A Business Plan for a Small Online Business
Petrosiute, Asta (2025)
2025
All rights reserved. This publication is copyrighted. You may download, display and print it for Your own personal use. Commercial use is prohibited.
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025060420207
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025060420207
Tiivistelmä
The purpose of this Project was to create a business plan for a small online business. The objective was to determine whether opening an online store with a focus on soap and related products was feasible. A few parties will benefit from this research and development project. First, the author of this project will benefit from her research and development work by validating the viability of possible business she can own. Second, also other readers such as students or aspiring businessmen interested in online business can use the information and data on how to start online business that she will provide in this thesis.
The main development task was to create a business plan that covers product offerings as well as sales and marketing strategies, to do market research to learn more about the preferences and habits of customers through observation of the market and social listening to others. Further it was important to identify market trends and the competitive environment by analyzing secondary data and expert interviews as well as to understand operational models and e-commerce platforms.
Through theoretical perspective, relevant insights on the topic were gained and knowledge base has been created as it pertains to business plan concepts and understanding how to prepare a business plan as well as e-commerce and e-business concepts, while empirical data was gathered through methods of observation, social listening and semi-structured interviews with experts. This was also utilised to draw up a detailed business plan.
The study showed a growing interest in natural soap and related products (beauty and personal care categories) in the Dutch market. It also showed a strong demand for quality and competitive pricing, as well as an emphasis on customer convenience and service.
The result validates that a startup online business specializing in selling acne soap and related product is feasible in the Dutch market as long as the company prioritizes customer satisfaction as well as effective inventory control and market trend adaptation.
The main development task was to create a business plan that covers product offerings as well as sales and marketing strategies, to do market research to learn more about the preferences and habits of customers through observation of the market and social listening to others. Further it was important to identify market trends and the competitive environment by analyzing secondary data and expert interviews as well as to understand operational models and e-commerce platforms.
Through theoretical perspective, relevant insights on the topic were gained and knowledge base has been created as it pertains to business plan concepts and understanding how to prepare a business plan as well as e-commerce and e-business concepts, while empirical data was gathered through methods of observation, social listening and semi-structured interviews with experts. This was also utilised to draw up a detailed business plan.
The study showed a growing interest in natural soap and related products (beauty and personal care categories) in the Dutch market. It also showed a strong demand for quality and competitive pricing, as well as an emphasis on customer convenience and service.
The result validates that a startup online business specializing in selling acne soap and related product is feasible in the Dutch market as long as the company prioritizes customer satisfaction as well as effective inventory control and market trend adaptation.