Beginner question about e-Commerce business

[rafaelrasalan]

So i'm planning to start out an online store business, 2 of my friends from college were successful businessmen now and they also in the same field(eCommerce). My main problem is that since the number 1 requirements for this business is a website i don't have a budget to pay for a web designer or web developer and since that it needs to be an eCommerce website it's probably really expensive, Something like $2000 to $5000 i believe. So what i did is i talked to my friends and they suggest me to buy a ready made template instead since i'm just starting out. They pointed me to this website http://themeforest.net/ref=aldrinlsc I found a template which can be seen http://themeforest.net/item/shoppica-premium-open-cart-theme/235470?WT.ac=search_item&WT.seg_1=search_item&WT.z_author=ThemeBurn&ref=aldrinlsc that really matches to my needs. Although the templates are really cheap and the designs are top notch, i'm still confused of using a ready made template specially for a business.
What is the advantages and disadvatages of it? should i hire a professional to make the website for me or proceed to a ready made template?

[amanda.p]

Your friends' suggestion is actually good and a way for you to kick start an eCommerce site less the knowledge. Just be sure to use your selected theme on the intended content management system, which is OpenCart. The only disadvantage of using ready made templates is that your business front-end will appear the same as the other websites whose owners bought the same template you acquired. If you haven't seen it, the template you are eyeing for had been purchased 3304 times, and that just means your website will be 3305th duplicate. Should you hire a professional designer to create a unique front-end for your ecommerce site? Ideally, you should. But, if you're afraid to spend money for the advantage you will get, then use ready made template and let your site be treated as a copy-cat.