Starting an Internet Business? 10 Crucial Things to start with (Part 1)

By: Fwahmi Avessel

They say that the only thing that’s constant is change. Previously there’s flexi hours then telecommuting and now, building a business from home. Thanks to the rapid advancement of technology, it seems that the number of people jumping into the soho bandwagon shows no signs of declining any time soon.

In its 2004 The Small Business Economy report by the Small Business Administration, home-based businesses form the majority of U.S businesses. A staggering 53% to be precise!

A considerable number of those who have started businesses from home are the dot com entrepreneurs, otherwise known as internet marketers/entrepreneurs. Low (or even zero) start-up costs, risks and overheads are some of the reasons why this has become the business model of choice for many.

Another strong pull factor is the ability to capitalize on both the domestic and international markets. That’s the beauty of the internet for you.

But don’t quit your day job yet. If you think that’s all you need to know to bring in the greens, you better think twice. There is a high chance that your business will not reach its full potential if you do not factor in the following components in your business blueprint:

1) Education/Knowledge

Obtaining the right knowledge is a crucial first step that you should take before you even attempt to start. You simply can’t bake a cake the first time without first finding out what ingredients, steps and equipment that are required can you?

Educate yourself on the basics and essentials such as (but not limited to) the general internet marketing environment, legislation, web design, online scams and search engine optimization strategies before you make that jump into cyberspace.

You’ll be asking a lot of questions but you need to ask the right questions in order to get the right answers from the right people.

Learning from the experts such as Holly Mann, Mike Filsaime, Mark Joyner, Derek Gehl, Yanik Silver as well as other successful internet entrepreneurs will equip you with the valuable knowledge to form a strong foundation for your online business.

2) Right Attitude

Never ever believe for a moment that you’ll get rich by doing business online overnight. Never ever believe that running an online business is going to be easy. Promise yourself that. Do believe that with hard work, patience, determination and a positive mindset (never ever underestimate the power the human mind) you will achieve your goals.

Just because you don’t see results mean that you’re a failure and therefore you quit. It just means that something is not right somewhere. You don’t just sit there in your car when it suddenly stalls in the middle of the highway do you?

Of course not, you try to find out the problem, troubleshoot and rectify it. If all else fails, you call the towing company and a cab to resume your journey to your intended destination. You do whatever it takes, tweaking and tuning but you don’t quit.

A wise man once said, “Winners don’t quit, quitters don’t win.”

3) Time Management

Working on an internet business from home can be pretty challenging. It can also be a double-edged sword. For sure you’re closer to your family and can spend more time with them but it can also distract you from accomplishing critical tasks and goals if you do not mange your time well. Set a daily schedule and follow it. Stay organized and you’ll stay in business.

However, If you find that you are hopeless in this area and seriously need help to organize your life, www.effexis.com and www.getharvest.com are a couple of resources that you should take a look into.

4) Planning

You need to write out and execute a business plan. Note that I set the word execute in bold. You can have the most elaborate business plan but it still wouldn’t do any good if you don’t carry it out. Just a simple one will do.

This serves as a roadmap or a compass if you will. Include your short and long term goals in this plan. Many people have found that by writing these down and constantly referring to it, they have a sense of direction, stay more focused and driven to meet their objectives.

5) Research

Trust me, you do not want to skip this no matter what. One of the most common mistakes that internet marketers commit is in this area. They put in the time and effort but yet they do not get results. Why is that? This is because they did their research in a reverse manner and that’s wrong.

Instead of identifying a hungry market first and then feeding them with a suitable product/service, they do the exact opposite. Research your competition, what people are looking for and their expectations before you come up with a product/service.

In general, the offline business world conducts feasibility studies for market research purposes; internet businesses, among other methods use the search engines to assess their competition and use keyword research and suggestion tools such as Word Tracker and the Google Adwords Keyword Suggestion Tool to research and seek out potentially profitable markets.

This concludes part 1 of this article. Let’s have a quick recap of what we have covered so far. Thus far we’ve learned that Education, the right Attitude, effective Time Management, Planning and Research each have a critical role to play in starting and sustaining an internet home business. The remaining five important points which include topics such as acquiring the Right Tools, Website Promotion and more will be covered in the next instalment.

Internet Business Startup Steps

by Daniel Cassidy

Everyone seems to be getting into online business these days, and the advantages of an internet business versus a more traditional setting are clear. An internet business startup is easy. You need a desk and chair, and a computer with internet access. That's it. You earn money working at home in your pajamas at any hour of the day you choose. You can even work as much or as little as you please, and you have the option of controlling which radio station is playing while you work. An internet business has very low overhead costs and tends to earn money faster than a traditional business. Sounds great, doesn't it? Sure it does, but there is more to an internet business start up than that.

First of all, you'll need some sort of internet presence and that's usually in the form of a website, though blogs are becoming increasingly popular for web presences. Some internet businesses only involve a profile page on an auction site for products or services. Whether you choose website, profile page, or blog, you're establishing your web presence. Having all three is a great internet business solution and tends to increase your exposure.

If you have a website or blog, you'll need a domain name. Choosing a domain name that is catchy, easy to remember, or relevant to your business is important. It's also important to register the different versions people might use when searching for your name, as well as the possible spelling mistakes. The more domain names you have that will direct people to your online business, the better.

You're going to have to work on marketing. There is more to setting up an online business than a flashy website and having a great product or service. Those who are successful in online businesses work hard at learning internet business solutions such as increasing their ranks with search engines. This is called search engine optimization, and without a web presence that is optimized for search engines, you aren't going to be successful.

