More and more people are looking for gig-style work online, which is giving rise to a new type of website. Marketplace websites connect vendors and customers looking to conduct business together, and the websites collect a commission for doing so. One-quarter of Americans participated in this type of work in 2015, and that number is only trending upwards. Thus, there’s plenty of opportunity for new marketplace websites.
These websites may be service- or product-based. What differentiates marketplace websites from ecommerce sites isn’t what is being sold, but who is doing the selling. Whereas ecommerce sites sell directly to customers, marketplaces connect vendors, who are selling goods or services, with customers.
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Start a marketplace website business by following these 10 steps:
- Plan your Marketplace Website Business
- Form your Marketplace Website Business into a Legal Entity
- Register your Marketplace Website Business for Taxes
- Open a Business Bank Account & Credit Card
- Set up Accounting for your Marketplace Website Business
- Get the Necessary Permits & Licenses for your Marketplace Website Business
- Get Marketplace Website Business Insurance
- Define your Marketplace Website Business Brand
- Create your Marketplace Website Business Website
- Set up your Business Phone System
We have put together this simple guide to starting your marketplace website business. These steps will ensure that your new business is well planned out, registered properly and legally compliant.
Exploring your options? Check out other small business ideas.
STEP 1: Plan your business
A clear plan is essential for success as an entrepreneur. It will help you map out the specifics of your business and discover some unknowns. A few important topics to consider are:
- What will you name your business?
- What are the startup and ongoing costs?
- Who is your target market?
- How much can you charge customers?
Luckily we have done a lot of this research for you.
What will you name your business?
Choosing the right name is important and challenging. If you don’t already have a name in mind, visit our How to Name a Business guide or get help brainstorming a name with our Marketplace Website Business Name Generator
If you operate a sole proprietorship, you might want to operate under a business name other than your own name. Visit our DBA guide to learn more.
When registering a business name, we recommend researching your business name by checking:
- Your state’s business records
- Federal and state trademark records
- Social media platforms
- Web domain availability
It’s very important to secure your domain name before someone else does.
What are the costs involved in opening a marketplace website business?
The costs involved in opening a marketplace website vary dramatically depending on how the site is built.
Coding a full-featured website from scratch can cost $100,000 and up, although it may be possible to keep total costs slightly lower by outsourcing work to countries where labor is cheaper and skipping certain features.
A more affordable option is to build a site using a template that’s provided by a marketplace platform service. These services charge a monthly subscription fee in exchange for providing a pre-built template that a site can be designed on.
Near-Me, Sharetribe and Arcadier are three such services. They charge between $34 and $2,000 per month, depending on how many users a site has and what features it needs. Most rates are several hundred dollars a month.
What are the ongoing expenses for a marketplace website business?
If a marketplace website is coded from scratch, the ongoing expenses include labor costs associated with running and maintaining the site, and hosting fees.
When a site is set up through a platform service, the ongoing expenses consist of the monthly subscription fee.
Who is the target market?
The target market for a marketplace website consists of both vendors and customers who are interested in the site’s niche. Some vendors will sell only a little, while others will sell full-time.
How does a marketplace website business make money?
Marketplace websites primarily make money by earning a commission on each transaction that takes place on the site. Some sites also make money from subscriptions (for frequent users) or upselling extra perks (e.g. rush delivery).
How much can you charge customers?
The amount charged by marketplace websites ranges. For example, Etsy charges a nominal listing fee and 3.5 percent of the sale price when items sell. WriterAccess takes about 30 percent, which is common for writing-focused marketplace platforms.
How much profit can a marketplace website business make?
A marketplace website’s profit potential depends on how much money exchanges hands over the site. The most successful sites, such as EBay, bring in billions of dollars annually (if not quarterly). A site doesn’t need to be this large to earn a significant profit, though. Flippa, a marketplace site for domains and websites, has monthly revenues in the millions.
How can you make your business more profitable?
Some marketplace websites increase their revenues by offering personal assistance to customers who have high-volume orders. Customers receive help navigating the site and finding vendors, in exchange for making large deposits or paying a fee. WriterAccess employs such a tactic for additional revenue.
Want a more guided approach? Access TRUiC’s free Small Business Startup Guide – a step-by-step course for turning your business idea into reality. Get started today!
STEP 2: Form a legal entity
One crucial aspect that cannot be overlooked when starting your marketplace website business is the importance of establishing a solid business foundation. While sole proprietorships and partnerships are the most common entity types for small businesses, they’re a far less stable and advantageous option than LLCs.
