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How to Start a Mail Order Business

Operations

One of the great joys of running a mail order business is that you can arrange your workload around any schedule you choose. Some mail order entrepreneurs work best in the early morning; others pace themselves throughout the day. The hours they spend and the time frames within which they structure those hours are as individual as each entrepreneur.

If you took an X-ray of any mail order company, you'd see three distinct arms:

  • Sales and marketing
  • Order processing and fulfillment
  • General management and administration

In most start-up companies, however, these three arms are all attached to one body--the owner's. As a mail order entrepreneur, you'll have days where you're not only using (or wishing you could use) a third arm, but wearing a dozen different hats: product development director, advertising campaign director, graphic designer, copywriter and marketing manager. You'll also be in charge of (and sole employee in) the order processing, customer service and fulfillment departments. This is all in addition, of course, to your administrative tasks as bookkeeper, accountant, file and mailing list manager, and supplier liaison.

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