Lesson 1 – Starting an Online Business and Keeping Control of Your Sales

Building an online business begins before you choose a website theme or add your first product. You need to understand how customers will pay you, what it costs to deliver your product, and how much control you have over the business you are building.

In this introductory video, I draw on approximately 15 years of self-employment to explain the foundation of this website-building series: create a business that allows you to sell directly to your customers, understand your expenses, and change service providers when necessary.

The lessons that follow will walk through building a WordPress website and preparing it for sales. This first lesson focuses on the decisions that should guide that process.

The Golden Rule – Know Where the Customer’s Money Goes

The central principle of this lesson is simple: build your business around a direct relationship between you and your customer.

Before choosing a selling platform, trace the payment from beginning to end:

The customer places an order.
A payment service processes the transaction.
Any applicable fees are deducted.
The payment becomes available to your business.
You fulfill the order and pay your production expenses.

You should understand every step. A sale notification does not necessarily mean the money is available to spend.

Ask these questions before committing to a service:

Who receives the customer’s payment?
Which fees apply to each sale?
When can I access the proceeds?
Are there payout thresholds, reserves, or holding periods?
Who handles refunds and disputes?
Can the provider change its pricing or terms?
What happens to outstanding payments if I close my account?

The goal is to make these decisions before investing substantial time in building your store.

Understand the Roles of Your Service Providers

An online business may use several companies, but those companies do different jobs.

Website Hosting

Your web host provides the infrastructure that makes your website available online. Hosting is an operating expense that you need to account for when planning your business.

Payment Processing

A payment processor handles customer transactions. Examples discussed in the video include PayPal, Stripe, and Square.

Using a payment processor still involves another company. Direct selling means understanding that relationship and connecting the payment service to your own business account.

Selling Platforms and Marketplaces

A marketplace or hosted storefront may provide product listings, checkout tools, customer discovery, and other services. Those benefits can come with additional fees, platform rules, and payout arrangements.

Evaluate the complete arrangement rather than judging it only by how easy it is to open an account.

Production and Fulfillment

A manufacturer or printing company creates the product. A fulfillment service may also package and ship it.

You can hire a company to perform these tasks while keeping the customer’s purchase on your own website. This separates the sale from the manufacturing process and gives you more flexibility when choosing suppliers.

Revenue Is Not the Same as Profit

The amount a customer pays is not the amount you keep.

For a physical product, expenses may include:

Materials or manufacturing.
Payment processing.
Selling-platform fees.
Packaging and shipping.
Advertising.
Website hosting and software.
Your time spent creating, preparing, and fulfilling the order.

Consider a hypothetical $50 sale. If production costs $18, packaging and shipping cost $8, and transaction fees total $2, you have $22 remaining before other business expenses and compensation for your time.

An additional selling fee reduces that amount further.

The lesson is to calculate the costs before setting your price. More orders are useful only if the business can fulfill them profitably.

Account for Your Labor

A handmade product requires more than materials. It may involve designing, printing, cutting, assembling, packaging, and communicating with customers.

A price that covers supplies but leaves nothing for your labor may be difficult to sustain. Include your working time when deciding whether a product is practical to sell.

Separate the Customer’s Order from the Manufacturing Order

In the video, I use book production to explain this approach.

For some books, I make the physical product myself. For larger hardcover books, I use a third-party press because the equipment and production requirements make outside printing more practical.

The business arrangement is:

The customer purchases from my business.
I receive the order through my checkout system.
I arrange production with the printer.
I pay the printer for its services.
The book is produced and shipped.

This allows me to choose a production provider based on cost, quality, and reliability.

It also means I remain responsible for communicating with the customer. If production takes time, the product page should explain the expected schedule before the customer orders.

Build a Backup Plan Before You Need One

Depending on a single provider can make a business vulnerable to price changes, service interruptions, or account problems.

A backup plan gives you another workable route.

For a book business, that might include:

Keeping the original manuscripts and print-ready files.
Identifying an alternative printer.
Maintaining copies of cover designs and packaging artwork.
Producing smaller handmade editions when practical.
Keeping independent records of orders and fulfillment.

The alternative does not have to replace your current system immediately. It needs to be realistic enough that you can use it if circumstances change.

Keep Your Work Portable

Store copies of the materials needed to operate your business:

Product photographs and descriptions.
Original creative files.
Website backups.
Pricing and expense records.
Order records.
Supplier information.

Also check what a service allows you to export. The ability to move your website, products, and records matters when evaluating a provider.

Read the Terms Before Building Around a Platform

An attractive storefront is only one part of the decision. The service’s terms determine how the relationship works.

Pay particular attention to:

Transaction and subscription fees.
Payout schedules.
Refund and dispute procedures.
Account suspension and termination.
Content licenses and usage permissions.
Data exports.
Changes to pricing or service terms.

Distinguish ownership of your work from permission you grant a platform to display or distribute it. Understand the agreement you are accepting rather than assuming every service operates the same way.

Marketing Is the Next Part of the Business

A working website does not automatically bring customers.

Once the store is ready, you need ways to help people discover your products and understand what you offer. The video discusses both online promotion and in-person selling.

Possible approaches include:

Publishing useful content related to your work.
Sharing demonstrations and product previews.
Attending relevant markets or events.
Meeting customers through book signings or other in-person activities.
Using approved bulletin boards and advertising spaces.
Encouraging repeat visits through consistent updates.

Search engines and social media can contribute to discovery, but results vary. Build several ways for customers to find you rather than relying on one source of traffic.

Get Permission for Physical Advertising

Before placing flyers, posters, or stickers, check the rules for the location and obtain permission where required.

Use designated advertising spaces. Do not assume that public visibility makes a pole, wall, or other surface available for business promotion.

Protect the Customer Relationship When Making Changes

Changing platforms affects customers as well as the business owner.

If you move a store or membership service, plan how customers will continue receiving what they purchased. Communicate:

Where they should go.
Whether they need a new account.
How existing purchases or memberships will be handled.
What happens to pending orders.
How they can contact you for assistance.

Control over your business is most useful when it supports a dependable customer experience.

What the Following Lessons Will Build

The rest of this series moves from business planning into practical website setup.

The objective is to create a WordPress website where customers can:

Learn about your business.
View your products.
Understand prices and delivery expectations.
Make a purchase.
Receive clear information about their order.

The website provides the structure. Consistent promotion, reliable fulfillment, and careful expense management help turn that structure into a working business.

Lesson 1 Checklist

Before moving on, answer these questions:

What am I selling?
Who is the intended customer?
What does each order cost to fulfill?
Which service will process payments?
When will the proceeds become available?
Which other fees apply?
Who will produce and deliver the product?
What is my backup plan?
Can I move my website and business records?
How will customers find me?
What information do customers need before purchasing?

The foundation of this lesson is to understand the entire path from the customer’s payment to the finished order. Build around that path so you can price your work sensibly, serve your customers reliably, and keep meaningful control over your business.

Lesson 1 | Starting an Online Business and Keeping Control of Your Sales