This is because unincorporated business structures (i.e., sole proprietorships and partnerships) expose you as an owner to personal liability for your business’s debts and legal actions, while LLCs protect you by keeping your personal assets separate from your business’s liabilities.
In practice, this means that if your marketplace website business were to face a lawsuit or incur any debts, your savings, home, and other personal assets could not be used to cover these costs. On top of this, forming your business as an LLC also helps it to appear more legitimate and trustworthy.
More than 84% of our readers opt to collaborate with a professional LLC formation service to kickstart their venture. We’ve negotiated a tailored discount for our readers, bringing the total down to just $29.
Note: If you’re interested in more information before getting started, we recommend having a look at our state-specific How to Start an LLC guide (DIY) or our in-depth Best LLC Services review (for those opting for a professional service).
STEP 3: Register for taxes
You will need to register for a variety of state and federal taxes before you can open for business.
In order to register for taxes you will need to apply for an EIN. It’s really easy and free!
You can acquire your EIN through the IRS website. If you would like to learn more about EINs, read our article, What is an EIN?
There are specific state taxes that might apply to your business. Learn more about state sales tax and franchise taxes in our state sales tax guides.
STEP 4: Open a business bank account & credit card
Using dedicated business banking and credit accounts is essential for personal asset protection.
When your personal and business accounts are mixed, your personal assets (your home, car, and other valuables) are at risk in the event your business is sued. In business law, this is referred to as piercing your corporate veil.
Open a business bank account
Besides being a requirement when applying for business loans, opening a business bank account:
- Separates your personal assets from your company’s assets, which is necessary for personal asset protection.
- Makes accounting and tax filing easier.
Recommended: Read our Best Banks for Small Business review to find the best national bank or credit union.
Get a business credit card
Getting a business credit card helps you:
- Separate personal and business expenses by putting your business’ expenses all in one place.
- Build your company’s credit history, which can be useful to raise money later on.
Recommended: Apply for an easy approval business credit card from BILL and build your business credit quickly.
STEP 5: Set up business accounting
Recording your various expenses and sources of income is critical to understanding the financial performance of your business. Keeping accurate and detailed accounts also greatly simplifies your annual tax filing.
Make LLC accounting easy with our LLC Expenses Cheat Sheet.
STEP 6: Obtain necessary permits and licenses
Failure to acquire necessary permits and licenses can result in hefty fines, or even cause your business to be shut down.
State & Local Business Licensing Requirements
Certain state permits and licenses may be needed to operate a marketplace website business. Learn more about licensing requirements in your state by visiting SBA’s reference to state licenses and permits.
Most businesses are required to collect sales tax on the goods or services they provide. To learn more about how sales tax will affect your business, read our article, Sales Tax for Small Businesses.
Services Contract
Marketplace website businesses should consider requiring clients to sign a services agreement before starting a new project. This agreement should clarify client expectations and minimize risk of legal disputes by setting out payment terms and conditions, service level expectations, and so on.
STEP 7: Get business insurance
Just as with licenses and permits, your business needs insurance in order to operate safely and lawfully. Business Insurance protects your company’s financial wellbeing in the event of a covered loss.
There are several types of insurance policies created for different types of businesses with different risks. If you’re unsure of the types of risks that your business may face, begin with General Liability Insurance. This is the most common coverage that small businesses need, so it’s a great place to start for your business.
Another notable insurance policy that many businesses need is Workers’ Compensation Insurance. If your business will have employees, it’s a good chance that your state will require you to carry Workers’ Compensation Coverage.
Find out what types of insurance your Marketplace Website Business needs and how much it will cost you by reading our guide Business Insurance for Marketplace Website Business.
STEP 8: Define your brand
Your brand is what your company stands for, as well as how your business is perceived by the public. A strong brand will help your business stand out from competitors.
If you already have a logo, you can also add it to a QR code with our Free QR Code Generator. Choose from 13 QR code types to create a code for your business cards and publications, or to help spread awareness for your new website.
How to promote & market a marketplace website business
A marketplace website can reach its target market by running search engine optimization campaigns and pay-per-click ads related to its niche. Site owners can also recruit users through blogs, forums, and social media.
How to keep customers coming back
The more users a marketplace website has, the more valuable it becomes to all of its users. In order to attract as many users as possible, a site should offer a free way for both vendors and users to check out the platform. Customers should either be able to browse listings without an account or get a free account. Vendors should have an option to pay only after a listing is sold.
STEP 9: Create your business website
After defining your brand and creating your logo the next step is to create a website for your business.
While creating a website is an essential step, some may fear that it’s out of their reach because they don’t have any website-building experience. While this may have been a reasonable fear back in 2015, web technology has seen huge advancements in the past few years that makes the lives of small business owners much simpler.
