Pet Supplies

You can start your online pet supply store from a spare bedroom or basement. Start out by researching other pet supply stores online. Take notes on which pet supply products are sold most often online. Products that often appear on websites are probably the top sellers. Decide what types of products you want to sell, including pet food, treats, multiple dog leashes, bowls and collars. Set your prices to be commensurate with other Internet pet supply stores.

Instructions

1 Withdraw money from a savings account to start your online pet supply store. Go to the bank and apply for a loan if you do not have enough savings for to start your business.
2 Create a suitable name for your online pet supply business. Use a descriptive or suggestive business name that implies superior products such as Elite Pet Products, for example. Register your fictitious business name as a DBA (doing business as) through your state's secretary of state. Visit the Business.gov website to determine if your state requires any additional licenses for your online pet supply store.
3 Search for a wholesale supplier for your online pet supply store. Reference the PIDA (Pet Industry Distributors Association) website for a list of potential wholesalers. Go to Tradepub.com and order some free online trade publications. Scan the classified and display ads of the various magazines and look for pet supply wholesalers.
4 Call several of the wholesale suppliers. Ask these companies if they drop-ship products, which means they will ship products out for you if you prefer. Select a wholesaler that offers drop shipping because you can order single units at wholesale prices.
5 Apply for a merchant account through your bank so you can accept credit card payments.
6 Create a website for your online pet supply store, or have a web designer create one for you. Ask your wholesaler for pictures of the products you sell. Include descriptions, dimensions and prices under the pictures. Search for an address or domain name for your website. Use your business name such as Elitepetproducts.com, for example. Go to websites such as Godaddy.com, Domaintools.com or eNow.com to see if your domain name is available, according to Entrepreneur.com. Register your website address. Find a company such as Yahoo.com or Godaddy.com to host your website.
7 Hire a search engine optimizer to attain a high ranking in major search engines like Google.com and Lycos.com. Help your search engine optimizer by creating keywords that best describe your pet supply products and offerings.
8 Place classified ads in major pet magazines such as "Dog Fancy," "Dog World," "Cats Magazine," "Cat Fancy" and "Tropical Fish Hobbyist."
9 Order products from your wholesalers as customers order them from you. Pay only the wholesale cost of the products and keep the rest. Ship your pet supply products out to customers when you receive them, unless you use drop shipping services.