How to Start an Online Boutique Checklist – Free Download

I am beyond excited to introduce this next series – How to Start an Online Boutique!

In the upcoming weeks you will learn all things necessary to start your own online boutique.

We will be covering the following topics (use this list as your checklist):

• Budget
• Buying & Inventory (including drop shipping)
• Seller’s Permits & Business Licenses
• How to Build a Website Using Shopify
• How to Create Images and a Logo for your website with Illustrator & Photoshop
• Uploading Products and How to Take Product Pictures
• Social Media, Advertising, and Blogging

Once this series has completed, you will have all of the information and knowledge you will need to get your own online boutique up and running. You will be bringing in sales in no time!

I decided to focus on this series so that you are able to get started on your dreams today and at the end have something to show for it – your own business!

As long as you are willing to put in the hard work, I truly believe anyone can do this.

Everything that we are going to cover is from a package that I usually charge my clients thousands of dollars for. By writing this series, no one gets turned away since I can only take on so many clients! 🙂

Make sure to follow along on Instagram for daily inspiration and reminders of new posts so you can keep the ball rolling.

It’s a way to also ask questions, bounce ideas off of each other and hold each other accountable for making progress with your online boutiques.

Now let’s get started!

Print Monthly and Weekly “To Do” List

Printing out weekly and daily to do lists were very helpful to me when I was starting my boutique.

To stay on schedule, I would make a list of my weekly goals and things I had to get done. These weekly goals would then be broken down to what I had to achieve each day.

I have created a free PDF “to do” list for you that you can download here. Print it out and start thinking about what things you need to get done to get started on your online boutique.

Create a Budget, Contact Wholesale Suppliers, Set up Website, etc.,  are all examples of what weekly goals could be.

From there you can break down each of these goals by day. For example, some daily goals under Create a Budget would be: Monday – Decide on a price point for merchandise and research brands within that price point. Tuesday – Figure out how many and what merchandise to buy in your price point, and so on.

Plan Your Schedule

After printing your “to do” list and checklist, it’s time to plan your schedule.

Ask yourself – what hours of the day do I plan on working on my online boutique? What days am I able to invest in this project? What is the time frame that I want to accomplish this in?

In order to focus and achieve your goals, it is important to set aside this time in your schedule. Purchasing a planner can also help you to prioritize.

Research, Research, Research

Doing research is a point that cannot be stressed enough. Start researching everything you think you will possibly need to start an online boutique.

Look for inspiration from other online boutiques, Instagram accounts, Pinterest, brands, and so on. You should have a pretty good idea of your vision before getting started.

Make a mood board if you need to. When I was starting my boutique, I would keep a little book and any time something would inspire me I would print it out and tape it in my book. Be thinking about colors, images, and types of clothing for your online boutique.

Sign Up For Shopify

There are quite a few different services to choose from when creating your website. I’ve used a few different ones and found that I prefer Shopify.

I have been with Shopify now for many years and would highly recommend it. It is incredibly user friendly and if you choose to sell off line they have great options for that as well!

That being said, my post series will focus on how to start an online boutique with Shopify.

Make sure to sign up with Shopify (you get to try it for free for 14 days) and in the next few weeks we will cover how to set up your website.

Are you ready to get started? As always, let me know any questions you have in the comments below!

Disclaimer: Please note that some of the links below are affiliate links and I will earn a commission if you decide to purchase through those links. I only recommend products and services that I personally use from companies that I trust.