subject: Developing a Successful Online Business – Where to Start? [print this page] Developing a Successful Online Business Where to Start?
Developing a Successful Online Business Where to Start?
You've seen the commercials and ads. You've heard about the mystery of people working from home. You may have joined a multi-level marketing company or even attempted to build an online business, but chances are the results were less than good. This article is designed to help you build a foundation to help you create a successful Internet-based business from scratch.
The most important thing to understand about an Internet-based business is that you must think differently. Traditional business is completely different from Internet business. In an Internet business you rarely meet people face to face, you work primarily by phone and e-mail and you must maintain constant visibility.
You should be able to accept payments and send payment for your new online business. If you can not receive payments, you can not get paid. In the online world, sending checks is the last option, and usually a deal-breaker. Using a service such as PayPal or Google Checkout to process payments means you can receive payments, e-mail invoices and track your income. You will also be able to pay any costs associated with your company and an established account is usually the fastest and safest way to do it.
Now that you have a way to get paid, you must decide what to do. If you already have a business idea in mind, you can use tools such as Elance to hire web developers, marketers and more. You should consider hiring a researcher to determine the amount of competition. You can also hire a marketing professional who will help make pay-per-click campaigns once you're up and running.
To shop online, you must have a profile or a site on the Internet. If you build a website, you must have a domain name first. This is usually the name of your company. Domain names are becoming harder to secure, so you may need to be flexible about your company and domain name selection. Some Internet entrepreneurs register the domain name for the website before registering their business name.
When you can get paid, and have prepared a marketing and business plan, you can begin to grow your business online. After these first steps are finished you can spend time marketing and networking to grow your business.
