- 1). Decide what types of products you want to sell. Call local gyms in the area and find out where they purchase their products. Pay particular attention to who supplies the smaller gyms.
- 2). Study the competition in your local area based on the information provided by the gyms. Decide on an initial pricing strategy and whether you want to sell name brands or discount brands.
- 3). Look on the web for a wholesale supplier. Find out if any will dropship, or send products to each customer for you, so you do not have to stock the products. Select the one that provides you with the lowest unit costs and best combination of delivery and service.
- 4). Choose a catchy but professional name for your business. Register your name or DBA (doing business as) through your local county clerk or the county administration office. Apply for your vendor's license at the same office.
- 5). Create a website or have one designed for you. Have the web designer create a contact or landing page for you so you can advertise online or via e-mail and avoid spamming . Make sure your website is easy to use and navigate before approving it. Add paypal.com, ibill.com, paydirect.com or another credit card processor for accepting credit card payments online.
- 6). Develop an online and local area marketing plan. Order your business cards. Start contacting gyms, martial arts schools, high schools and colleges in your area. Give them a copy of your business card and a flier. Place an "Adsense" ad through google.com. Expand to include other pay-per-click advertising sites such as bidvertiser.com and payperclickuniverse. Advertise on eBay.com and Yahoo.com. Add your site to search engines such as google.com, yahoo.com and Lycos.com.
- 7). Consider opening a retail location when you expand.
Starting Your Sports Supplement Business
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