What is Digital Entrepreneurship? And How To Start a Digital Business

What is digital entrepreneurship?

Digital entrepreneurship is entrepreneurship that involves the internet and novel digital technologies.

Entrepreneurs were typically thought of as small business creators and owners working with small businesses like restaurants and stores. This means you can only do what your resources allow, and you've got a smaller potential customer base.

With digital entrepreneurship, you can reach people all over the world and use organic marketing tactics to build your customer base without spending a fortune. You can even save money by learning how to make a website or using a website builder, which means digital entrepreneurship is great for entrepreneurs with limited resources.

Is digital entrepreneurship on the rise?

As the internet continues to grow and become an increasingly major part of our lives, new opportunities for digital entrepreneurship arise. Digital entrepreneurship is constantly growing in popularity because it's such a great way for people to start a business. Online businesses give entrepreneurs the potential to reach a digital marketplace they couldn't do without the internet—and there are even business opportunities that are unique to the online world.

There are also helpful tools for digital entrepreneurs, including data tracking and digital advertising. The more people find ways to make money online—whether that means streaming video games or starting a store—the more digital entrepreneurship will continue to grow.

Benefits of being a digital entrepreneur

When you're starting a digital business, you've got a big decision to make in terms of starting an online business or a brick-and-mortar business. There are countless benefits to being a digital entrepreneur, especially if you lack resources.

Arguably the biggest benefit of digital entrepreneurship is the cost. As long as you can afford a domain name and website hosting, you can get your website off the ground. Your business will likely attract more customers if you invest in lead generation and advertising, but that's not something you have to do. Simply creating quality, shareable content can help you build your online brand.

Attracting more customers to your brick-and-mortar store can be tough. You can get the word out around town and host special events, but that doesn't guarantee people will show up.

With online businesses, you have access to tons of marketing tools that allow you to reach a wider audience. With internet users spanning the world, digital marketing can really expand your reach.

Drawbacks of being a digital entrepreneur

While digital entrepreneurship is perfect for some people, there are a few downsides. Perhaps the biggest problem with digital entrepreneurship is that it may require advanced skills.

Unless you have a lot of money to invest in marketing, you need to learn the basics of marketing and growing your website. You also have to learn how to build brand loyalty and keep customers around, which can be tough when you're not interacting with your customers in person.

There are also unique challenges you face as a digital entrepreneur. If you run a digital store, you need to follow regulations regarding how you collect, store, and use data. You also need to protect your business against cyberattacks, and you need to invest in ecommerce business insurance.

For some people, facing these challenges can be overwhelming and a barrier to entry into digital entrepreneurship.

What skills do you need to be a digital entrepreneur?

Digital entrepreneurship is a great opportunity as long as you have the right skills for the job. From marketing to using customer retention strategies to keep your customers around, here are some of the skills you need to succeed as a digital entrepreneur.

You have knowledge, expertise, and passion in something

Above all else, you need to have something you're passionate about or knowledgeable about. If you simply hop on the next big trend, you're going to be competing with everyone else who decided to do the same thing.

Instead, you should look for a niche that you care about and can add value to. That way, you have something that separates your business or product from competitors.

You’re able to do most of your work remotely

Remote work is what allows digital entrepreneurs to reach a wider audience using fewer resources. If you want to be a digital entrepreneur, you should be able to do most or all of your work remotely. It helps to have a dedicated office space in your home; that way, you've got a place to work in peace and store any business-related paperwork.

You can make online sales

For online businesses, success is all about making online sales. Whether you sell a product or a service, the quality of your product doesn't matter unless you can convince people to buy it.

A good digital entrepreneur knows how to make online sales, and that doesn't mean simply posting listings on eBay. The better you understand the sales funnel and how your tone and content can drive sales, the better off your digital businesses will be.

You can do online marketing

Building a website and launching your business is one thing, but succeeding is a different story. Digital marketing is an essential part of succeeding as a digital entrepreneur, so you need to at least have the resources to invest or be willing to learn the basics of digital marketing.

Your website, the content you create, and your social media posts all play an important role in digital marketing.

You’re prepared for risk

Many online businesses don't succeed, so you shouldn't start an online business if you're not prepared for risk.

Starting a digital business is more affordable than a brick-and-mortar startup, but you still have to invest. Be prepared for the possibility that you might have to pivot to another business idea or take a loss on your investment as a digital entrepreneur.

How to start your online business

With all the resources available online, starting a digital business has never been easier. Here are a few basic steps you can follow to start your digital business and get things rolling.

1. Understand whether your product or service is in demand

Demand varies depending on what you're trying to sell, so make sure you do some market research. You don't want to sell a product or service that's not in demand, but you probably don't want to opt for the highest-demand products or services due to market competition.

2. Create a business plan

Once you know what you're going to sell and you've researched it to make sure it's in demand, it's time to write a business plan. If you don't know how to write a business plan, you can use a business plan template or business plan creator.

3. Acquire funding

Acquiring funding is different for every digital entrepreneur. If you're building a basic website to sell a service you can provide, you can probably fund your own business. If you're going to invest in inventory or spend big on marketing, you may want to acquire funding through venture capital, crowdfunding, or a small business loan.

4. Build a website

Now that you've got your funding, it's time to build a website. For this step, you have your choice between building your own website or hiring a professional. If you can afford it, a custom-built website will help separate your business from the competition.

5. Start marketing

Once you've taken care of the basics, you can start your mission to boost your brand. Digital marketing can involve social media marketing, YouTube content and advertising, blog posts, and more. The more effort you put into digital marketing, the better results you're likely to see.

Digital entrepreneurs need the right tools

Digital entrepreneurship is a great way to start a business, but you have to make sure you're prepared. Every digital entrepreneur should have the basic skills we talked about earlier, but you also need to have the right tools.

Mailchimp offers a suite of digital marketing tools to help digital entrepreneurs and small business owners like you reach a larger audience. With a website builder, email marketing tools, and more, Mailchimp is the simple solution to building your brand.