Starting an Online Business

Getting Started

I’m going to guide you through the process of setting up a successful online business from start to finish.

First things first, you need to decide what you are going to do. Whether it’s an idea you had over a few beers with a friend in your local bar or an idea you’ve had percolating in your mind for the past 5 years.

Now brainstorm, brainstorm, brainstorm! Keep your ideas written down and safeguarded. Then build on them. Branch out and think of all possible outcomes no matter how silly they seem – it’s always good to look at every possibility because the most ridiculous of thoughts may turn out to make you the most money.

Now that your ideas are up in the air it’s time to filter out the nonsense. Narrow down your final idea, (Ideas will follow in the next section of this article) whether it’s selling shoes and handbags or providing free bumper stickers.

Now you have to ask yourself a few questions, of which most should have been already answered in your brainstorm:

How are you going to make money?
How are you going to market your online business?
What makes your online business special/stand out above the rest?

How are you going to make money?

There are 3 main ways to make money online:
Affiliate marketing and selling ad space on your website
Selling a product
Selling a service

The following websites all offer advert placement:

http://www.adbrite.com
https://www.google.com/adsense
http://www.azoogleads.com
http://www.textads.biz
http://www.kontera.com

The following websites all offer Affiliate links:

http://www.affiliatewindow.com
https://affiliate-program.amazon.co.uk
http://www.affiliatescout.com – Directory
http://www.100best-affiliate-programs.com – Directory

How are you going to market your online business?

There are 100’s of cost effective ways to market your business. My personal favourite being online directories for the simple reason – they’re easy to sign up to, you get your business shown to millions of people and most importantly 99% of them are free. Although you may get alot of phone calls from these directories asking you to pay for “advanced listings” or “premium listings” it’s easy enough for you to say, “No thank you” and hang up the phone. They won’t hassle you anymore and you still get your link on their website!

Another method is PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising. Prices vary from £0.01p to £0.35p per click depending on the company you decide to use. This is a very effective method of bringing in customers because all adverts are targeted to the people you want. I.e. If you’re selling Prada handbags your advert won’t be shown to a 13 year old male.

And last but not least – Word Of Mouth. There is no better way to get the word out about your new company than telling friends. Thousands of companies rely on this for 99% of their business. Remember, if you tell 6 friends, they will inevitably tell 6 friends. That’s potentially 36 new customers for 10 minutes banter.

What makes your online business special/stand out above the rest?

The key to this is more often than not, to be unique. Originality strikes interest in everyone of us. How often have you seen an advert on the TV and thought “Oh that’s new, I think I might give it a try”?

Originality isn’t the easiest of things to come up with. It does take time, dedication and most importantly determination to succeed.

Now don’t be scared and give up hope because originality isn’t everything. Look at McDonald’s and Burger King. They both sell the same product, the same service in the same prime locations. They just do it differently to one another and they are both extremely successful companies. In essence, just because you’re idea isn’t 100% original does not mean it won’t work, it just means that it’s tried and tested and you have competition in a profit generating trade.

Business Ideas

Now if you’ve been tinkering around thriving to start up a new business but just don’t have that right idea then here are a few that I’ve compiled just to get the ball rolling.

An online shop - Whether you’ve found a decent supplier or selling homemade goods such as models you’ve made or clothing for example.

A Hobby - Take a hobby of yours and tell people about it. Tell people how to get involved and show them what it’s all about.

An online diary/blog – One of the many wonders of the Internet is anonymity. Have a good old rant about people whether it’s the office idiot or the village gossip down at the hair dressers. Or just tell people what you’re doing. Every body loves to be nosey, how many times have you picked up your sisters diary and read it cover to cover or take a look at Big Brother for example.

A Speciality – Would you say you were a fantastic cook? Have you got recipes that are simply amazing that you want to share with other people? Then do it! People love to try new things. Not just cooking, do you have specific knowledge that could in fact help people with day to day things i.e. a quicker way to peel wallpaper or a bleach that will leave your bath white for 15 years.

Getting your business online

Now everything is in place. You just need the following:

Website
Website Hosting
Domain Name

Website

A company will charge you anywhere between £50-£750 for a website. Now here’s the kicker, the price isn’t dependant on the quality you get. I’ve seen a website created by a college graduate for £100 that was of equal if not a better standard of another company trying to charge £700.

So your best bet is to get a quote from 4-5 different companies then compare their work. Or if you have time on your hands. Do it yourself, this may not be the best option for someone who is computer illiterate however it’s easily enough done.

Website Hosting

Website hosting will on average cost you about £40 a year. This can be obtained from thousands and thousands of companies all over the Internet so I’ve put together a list of my preferred suppliers for you to compare depending on the service you want.

Domain Name

A Domain name is your business identity, you want it to be short, simple and descriptive. i.e. you wouldn’t have WeSellLotsandLotsOfTopQualityShoes.com because it’s hard to remember and you may sell other products on top of that. So take your time when deciding!

The best company to go to for a domain name is http://www.1and1.com or http://www.1and1.co.uk for the UK because they are by far the cheapest on the Internet and provide the quickest top quality service. They do offer hosting packages however they seem to be quite costly.

Growing your business

Growing your business can be quite a tedious process because there is alot of competition out there as you would expect, exactly like opening up a shop on the street.

Advertising using online business directories is essential as stated above and you can find thousands of them just by doing a simple google search. They are so easy to sign up to and will attract lots of potential customers.

Adding additional products and services is essential in growth and progression. Choose them carefully because you don’t want to stock up on lots of new products for them to not sell or for your extra services not to be used.

To Conclude

Don’t give up if things aren’t going well at first, this is just a common factor when starting up a new business. Success is built on perseverence and dedication, with them you’re bound to go far. Never let anything dishearten you because this is your business, it will go as far as you are prepared to take it.

“The talent of success is nothing more than doing what you can do, well.”
Henry W. Longfellow