Here are the main reasons why you shouldn’t delay building your website:
- All legitimate businesses have websites – full stop. The size or industry of your business does not matter when it comes to getting your business online.
- Social media accounts like Facebook pages or LinkedIn business profiles are not a replacement for a business website that you own.
- Website builder tools like the GoDaddy Website Builder have made creating a basic website extremely simple. You don’t need to hire a web developer or designer to create a website that you can be proud of.
Recommended: Get started today using our recommended website builder or check out our review of the Best Website Builders.
Other popular website builders are: WordPress, WIX, Weebly, Squarespace, and Shopify.
STEP 10: Set up your business phone system
Getting a phone set up for your business is one of the best ways to help keep your personal life and business life separate and private. That’s not the only benefit; it also helps you make your business more automated, gives your business legitimacy, and makes it easier for potential customers to find and contact you.
There are many services available to entrepreneurs who want to set up a business phone system. We’ve reviewed the top companies and rated them based on price, features, and ease of use. Check out our review of the Best Business Phone Systems 2024 to find the best phone service for your small business.
Recommended Business Phone Service: Phone.com
Phone.com is our top choice for small business phone numbers because of all the features it offers for small businesses and it’s fair pricing.
Is this Business Right For You?
Anyone who is passionate about a particular interest may enjoy running a marketplace website. These sites are frequently focused on specific niches, connecting vendors and customers interested in that niche.
Want to know if you are cut out to be an entrepreneur?
Take our Entrepreneurship Quiz to find out!
What happens during a typical day at a marketplace website business?
Most of the work done at a marketplace website is online. On any given day, site owners may:
- investigate and fix bugs in the site
- monitor site activity and implement updates
- respond to vendor and customer inquiries
- review and adjust marketing campaigns
- send vendors payments
In general, business owners need to make sure their site is running smoothly and all users know how to access the features they want. Any issues in the user experience may cause vendors or customers to leave the platform.
What are some skills and experiences that will help you build a successful marketplace website business?
Running a successful marketplace website doesn’t require any coding knowledge (see below), but having a basic grasp of HTML and CSS is helpful. Knowing how to perform basic edits to a site’s HTML and CSS lets site owners customize their sites beyond what drag-and-drop templates allow.
Site owners who have no HTML or CSS knowledge will find a plethora of online courses, ebooks and other resources. Codecademy and W3Schools offer good, free courses. Two helpful books are HTML and CSS, and Learning Web Design.
Additionally, site owners must be familiar with the products and/or services that will be sold on their marketplace platform. Even though site owners don’t actively sell, knowing what vendors and customers want will help owners design a more useful platform. To learn more about the particular niche their site will serve, owners can read books on the niche, join local clubs, and network with other enthusiasts.
What is the growth potential for a marketplace website business?
A marketplace website may be a small site that caters to a narrow niche, or it can grow to be a large platform. Old Town (kayaks and canoes) and Chairish are two examples of smaller sites. Some larger, well-known platforms are Airbnb, Uber and Lyft. Amazon, eBay, and Craigslist are some of the largest platforms.
Not sure if a marketplace website business is right for you? Try our free Business Idea Generator and find your perfect idea.
Take the Next Step
Find a business mentor
One of the greatest resources an entrepreneur can have is quality mentorship. As you start planning your business, connect with a free business resource near you to get the help you need.
Having a support network in place to turn to during tough times is a major factor of success for new business owners.
Learn from other business owners
Want to learn more about starting a business from entrepreneurs themselves? Visit Startup Savant’s startup founder series to gain entrepreneurial insights, lessons, and advice from founders themselves.
Resources to Help Women in Business
There are many resources out there specifically for women entrepreneurs. We’ve gathered necessary and useful information to help you succeed both professionally and personally:
- Funding
- Events
- Guides
- Support
If you’re a woman looking for some guidance in entrepreneurship, check out this great new series Women in Business created by the women of our partner Startup Savant.
What are some insider tips for jump starting a marketplace website business?
Even site owners who have coding knowledge may want to start with a platform service. Not only do these services cost much less than building a site from scratch, they also take care of all coding issues. The service addresses bugs and provides updates as needed, so site owners can focus on growing their site rather than technical issues.
Using a platform service does, however, make a site dependent on the service. The site’s features will be determined by what the service offers, and the site will be updated as the service rolls out updates. For this reason, it’s important to sign on with a service that has a strong track record of quickly rolling out updates and responding to client’s requests for features.
How and when to build a team
Many marketplace websites start out with only the site owner running the site. Owners typically bring on employees as the workload requires and revenue allows.