The Internet has an economy that is ever increasing. It does not take much work to receive considerable funds from the internet. In some cases, individuals can make more in the way of funds from the internet than they can running a brick and mortar store. I have operated an internet business since 1998, with the online version of my magazine, NeuFutur ( https://neufutur.com ) .
1) Create a website for your business. The cost to buy a domain (the "name" of your website), coupled with internet hosting (the space where all your files reside) is much less than individuals would think. When I purchased a website for our own Dr. House, for example, the total bill was around $50 for one year�s worth of service. That was using http://www.godaddy.com . However, one can find a slightly better deal at http://www.1and1.com, where an equivalent package costs around $40 One should choose a package based on the level of comfort that one has with the company.
2) If you have tangible goods, use eBay ( http://www.ebay.com ) as a way to pander your goods. eBay is a great service for individuals to connect to individuals that may want your goods, but are removed geographically from your brick and mortar location. For example, I run a magazine that receives CDs for review. By putting the CDs that we have reviewed up online, we are able to generate revenues around $600 a month.
If you sell clothing, art, or anything tangible, eBay could be an easy way to supplement a brick & mortar location�s rent. eBay revenues can be enough to supplant a brick and mortar location. Just think about it this way, an eBay business requires nothing in the way of set up costs beyond having a computer, internet access, and a camera to take pictures.
3) Sign up for PayPal ( http://www.paypal.com ) and Google Checkout (http://checkout.google.com ). These services allow individuals that use some form of monetary transaction to go forth and receive funds. While the use of Paypal and Google Checkout is typically tied to individuals that have goods to sell, non-profits can also elicit funds from individuals through Paypal. Google Checkout is a service that is in beta (which means that the service is stable, but is still being tested by engineers) but provides new sign-ups with a $10 credit towards any purchases (office supplies, for example). Regardless of the promotions tied to them, they are both good services with which to be familiar.
4)One can reduce the overhead from the costs of a traditional business setup immensely if they remove the brick and mortar component from their minds. Sure, it is nice to brag about if one has a storefront, but a lot of things have to be taken into consideration. Can you find a babysitter or time away from another job to sit at the store? If you hire individuals, will they be trustworthy? Running a store or business venture from the home is a better idea due to a number of facts. These facts include that there are no rental fees for the office space, no electricity or heating concerns beyond what is paid normally at the house. There is a larger audience for your wares. While office space cheap enough for a start-up company may be located far from busy thoroughfares, any one of a billion or so internet-surfing individuals may happen upon a company�s website.
5)After one has purchased hosting and a good domain name, enter your websites into various indices. Google, Yahoo, Netscape and the like. Each of those websites has an "add a link" section for free that one can provide information about their ventures. Doing so will make it easier for individuals that are looking for what one is providing, and this increases the probability that individuals will purchase one�s wares or otherwise support one�s venture. An addition to social networking sites ( http://www.digg.com , http://www.myspace.com , http://www.fark.com ) about one�s venture or creating a profile based purely around the venture is also recommended.
6)The creation of a website for one�s company is essential in this day and age. There are enough websites online, such as Lissa Explains ( http://www.lissaexplains.com ) and HTML Help ( http://www.htmlhelp.com ) that will provide individuals with information how to make a crisp, attractive website. Services like the aforementioned Godaddy and 1+1 have HTML editors, and there is a program called First Page ( http://www.evrsoft.com ) that is free that will allow business owners to make even the most difficult pages. A website does not need to be flashy, but should show what the company is offering, what it costs, and why an individual should purchase from that company instead of others.
7)While individuals may be able to go forth and purchase everything they need to create a web presence and also be able to program their own websites, they may not be able to reach a large segment of the populace as easy as they should. One may want to create a line in a company�s budget for an individual capable in the field of SEO (search engine optimization). The individual can create language in a company�s website that allow for individuals to more easily find the website amongst the hundreds of thousands of websites that are pandering goods and services that are similar, if not the same as, what the company provides.
8)Turn-around time is key. Make sure that responding to e-mails is a common part of a company�s daily routine. Individuals do not have the patience to wait three or four days to receive a response from a company. A competitor is not in another town or state, but rather is a click or two away. Checking email three or more times a day is a good amount, and allows for emails to be quickly and accurately answered without the responses seeming rushed or created on shaky ground.
9)While one can move most of one's company out of the material world, there are still times where having a business card or address stamp will be beneficial. Luckily for the thrifty and internet-savvy entrepreneur, there are companies online that will provide office supplies for cheap or at a free level. Both Vistaprint ( http://www.vistaprint.com ) and iPrint ( http://www.iprint.com ) have specials. Vistaprint will send 250 business cards to a company with only a little advertisement on the back of the card for shipping (around $6), while iPrint has specials every few months that provide a business stamp for the same general price. Use these places and one�s overhead will decrease as well.
10)Finally, ensure that any online presence is up to date. A number of websites keep old prices or inventory on their websites even though the prices or the stock have long gone. E-mailing a customer and informing them that the item is no longer in stock is not good business, as individuals will tend to look elsewhere from then on. Even though the business does not have a brick and mortar location, the "virtual" place of business should be at least as formal as the actual place of business. Making sure that individuals are kep up to date will only increase sales.
[JMcQ]