You are reading this article because you are likely either a digital entrepreneur or someone that is interested in becoming one.
A digital or e-entrepreneur is someone who creates and manages a business using the Internet and information technology. The online marketplace is more accessible and affordable than ever before, which has led many individuals to seek out new opportunities to start their own small business. If you are thinking of becoming your own boss, you may want to consider what it means to be a digital entrepreneur.
In this article, we’ll look at the basic characteristics of the digital entrepreneur, how to become one, and how to succeed as one.
What is Digital Entrepreneur?
Digital Entrepreneur is an online business owner who is primarily concerned about or involved in the development of a business using digital technology. Digital entrepreneur may sell digital products or services, or market the products or services of others, or develop their own digital products or services to sell.
The digital entrepreneur concept has recently been recognized as one of the fastest-growing trends in the world of business. The digital entrepreneur can be characterized as one who builds a business via the use of the Internet, mobile phones, digital television, and other technologies.
This is a person who owns a few digital businesses and makes money from them. Digital entrepreneur is the new word for what used to be called a freelancer or a small business owner. Most digital entrepreneurs work independently from home. They build websites, write articles, sell goods online, and do internet marketing for other people.
Digital entrepreneurs are the new face of business. They are the ones leading the charge in making the world of digital marketing, technology, and business easier to understand, and easier to get involved in. Digital entrepreneurs are the ones bringing together the best of the old and the new in business to create a whole new way of doing things that is innovative, creative, and exciting to be a part of. Digital entrepreneurs are digital leaders, and they are the future of business.
Advantages of becoming a Digital Entrepreneur
Digital is a term that can mean anything from “online” to “computers” and everything in between. When it comes to business, digital has become the standard way of doing business. In fact, if you aren’t at least somewhat digital today, you may well be left behind in the dust. A digital entrepreneur is someone who lives, breathes, and sleeps all things digital. They are proficient in social media, have a presence online, and understand how to use it for their business.
You can start at lower cost
Some small businesses rely on traditional brick-and-mortar storefronts, but online businesses can have lower startup costs because they don’t require a substantial investment in land, buildings, and inventory. In addition, online businesses don’t have to pay for labor or rent, which can significantly lower their overhead compared to those with physical locations. The only things an online business really needs is a laptop, internet connection, some basic office equipment and a website. Then you are ready to go.
Your business is scalable
Online businesses are nearly infinitely scalable, you can sell almost anything to customer all over the world. There are no limits to how many customers or users that your website can have. If you’re so lucky, your business can go skyrocket.
You are your own boss
Being a digital entrepreneur, it means that you are your own boss. You don’t have to limit yourself to work at a specific time or specific location. You control everything about your business, you will have more flexible work time and make change for your preference.
You can travel the world
Many successful digital entrepreneurs are also a digital nomad. They travel the world while working with their laptop. While they travel around the world for a few months to a year, their business will still go around because all they need to run their business it to have a website, laptop and internet connection. So they can run their business almost anywhere.
How to be a Digital Entrepreneur
The digital age is upon us, and becoming a digital entrepreneur is a great way to get into it. Start your own business online, and find yourself a niche that is in demand. The internet has opened the doors to many new opportunities, and you could find yourself becoming a self-sufficient entrepreneur with a great income and a great lifestyle.
Blogger
Blogging is one of the best ways to become a digital entrepreneur. While the world still thinks that blogging is just a hobby or a pastime, a lot of the blogs on the Internet today have evolved into large digital businesses that are making their owners a lot of money. This is definitely a way to start a business and earn some money. Many of the money making blogs are affiliated with other businesses, or are selling physical or digital products. Some of the blogger are making money by selling their own stuffs or putting advertisement to their site.
Youtuber
The other way is becoming a digital entrepreneur is to start a YouTube channel. Running a YouTube channel is very similar to running a blog. However, you don’t need to have a website to start out. All you need is to create content and make video. Then publish it to YouTube. Once you have enough of subscribers, you can turn on the monetization from YouTube. So that YouTube can place an advertisement on your video and you make some money from it. Sometime you can collaborate with business people to promote their product and earn money for promoting it.
E-Commerce
You can also start an ecommerce site to sell your own products or services. You don’t need to build the ecommerce site completely from scratch. The easiest way to do it use to use existing platform like Shopify or WooCommerce to start your own online store. If you are beginners and you didn’t have any coding experience or just want to sell simple stuffs, I would recommend to go for Shopify. If you need more custom functionality, then I would suggest to use WordPress and WooCommerce. For my personal preference, I pick will be WooCommerce because I’m a developer and I want to have some custom functionality on my site. So, my current website at Jorcus.com are using WooCommerce. Once you have done your online store, maybe you can start by selling something. It can be t-shirt, shoes, watches or whatever thing you want to sell.
Saas Business
If you are a programmer or a developer, maybe you can be considered of starting a Saas business. Building a web application to solve real-world problem and charging a recurring monthly payment for it and there are companies are actually doing it. They can run their company completely remote. A few popular fully remote companies are Automaticc (The company of WordPress), buffer (A social media management) and the Zapier (A tool that allows you to connect multiple tools for automation).
Summary
While you don’t need to have a physical store to start an online business. The cost of being a digital entrepreneur is a lot lower than traditional business. Although running business online it cost a lot lower than running offline, it doesn’t mean every business you run online will be success especially if you are new to the online business.
Running business online and running business offline are completely different. But it’s the chance that can allow you to leave 9 to 5 job and digital entrepreneurship might be the future entrepreneurship journey.