How to Start an Online Business - Part 1
by Jason A. Martin
Published on this site: October 3rd, 2005 - See
more articles from this month
Getting involved in the online business world is a relative
simple process. Whether you just want to make some spare income
or become the next Internet business mogul, you have to start
somewhere. It is best to start with the basics and work your
way up from there. The goal of this informative article is
to allow you, the reader, to start an online business quickly.
- Legalities
Depending on where you live in the world, you may need to
obtain legal documentation such as a business license. It
is best to consult a local attorney. However, not everyone
can afford such an expense. If this is you, look for local
small business groups. By calling around, you should be
able to find out what will be required for you to legally
do business on the Internet.
- Business Plan
Every successful business has a business plan. To many,
this may see like a daunting task. It is well beyond the
scope of this article to explain how to properly create
a business plan. Software exists to help you with this task.
Basically, a business plan helps you clearly define your
goals, understand your competition and visualize what you must do to achieve
your goals.
Spend some time thinking about what you wish to accomplish
with your new business. The answer “make money”
is not a valid one. What is the specific purpose of your
new business?
Example: I want to start a business that will sell
motherboards for computers.
Example Expanded: Initially the business will work
to obtain wholesale pricing from motherboard manufacturers
and retail them to the end user. The business will work
to create our own brand of motherboard to retail and distribute
to other computer parts outlets.
Example Long-term: The business will formulate a
motherboard design, have it manufactured and distribute
it to computer parts outlets. Additionally, the business
will work to secure working relationships with computer
manufacturers to have our motherboard built in.
As you can see from the above three examples, we have a
working goal outline. If you do nothing else for this step,
do what is in the above examples. So many people jump into
business without a clear idea of what they wish to accomplish.
The end result is failure.
- Familiarity
This next step involves you becoming extremely familiar
with the industry you wish to do business in. The more educated
you are, the higher your chance for success is. You should
know as many competitors as possible, especially the big
ones. Seeking out trade publications and informational resources
is an absolute must.
The first step here is to create a new bookmarks folder
in your browser. Call it whatever you wish, but remember
to keep your bookmarks extremely organized. Next, it is
time to sit back with your favorite non-alcoholic beverage
and go website cruising.
The first website you will want to visit is the search engine
of your choice. I go to Google.com myself, but this is up
to you. You are going to type in many search queries and
visiting many websites. If you are familiar with tabbed
browsing, this task will be much more orderly. Below I will
show you some common search queries I would do for a new
copywriting business.
• Copywriting
• Copywriting forum
• Copywriting newsgroup
• Copywriting board
• Copywriters association
• Copywriters trade publication
• Trade publications writing
• Writers
• Writers forum
• Writers board
• Writers association
• Copywriting books
• Copywriting sites
I hope you get the idea. I am basically looking for my competitors
and informational sources where I can eventually learn and
advertise. If your industry has specific product names, search
for those as well.
This is an ongoing process. You want to try and learn as much
as possible in the beginning, but you certainly won’t
find everything. As you progress in your business, take note
of the websites you run across. In my bookmarks, I have a
folder called “Check Later” that has a listing of
websites that might be beneficial, but I have not had the
time to review yet.
This concludes part one of “How to Start an Online Business”.
This first part is crucial. Those who ignore it are almost
certainly destined to fail. Great things take time and to
rush is foolish. If you wish to read the rest of this guide,
visit my website at JasonAMartin.com.
You can also find other helpful articles there on a variety
of topics such as marketing and writing.
For more free-reprint articles by Jason A. Martin
please visit:
http://www.isnare.com/?s=author&a=Jason+A.+Martin
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