Online Business – The Naked Truth
Making Money Online is a really HOT phrase these days. It’s one of the most popular search phrases for on Google, MSN and Yahoo! It conjures up images of being able to sleep in on a lazy, rainy Monday morning, or taking a leisurely stroll in the park, knowing that your online business is raking in the cash! It’s about being free from the volatile job market and having the financial and personal freedom to work anytime, anywhere, anyway you want. But at the back of your mind, you’re asking yourself, “Is it really that easy to set up an Online Business?” Well folks, the answer is YES… and NO. If you’re considering joining the millions of folk who are clicking on the net hoping to make a quick buck, here are a couple of YES’s and NO’s you need to know:
It’s easy-peasy to set up an online business
YES! - Setting up an online business is ridiculously easy these days. Technical innovations make it possible to have your business up and running in a matter of minutes complete with a ready inventory of stuff “guaranteed” to make you tons of money.
NO! – It’s what comes AFTER the setup that’s difficult. Other than the fact that your business operates in cyberspace, everything else about running an online business is the same. You still need a business and marketing plan, advertising and promotional campaigns. It takes hard (brain) work – initially at least!
I’ll be swamped with orders from all over the world!
YES - The beauty of an online business is that your market world-wide! Even if you manage to sell an e-book for only 10 dollars to a fraction of this market, you’d be a very rich man/woman indeed!
NO! - Setting up a website is pretty much like building a hotel on an exotic island. You may have the best beaches, services and products, but nobody’s going to know you exist until you shout it out to the world. That’s probably the hardest and most frustrating aspect of promoting an online business. Building a substantial web presence can be expensive if you want it done quickly OR a long, lonely and tedious journey if you’re on a budget!
Tons of people will visit my website!
YES! - If you have a VERY unique website, product or service, people will quickly pick up on it and you will see other websites and sources driving (people) traffic to your site.
NO! – One SEO (Search Engine Optimization) report estimates that Google well over 5 billion web pages a day! Yours is probably one of many thousands (if not millions) vying for that coveted top spot in search rankings for your category. Unless you have professional SEO people looking into this for you or you are into SEO, you will probably be languishing in page 20 or more for quite a while. Be prepared for this!
Making money online is dirt cheap
YES! - You can get by with free or cheap web hosting, free email, and a battery of free tools to run your online business. There are many people who have made millions with very little investment, but these are the EXCEPTION rather than the rule.
NO! – Eventually, as your online business grows, you will require specialized services like faster web hosting, autoresponders, link management and SEO tools – just to mention a few. The online business arena is a fiercely competitive one where you will be competing with the big boys so you have to be prepared to invest in your online business. It takes money to make money.
My online businesses will guarantee me passive and residual income
YES! - If you’re hardworking, persistent and you approach your online businesses with the same fervor as you would your career, the results will be quite pleasing indeed, hopefully not just for yourself, but for your family and generations to come!
NO! - Statistics show that about 85 % of people who attempt to run an online business eventually give up after a year. These are the folk who either went into it believing the promises that riches will come quickly (and easily) or those that just gave up too soon.
I can relax while my online business makes me tons of money
YES! - Like I said, if you’re persistent, done your homework and invested in technology to automate your online business, you WILL be sleeping in on a lazy, rainy Monday morning and taking long leisurely walks with your kids in the park while others are stuck in a job they hate!
NO! – Like every successful online business owner, you WILL hunger for more success! I love the fact that online businesses allow you to be anywhere in the world at any time of day, to make money! Once you get into the groove, you’re not going to want to sit still while there are money making ideas floating around in that brain of yours!
Multiple streams of income IS possible
Too many people believe that building multiple streams of income is as easy as setting up a website. The truth of the matter is that it takes a conscious and consistent effort to make things work. Many people fall into the trap of trying to do too many things at once. They join a bunch of affiliate programs thinking that they’ll be able to work on all of them at the same time.
Most successful Internet Entrepreneurs will tell you that the best way is to work on one specific online business (or website) until you’ve achieved some level of success before you move on to building the next one. Work on a schedule and give your online business time to grow. Eventually, you will have a network of money making ventures creating multiple streams of income!
In closing, remember this – the online business pie continues to grow at an incredible rate everyday. There’s enough for everyone so dig in and enjoy! Here’s to your success – and mine too!
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December 6th, 2009 at 5:12 am
Aren’t Aha’s amazing? In having your life purpose confirmed for you, you’ve moved to a place of such deep knowing and assurance. I look forward to experiencing the unfolding with you.
December 6th, 2009 at 4:27 am
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?
December 6th, 2009 at 5:21 am
December 6th, 2009 at 5:36 am
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).
December 6th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
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
December 7th, 2009 at 12:02 am
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…
December 8th, 2009 at 12:25 am
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!
December 8th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
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.
December 9th, 2009 at 2:57 am
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
December 9th, 2009 at 2:58 am
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.