Comments on: Clever Online Business Advertising

By: KellyR

KellyR — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:59:34 +0000

two guy's in my town just started a web site. It's actually doing very well for them. It's a yard sale web site. Where people from the town can take pictures and post things for sale ( yard sale prices) and other people in the town can go on the web site and purchase the item. THe guy's who started the site just charge people $8.00 a month to post their items. It's kind of like e-bay but they don't take a percentage of what you make. Here is the web site address, take a look at it.

hollomanyardsales.com

By: puzzled_guy

puzzled_guy — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:38:40 +0000

My suggestion is to do some research on the subject before starting. Check with your local Chamber of Commerce, the Secretary of State, the Small Business Administration. Read up on it — go to your local library, check Amazon, etc. Write a business plan — there are plenty of books available on this subject.

Prior to investing your time, money & effort into an online business name, it is strongly advised that comprehensive research be conducted to ensure that the name you're interested in is truly available.

This entails searching the pending & registered Federal and State trademark files as well as the US National Common-Law files. Then, if clear, you can decide if you would like to file for a Federal or a State trademark.

Research is needed to make sure your trade name is legally available, before opening, before expansion, before incorporation or before designing your logo. Similarities in sound, appearance and meaning affect you too!

There are 16+ million trade names in use in the United States. Similar names matter, if close in sound, appearance or meaning. Similar names in related classes, distribution channels and customer matter too. You are affected by Common Law use (14 million), State Trademarks (500,000) and Federal Trademarks (2 million).

By: Heron By The Sea

Heron By The Sea — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:48:34 +0000

you might try to contact an established school and see if you can offer your course through them.
Barnes and Noble has a line of online courses where this might fit.

By: seahawksblitz8

seahawksblitz8 — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:22:39 +0000

You're looking at becoming an "Affiliate". There are a lot of companies out there that offer this. Just search for "affiliate opportunities" and you should come up with quite a few opportunities, just be careful and read the fine print. I have a few other ideas if your interested feel free to email me

By: Margaux

Margaux — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:40:32 +0000

Yes, I can help…

I use a step-by-step approach and it works all the time. Here you go:

1) First validate the demand (FREE keyword tool):

Are there people searching for what you want to offer?
https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

2) Build your website with this FREE tool:
http://www.officialsitebuilder.com/

3) Select a URL and setup Hosting (not FREE but darn cheap and reliable – something like $4 per month…):
http://www.officialsitebuilder.com/domain-checker.php

4) Drive traffic (not FREE but you cannot do without):
https://adwords.google.com/

5) FREE Online Business Creator:

(http://www.sandrosalsi.com/tools/online-business-creator.html)
This is a list of tools and resources I use myself to build and market my websites.

Highly recommended. Hope this helps…

By: Billy K

Billy K — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:58:44 +0000

I run 5 websites (none in retail though). I can say that this is a hard question to answer. Clearly, overstock.com will cost more to run than joesglass.com. I personally use bluehost.com for hosting, so my monthly expense is under $10 for all 5 sites (non-retail though…). I see anywhere from 8k to 20k visitors monthly with no speed issues. You should probably look into some e-commerece software solutions like this:

http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/ecommerce/

It looks like their starter package is about $40/month, and its scalable in case your business grows unexpectedly.

By: lemichele101

lemichele101 — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:41:56 +0000

I recommend checking out the SBA, Entrepreneur, The Start Up Journal & Nolo. All 4 are great informational resources for the new/small business owner. I posted links for you in the source box. These 4 sites should get you on your way in terms of what needs to be done (e.g. licenses, permits, taxes, etc.)

Associations may be a good avenue to explore as well. These organizations will address many of the thoughts, questions and concerns you'll inevitably have as well as many you haven't anticipated yet. See the source box for some relevant links.

Research, research, research – this cannot be stressed enough. Read as much as you can about the industry. Here are some book titles that are relevant:

* Too Good to be Threw: The Complete Operations Manual for Resale & Consignment Shops by Kate Holmes
* A Common Sense Entrepreneurial Guide: How to Open & Run a Successful Consignment Shop [DOWNLOAD: PDF] by Nancy L. Nolan
* How to Start and Run an eBay Consignment Business by Skip McGrath
* Specialty Shop Retailing: How to Run Your Own Store Revised by Carol L. Schroeder

There are plenty of free informational resources out there. Check the source box for links to articles.

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!

By: Teddy

Teddy — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:55:53 +0000

By: zim519

zim519 — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:27:00 +0000

You don't have to register with the state. When you are up and running get a business license from the city. It cost less than $200 to start an online business, so you should be able to save that in a week or two…. if not perhaps you are not the type to be success in business?