Starting an Internet business can be challenging and in many cases it can produce a sense of frustration, especially if you don't know where to start. We usually give up and forget about it, but you have to understand that a business like this doesn't happen overnight. You have to work with your head and heart if you really want to fulfill your dream of owning an online business. Here are some great ideas for starting one.
Steps
Step 1. Create a home office
It is not as difficult as it sounds. The needs of each office are different, but there are some fundamental aspects that must always be present.
- You will need to have a clean and quiet environment with good lighting and no distractions. This will help you be more focused and productive. You will need a desk and a chair. The size of your desk will depend on its function. You will need to have a place to store all information relating to your customers, such as a computer and / or an archive.
- Communications: You will also need a telephone, a printer / fax copier, an Internet connection, and any other tools you may need to communicate.
- Meeting Space and Warehouse: If, like many online businesses, yours focuses on affiliate services or products, you won't need a warehouse. However, if you plan to sell your products, and ship them yourself, then make sure you have space to store them. If you plan on having meetings away from home, you won't even need a meeting room. If, on the other hand, you will be meeting your clients at home, and you don't have a conference room, then make sure you keep the place clean and tidy at all times. If you have a family, especially small children, tell them they can only interrupt you if it's an emergency. Make rules, such as “Don't disturb mom when she's on the phone,” and don't walk into the office without knocking.”Don't talk or yell at children, your spouse, or dog while making a business call. it matters a lot.
Step 2. Create a wardrobe of clothes for work
You don't need to be ready for a show or spend a fortune, but you need to be tidy, clean and appropriate for your industry. Make sure you take care of your body before getting dressed.
Step 3. Make sure you check the tax laws and requirements that exist in your country and are required by local jurisdiction
Set up a system to manage your accounting and, if necessary, hire a specialist.
Step 4. Create or order business cards and custom stationery
Step 5. Create a website
- Make it simple. You don't need complex graphics and bright colors. A clear and simple design is better and attracts more people. An excess of information within a site can overwhelm the visitor and lead them to leave the site, rather than push them to stay or return. Avoid any kind of annoying music. This is a great way to make customers run away. You also need to avoid anything that takes too long to load, which slows visitor access, preventing them from seeing the information they want. Studies have shown that people don't want to wait for a site to load - so they go ahead (think about your reaction to a slow site). Just because you can put something on a site doesn't mean you should. Your site must be of value to your visitors, and it must be worth their time.
- Include good content. This will create a connection with the reader, who will become more interested in what you offer. There are many ways to do this and you will need to decide which one works best for you. Choose some tools, use / apply them to the site and, more importantly, monitor the response you get and the traffic of visits. If you notice that some are not producing results, remove them, and try something else. You will need to be diligent in doing this, but remember that the simpler it is, the better. You don't have to implement all the tools at once, this might make visitors feel uncomfortable, but use a few and test them. Here are some possibilities.
- Make sure you have your own domain and hosting. Using a free blog / website platform will save you money, but to build a good reputation you need to own a paid domain. Think of it as if it were your home. You can do whatever you want (e.g., decorate it). Did you get the sense?
Step 6. Create a mailing list
They are great for letting customers talk about your products and services. The groups of Yahoo! offer this service for free. The group can be private, subject to approval, or public. In the beginning you will have to check traffic daily and post frequently to get results.
Step 7. Create visitor polls so that they can vote on the specific topic related to the site content
You want people to be interactive, because they don't get tired. Writing a survey from scratch can be difficult, but today there are useful templates available that can help you. You can fill in the spaces and then copy and paste the code on your site.
Step 8. Create a web-blog or "blog"
This is similar to an online diary, which is updated frequently. Of course, you will add some links to advertise your business. It also represents a form of communication that allows people to stay up to date on what is happening in your business and what they should expect in the future. Today, blogs are very successful and are everywhere on the web.
Step 9. Create a valuable product line, of which you own the exclusivity
This is very important, because it is what shows that you are unique. It is not enough to be 'unique' with something you have created; the product must have value, so that consumers and customers feel fulfilled in using it.
Advice
- Treat your online business as if it were a real business. Really pays.
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Computers, printers and software are cheaper today. You can also find great phone plans and good internet rates. These services allow you to make long distance calls for free. If you search hard enough, you will find some good deals over computers and office supplies.
- Computers: Expect to pay between $ 500 and $ 1000 for a computer with the latest updates. You need to make sure it has at least a Pentium 4 processor and a 60GB hard drive (for a little more you can get one with 250GB). To make your job easier, you will need to have a 17 "monitor, especially if you spend many hours in front of your computer. Make sure you have at least 750MB-1GB of memory, and a program to read and write to CDs (or a DVD reader / writer)., if it's within your budget.) Today this is a standard tool in computers, but always check. Floppy drives are no longer needed!
- Multifunction machines: You have to invest in a fax, a printer, a copier and a scanner. Many shops sell them for a good price. You have to look at the $ 100 and up. Make sure you check the cost of the cartridges if you do a lot of printing. If they are very expensive you might think about spending a little more on a car / brand that has cheaper refills.
- Office supplies: these can vary significantly. If you want something nice but cheap, look at office supply stores. They have pretty good offerings and are easy to assemble. Buy a good chair too. Don't save on something you'll be sitting on for hours.
- Think about how your customers can pay you. Avoid asking them for their credit card information - this could turn many people away. Instead, use a secure service that protects your fees / payments so people can trust you.
- Create lots of links; link your pages to major directories and search engines - this will pay off in the medium to long term.
- Select a market or niche you are interested in and create your online business.
- Use a quality auto responder for general opt-in lists and email campaigns. The good ones have some useful features and are quite inexpensive - less than $ 20 a month.
- Visit industry forums and leave helpful comments. This will show that you are an 'expert', and on forums you can also post a link to your site (but check the policy first - avoid getting in trouble with the web-master!)
- For better industry penetration, use ads targeting specific groups. Also take advantage of free classifieds.
- Stay focused and develop your business a little at a time.
- Write articles and add them to major article directories, with a link to your site.
- Concentrate on one marketing strategy or one product / site at a time, until you are able to manage it better; then move on to the next one.
- Use a reliable hosting service for your site - it won't cost much.
- When you create your blog or site think about the content. Content that contains information and is useful will keep visitors coming back.
- Spend more time advertising your page than building it; a good page is useless if no one knows about it.
- Think about the structure of your business, from the financial aspects, to the reduction of taxation.
Warnings
- Don't join too many affiliate programs; start slowly and focus on creating a single program.
- Don't try to "sell" to everyone you meet.
- Don't be stingy when it comes to advertising. Using ads is recommended, especially during the start up phase. Don't spend more than you can afford - keep an eye on your budget, and always look for free ways to get traffic. Avoid spam from "free for all" ads, or you will be penalized in search engine results.
- Avoid signing up for too many 'free' newsletters. You will waste too much time reading them, and you will suffer from 'information overload'.
- Never send unsolicited sales e-mails; this is considered spam, and you may be banned by the auto responder. Avoid sending emails to so-called 'safe lists', which are sent to millions of email accounts.
- In the beginning, don't buy too many study materials, ebooks or courses. Read and study what you buy before investing in something else. There is a lot of free material, and you should always do a 'research' on course / teacher reviews.
- Don't exceed your advertising budget. A steady stream of advertising is better than a commercial campaign.
- Avoid using 'prepackaged' articles for your content. Make changes, add your ideas, make them unique. Combine ideas from different articles to make your own. Search engines do not give high marks to content copied from other sites.
- Some internet advertisers can be very 'pushy'. Don't be fooled.
- Beware of scams; check each program and any earnings before committing.
