Most New Zealanders know how to sell/buy goods on TradeMe. Maybe you are thinking to start a similar website. Yes, it is not only the good time, but also the RIGHT time. Some statistics:
There were 3,200,000 Internet users in New Zealand (representing 74.9% of the population) in June 2007, according to Internet World Stats. This was up by 285.5% compared to 2000. (Internet World Stats, June 2007)
New Zealand has a healthy retail e-commerce market, with 61% of adult New Zealanders making online purchases each month. (Nielsen//NetRatings's "Online Retail Monitor.")
NZ Minister of Tourism Damien O'Connor said it is a huge opportunity for Tourism New Zealand to be associated with Google Earth, adding that the partnership with Google could potentially expose the www.newzealand.com website to Google Earth's 200 million unique users.
Tourism New Zealand's official website has around 500,000 visitors in peak months.
Short story about TradeMe:
"University dropout Sam Morgan is a good Kiwi guy who worked his butt off for seven years - and has just pocketed more than $200 million for his efforts.
Mr Morgan, 30, and a dozen other investors have just sold Internet auction company Trade Me for $700 million to media group Fairfax, publisher of The Dominion Post.
Quite an achievement for a man who spent his early years living in a housebus, hated primary school and ditched university after two years."
So, what does this tell us?
Two important points are:
Your Customers are Trained already!
This is very important. New Zealanders have already learnt how to use complex software system likes the TradeMe, as well as the concepts of E-Commerce. Which means that, if TradeMe spent the first 3 years to teach people the idea of online trading. Then, your website will immediately benefits from the positive outcome of TradeMe's efforts.
You Can Do It too!
Maybe not an auction site. But there are still a lot of cool ideas that you can try.
For example:
Online Stores - I'm sure the next BIG site in New Zealand will be something likes eBay or shoppify. Those websites allow people creating online shops and providing a market place for shop owners.
Job Search - Seek is the most popular job searching site in New Zealand. But the market is still hot.
Garage Sales - What about allowing people posting/sarching garage sales information on your site? Even, they can sell and buy on your site.
Flee Market - Imaging that you put all flee market products on your online shop. This requires you building business relations with people from your local flee market.
Travel Information - Well, building up a travel site might be a bad idea, since there are some big names playing in the market. However, it also might be a good chance if you have a really good business idea.
How to Get Started
Hoping all these information give you some insights into doing Internet Business in New Zealand. Now, you may start thinking on:
- 1. A domain name
- 2. A web hosting provider to host you domain and web application
- 3. A web application designed for your business idea (Or find an existing application can be modified to fit your idea)
- 4. A developer who can write your idea into computer program (Robert may be a candidate)
- 5. How to promote your website
- 6. How to earn money from your website
- 7. Learn from your website visitors
First thing first - How to calculate your budget for the first 6 months?
A .co.nz domain name costs about $45 per year. This is not a problem.
A web hosting provider - Price range starts from $5 to $50 per month! Say $10/month in average.
A web application - Most hosting providers offer you free applications. So, you may just find the one that fits your business idea. In some cases that you may not find a proper application. Then, you will need a developer.
In case you need a developer - Find the one you trust. Good programming skills and experiences are essential. The easy way is checking developer's project portfolio. Say you want a website similar to TradeMe, Robert can get this done in 2 weeks with a $800 budget, including one year web hosting service.
Promote your website - Remember you are doing business. So, promoting your website is the most important job, and you must do it by yourself! Three effective methods are:
- Using Google, or Yahoo's services - at least 20$ per day
- Promoting on news papers - $200 per month
- Get your website listed on search engines. Two popular NZ search engines are: nzs.com and saerchnz.com - Featured list normally costs $40 per month
Where to spend your budget (Table): | A New Zealand domain name | $45 |
| Web hosting | $10 x 6 = $60 |
| Application/Software Development | $?(Freeware) or $800(Robert) |
| Promotion on Google or Yahoo | $20 x 30 x 6 = $3600 |
| Promotion on News Papers | $200 x 6 = $600 |
| Promotion on Search Engines | $40 x 6 = $240 |
| Total (Using freeware) | $4545 |
| Total (including Software Development) | $4545 + $800 - $60 = $5285 |
Where to spend your budget (Pie Chart):
The 85% Rule
As we can see from the pie chart, Robert suggests that you need to spend at least 85% of your total budget on website promotion. Otherwise your website won't be successful in 6 months. If you lost your patience in 6 months, you will just give up the website. Please remember the 85% rule when doing Internet Business.
Again, please remember the 85% rule!
What is your goal for the first 6 months? -
200 unique visitors per day! Robert tells you the truth of doing Internet Business in New Zealand. You may concern about why 200 visitors per day is good enough for you at the end of the first 6 months. The reason can be found at the beginning of this article - New Zealand has a high online purchase rate. In average, you will get 10 orders from 200 visitors. Say your profit margin is $10 per order. Then, you will make $10 x 10 orders x 365 days = $36,500 per year. Well, it is a business! Most importantly, it is your great idea and it is under your control!
Related Articles
The Cost of Free and Open Source Software When Using it in Business Activities
