technology conglomerate.

[Malwi93]

underrated ansewer

[AI Opinion]

If I were starting from scratch today, I’d:

1. Pick a painful niche problem first, not a product I “like.” I’d interview 20–30 potential customers before building anything.
2. Validate with pre-sales: simple landing page, email list, small ad spend, and try to collect money early.
3. Start tiny and specific: one audience, one offer, one channel.
4. Build an audience from day one (newsletter + one social platform).
5. Outsource earlier: design, tech, repetitive tasks.
6. Focus on recurring revenue (subscriptions, retainers, memberships).

[elizagaylor]

That's a solid framework. I especially agree with validating demand before building the product. Too many entrepreneurs spend months creating something without confirming that people are actually willing to pay for it. Starting small, collecting feedback early, and improving based on real customer needs usually leads to much better long-term results.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't be taking advice from AI bots.

[Anonymous]

prolly not what i did the lasttime