NFTs are becoming more mainstream by the day, but what does this mean for small business? Everything. Today we’ll focus on just getting started.
Why should your business learn about NFTs? You have no choice.
If you read the first article in this ongoing series and thought, “that really doesn’t apply to me”, you’d be wrong.
Unless it’s your goal to end up as the Blockbuster or Toys-R-us of web3, you really have no choice but to adapt to what’s happening right this second. Those that don’t will find themselves in a precarious situation in the coming years, as they will be seen as old, outdated, and out of touch.
This is because NFTs are going to change every aspect of business going forward.
I know how that sounds – Maxi. But it’s true, and the sooner you realize, the sooner you can begin to put a plan in place to capitalize, and beat the competition.
But you say, “First I need to learn how to do all of this stuff!”
I will be honest, it’s not easy. There are cryptocurrencies. various wallets, know your customer provisions, transferring funds, waiting for funds, using ‘gas’ to push through transactions and the list goes on and on (and on).
The good news is, there are now millions of people, just like you (and me) who have figured it out. It can be done.
Here’s a short (and very basic) ‘primer’ on getting started.
First, go to Coinbase (please note: affiliate link) and set up an account with them.
There you will have to enter all of you banking and personal information – including uploading a photo of the front and back of your driver’s license (this is the Know Your Customer aspect that the government requires).
There are several phone text and email links to click during this process, so make sure your email is open and your phone is with you.
Once you’ve successfully created an account, you can then transfer money into your account at Coinbase and start buying crypto immediately.
This is important – being new, you should probably only buy two types of cryptocurrency (this is not financial advice and this site is used for entertainment purposes only, please do all the due diligence on your own and come to your own decisions about any financial matter): Ethereum, because it’s the main currency used in the NFT world; and Bitcoin, because it never hurts to own Bitcoin – even if it’s just a small amount, you’re only ‘getting your feet wet’ at the moment.
Now, forget you bought the Bitcoin, and focus on Ethereum.
As mentioned, Coinbase will let you buy crypto immediately, however, it will take 10 days for you to be able to remove any crypto from their website and transfer it to your wallet – so please don’t spend more than you are able to live without!
The next thing you need is a wallet.
Metamask is the wallet most people use. And despite there being many, many wallets to choose from, Metamask is the one that works with practically everything you’re going to do right now in the NFT world.
What is Metamask? It’s a Chrome web extension. All you have to do is click the link above and install it. Simple. Well, installing it is simple. It gets a little complicated after that.
That’s because along with setting up a Metamask wallet account comes a “Seed Phrase”.
Your seed phrase is VERY important – it’s how, should you ever get locked out of your wallet, you get back in to your wallet.
It’s also like owning something that is so private, you have Level 9,000,000 Top Secret Clearance.
Make sure you write your seed phrase down somewhere safe so you have it. In fact, write it multiple down multiple times and keep it in multiple places – just in case the house burns down, maybe it will still be in a storage locker or somewhere other than your house. This way you’re able to retrieve your crypto.
After issuing the seed phrase to you, Metamask will make you choose your seed phrase in the order it’s written down – so it’s very important to write it down immediately after receiving it. Can’t stress that enough.
Or this: Do not, under ANY circumstances, EVER, share your seed phrase with anyone. BIG No NO!
And never ever share your screen with anyone while Metamask is logged in – and especially if your Metamask is open on the screen while you’re sharing.
Okay, now you have an account at Coinbase, have bought some Ethereum and Bitcoin, and have your Metamask wallet set up.
Now it’s time to learn about ‘Gas’.
You know how, when you go to the ATM to withdraw some cash, they charge you a fee? This fee is known as ‘gas’ in the NFT world. And it’s not cheap.
The bank may charge you $2.50 or $4.00 to withdraw some of your own money at the ATM – but you haven’t seen anything yet.
Gas is counted in GWEI – which, to make things simple to understand for now, is like a “product” of Ethereum.
When you go to the bank and use the ATM to withdraw some money, an Internet connection makes the transaction from your bank card, to your bank, and back to the ATM – then spits out your money.
In the NFT world, a person is doing that.
Well, it’s likely a person with a team of computers doing that – but where the bank has the network completely set up, and you’ve been paying fees for that set up for 1,000 years now, GWEI is the cost of a person providing this same service for you. And now you have to pay them as they build their network.
Their computers don’t just retrieve information like the bank system – theirs have to solve complex mathematical problems in order to ‘win’ the fee. So they all compete. When there is a lot of competition (transactions), the prices are higher. When there’s not a lot of competition, the prices are lower. But when I say “lower”, I don’t mean lower than the bank. I mean it’s a lower gas price, but still higher price than the bank – like 3-300 TIMES higher than the bank.
Smart people are working on the ‘gas problem’ and there should be a good solution for it coming in the next couple of years, but it’s wait and see at the moment (and again, we’re only discussing ETH as there are others who have solved many of these problems, but this is just a ‘get started’ primer).
Don’t let the price of gas discourage you! It’s easy to see the fees and think, “I’m out!”. If the fees are too high, and it’s a transaction you can wait to process, wait. Or, before any transaction, check the gas price using the gas tracker website.
CONGRATULATIONS! You are essentially your own banker now!
You have an account at Coinbase (please note: affiliate link). You have a Metamask wallet. And you know about gas.
Now, after the 10 day wait (remember?), it’s time to transfer some ‘coin’ (ETH) to your Metamask.
Always make sure you have enough ETH to pay for the gas of any transfer or transaction. As every transfer and transaction incurs a gas fee.
And you’re set. You’re ready to begin buying and, as a business and more importantly, selling NFTs of your own!
NFT Creative Group helps businesses like yours do this. We welcome you to get in touch: NFTCreativeGroup@gmail.com
