Please bear with me as I am new to this whole programming side to business. I know that the official release is sometime in March but is there any way to start an online store and sell products using the beta version? Thanks.
It is the exception, rather than the norm to run beta software in a Production setting. There are significant downside to implementing beta software - system crashes, unstable behavior, incomplete feature set, significant bugs, lack of support and information, no guarantee of any sort, etc). Also, consider the fact that Magento warns users not to install the beta in Production. They know best and it would be wise to take their recommendation.