An online business also involves promotion and marketing that a traditional business requires as well. You won't be able to assume that people will find your business or chose your website over the millions of others in the virtual world. The effort and time to promote your online business is like any other, so be prepared to have a good marketing plan as part of your internet business solution.

Develop your sales strategies and customer service skills. One difference with a traditional business and an online venture is that you're now going to be the jack of all trades in your enterprise and master of none, unless of course you hire professionals to handle areas of your business that you don't want to or can't. That isn't cost effective though, so learn how to be a salesman, as well as updating your communication skills to improve customer service and maintain client loyalty. A good internet business startup plan covers all aspects of your business that you're going to have to handle.

Lastly, be sure to have a plan for accounting and taxation. A legal business is far better than one that isn't, as there are plenty of things you'll be able to deduct at income tax time. Also, make sure that your internet business startup includes research into legal matters, copyright, and anything that might land you in hot water. For great online success, cover all the bases that a traditional business would and include internet business solutions as well.

Starting an Online Home Business? Work at Home Internet Tips and Ideas

by Chynthia Minnaar

Most people starting an online home business do so while working a full-time job and therefore being organized will help you make maximum use of the few hours a day that you have to dedicate to your work at home internet business.

Getting and keeping the contents of your computer organized will save you heaps of time and it is a great idea to set up a good filing system so that you do not waste time looking for web addresses, passwords, files, e-books, emails, images, etc.

If you are starting an online home business that involves joining a few affiliate programs you will have a lot of important information and emails coming in that you will need to refer to. There is nothing more frustrating knowing you have saved a certain file or bookmarked an important web address and not being able to find it.

Firstly, the initial information that you will receive will be in the form of emails and so it is strongly advised that you set up folders in your Outlook so that you can file the emails in the relevant folders. If you join a number of affiliate programs, open a folder for each program.

To setup a new folder in Outlook simply click on FILE in the Menu Bar (the top horizontal menu), in the drop down menu click NEW, then click on FOLDER. A little window will open entitled CREATE FOLDER and you then type in the box entitled FOLDER NAME, the name you would like to give this new folder. Then click OK.

This way you can set up sub-folders too. For example you may have a main folder called XYZ Affiliate Program and you could create subfolders under that for Admin emails and another for Sale Notifications and another for New Signups. In your Outlook main window, select XYZ Affiliate Program, right click and select New Folder and type in the title for your subfolder.

If you make an error or your subfolder appears in the wrong place, do not panic. Just right click on the folder and click delete and try again. Or if you want to rename the folder just right click and choose rename, and enter the correct name.

By setting up folders in Outlook will save you a huge amount of time when you need to locate a certain email and you will find that your Inbox is not full of emails that you have already dealt with or read. There is also the search function in Outlook, should you need it. File the emails in their respective folders as soon as you have dealt with them. Do not forget to file the emails in your Sent Box too into their respective folders. Often it is your reply to an email that you will be looking for.

Your Favorites in Internet Explorer, or whatever browser you are using, is another place that you need to keep well organized as this will save you so much time and frustration.

Again, set up folders and subfolders if necessary. Using Internet Explorer 7 in the Menu Bar, click on Favorites, then choose Organize Favorites from the drop down menu. In the small window that opens click on New Folder and a new folder will be highlighted where you type in the name. You can also move, rename and delete folders here as well. Or you can just select the Star Icon for Favorites so they open down the left hand side of your screen, right click on a folder and choose the option New Folder and type in the name.

By right clicking on a folder and selecting Sort By Name will organize the contents of that folder alphabetically.

Under My Documents be sure to start opening folders there as well to file all the information relating to your work at home internet business, for example your ebook downloads, articles and reviews you may write, Excel spreadsheets, etc.

Another idea is to open a Word document or Excel spreadsheet to keep a note of the affiliate programs you join, their web addresses, referral urls as well as your username and passwords for each program. I personally work with Notepad as I find it opens quicker and I save it to my desktop for easy reference.

A couple of computer protection and maintenance tips: Install good virus protection on your computer and keep your Firewall turned on.

To help keep your computer running well, delete your Temporary Internet Files in Internet Explorer regularly by clicking on Tools, then Internet Options from the drop down menu and under Browsing History select Delete and then under Temporary Internet Files click on Delete. You can also delete your Cookies here too.

Do not forget to use the disk defragmenter regularly (once a week), especially if you are downloading new software or have automatic software updates coming in from Microsoft. Just click your Start button, click on All Programs and select Accessories, then System Tools and Disk Defragmenter. It is advisable to shut down all programs including temporarily disengaging your Screensaver while using the disk defragmenter.

To disengage your screensaver click on Start, Control Panel, Display and in the Display Properties Box click on Screensaver and in the drop down menu under the computer icon select `none` and click Apply. Remember then to go back and reinstate your screensaver once the disk defragmenter has completed its task.

Just a word of warning here, if you do not defrag your hard drive regularly you will experience your computer slowing down and more frustrating is that the defrag process can take hours. If this happens it is advisable to leave the disk defragmenter running overnight while you catch up on some well earned sleep.

You will in time develop your own way of working, but initially when starting an online home business and everything is new and a little confusing you will find it really helpful if you get yourself organized early and get into the habit of filing items where you can find them as well as keeping your computer in peak condition thus avoiding slowdowns and downtime