You did it. You just had your ‘ah-ha’ moment; you’re going to start an online business. Even better, it’s a completely online, work from home type of business idea!  Let your feelings about this new idea soak in and bask in the excitement and the possibilities ahead.

Take a moment to ask yourself what you are feeling: excitement and pleasure, fear, certainty, uncertainty, curiosity, determination? If passion is at the forefront of these feelings, then you’ve found the fuel to fire up and grow your business idea.

You’re bursting at the seams with passion and you have a cutting-edge idea. Now what? You might want to jump in and build an online store. But, how do you transform a thought into a tangible and profitable online business?

If you are like many new entrepreneurs out there, you may be thinking “Holy moly I don’t even know where to start!”.

Well lucky you for, this is where my 5 steps to launching an online business come into play!

If you are excited to start an online business but don’t know how, use these steps for guidance:

1: SMP Brainstorming Session

(What are you Solving, who is your target Market, what will be your Profit). This is a HUGE first step and is quite essential when it comes to creating your own online business.

Let’s use this example: You’ve been creating glorious dishes in your kitchen lately that almost look like pieces of art. Your friends come over for a dinner party and gush with enthusiasm how delectable your plates look and how wonderful the presentation is. That gives you an idea: a food blog dedicated to creating dishes that look like art. Sweet! Now, take a day (or even weeks) to do some major SMP brainstorming.

What will you be solving? In my example, maybe there is a need for a food blog dedicated to creating dishes that resemble masterpieces. Maybe there are many people out there absolutely love to cook and want to be inspired by dishes that are visually appealing. Think about what you will be solving with your business idea.

Who is your target market? When starting a business, this is a crucial first step. You need to know who your audience is or who you will be essentially selling to. Once you finalize this – this can dictate everything moving forward with your business, from the branding, the color scheme, and the copy of your content.

How will you profit? From my example, it may take quite a while to start building a profit from a food blog. Even so, you can still make a pretty penny. Think about HOW you will create a profit from your online business. It could be selling ad space, sponsored posts, recipe development, and even online products.

2: Finances

Before you go forward with any sort of action or strategy for your business. You need to sort out your finances. Write down a list of capital or business needs and estimate your cost, or investment. Lucky for online business owners, you don’t have to worry about rent (yet) or any high risk investing. Some financial decisions to take into consideration when creating an online business can be: your domain name, your web hosting, your web designer, a virtual assistant (down the road of course –  you need to hustle first, girl!), and even online advertising.

3: Digital Ownership

Now that you’ve done the brainstorming and the financial plan, it’s time to take digital ownership. This means: securing your domain name and similar domain names. Snatching up the perfect social media handle (if it can be the same across all boards, the better), and searching the trademark directory.

4: Lead Magnets

This is KEY to building a list and client base when you are ready to start selling a product or a service. You need to start thinking of lead magnets, or “freebies” that you can offer on your new website ASAP.

[RELATED: 4 Marketing Rules For Starting a Business]

5: Strategy

Now that you’ve got your basics covered, it’s time to create a strategy and TAKE ACTION! When I create my own strategy, I get out my calendar and make timelines for myself. I set my timeline for my end goal, and then create smaller goals leading up to my end goal with deadlines attached. I then create a strategy for my development plan, marketing plan, and more.

Once you’ve got your strategy in place, it’s time to TAKE ACTION.  Thirty minutes a day to start an online business idea is all it takes to get started!

Are you going to start an online business? Share in the comments so we can come check it out and support you!