Entrepreneurship

Showing posts with label Start. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Start. Show all posts

Wednesday 3 April 2013

6 Rules to Follow When You Start an Online Business

"I want to start an online business... What kind of business should I start?"


Most aspiring entrepreneurs ask this very question during the beginning of their journey into business. If you are like most people, the idea of starting your own business probably involves a restaurant franchise, a coffee shop, or a retail store of some sorts (such as selling clothes or books). Or, if you're a little more in-tune with the times, you'll be thinking of starting a technology company of some sorts and hoping to secure some venture capital funding.


There is absolutely nothing wrong with these types of businesses. However, if you're a first-time entrepreneur (and likely, you are if you're asking this question) these businesses are a bad idea to start with. They are very risky, take a lot of start-up capital, and you'll most likely end up doing 12-hour work days, 7 days a week. Even more so, you are betting your most important resources (time and money) on an unproven strategy.


Instead, I challenge you to think of your first business as a pet project of some sort. Something that you are passionate about, and don't mind spending a little bit of money here and there. You'll never "fail" - you're simply learning.


And to maximize your chances of success with your business, here are 6 rules you should follow when you're launching a new business. They are especially applicable if you want to start an online business, but they apply to entrepreneurship in general.


Rule #1: You should solve a certain problem for a certain group of people.


Instead of thinking about business ideas, successful entrepreneurs think about problem-solving for a select group. Look to answer the question, "how can I solve THAT problem?" when brainstorming for business ideas. People are more inclined to buy when they're in a state of looking for a solution to their problem. It's much easier to sell the cure instead of the prevention.


Preferably, you should be a member of that particular group to TRULY know what solutions you can offer them. After all, you can't REALLY know what sort of problems pregnant women have if you've never been pregnant yourself, can you?


Rule #2: You should be able to test the demand for your product prior to launch.


Do not create a product and hope to create a demand for it once it's done. Ideally, you should be able to launch a dry-test before you spend valuable time and resources developing the product. Set up a salespage and launch an AdWords campaign and see how many people "purchase" your product. Don't take their credit card information of course; simply say you are sold out and will contact them once you're fully stocked again. Additionally, you can also list the item on eBay and pull down the listing in the last minute.


Rule #3: You should be able to get it up and running as quickly or as cheap as possible.


You don't have the capital, nor the resources, to build the next PSP or iPod just yet. If you attempt to build something that huge and this is your first time going into business, your chances for failure is very, very high. Once your dry test proves successful, you should be able to quickly capitalize on the demand even if that means starting out with half a product (half a product, NOT a half-ass product). It's perfectly acceptable to start small for now, and get bigger as you progress.


Rule #4: You should be able to outsource a bulk of the work.


Not being able to outsource is a common syndrome for would-be entrepreneurs. They insist on doing it all themselves, then burn themselves out in the process. Don't be cheap, and outsource activities. Think about this as a wise investment for your business. There are plenty of entrepreneurs who have launched entire businesses on the Internet by outsourcing everything, even product creation.


You shouldn't be working on trivial things when you can save days or weeks of work by simply paying someone else to do it. So if web design or programming isn't your strong suit, find someone on Elance who can do it cheaply. Focus your efforts on marketing and selling your product.


Rule #5: You should never buy anything that isn't required until you're making a profit.


Did you know that you only have to double a dollar 20 times before you turn it into a million? Take $1 and double that to end up with $2. Double that to end up with $4. Double that to end up with $8... By step 20, you would've made over a million dollars.


Of course, that's easier said than done. The lesson here is to take the profits you've earned and reinvest it back into the business. Until you're making a profit, do not spend on unnecessary things like coffee mugs with your logo on it, new desks, office rent, etc. Before you buy anything, first ask yourself this question: will the business crumble tomorrow if I don't get this right now? If not, put it in the backburner and move on.


Rule #6: You should be able to scale the business.


This is perhaps the most important rule of them all. After all, you're starting a business, not getting a job. The end goal for your company should be that it functions without your presence. Your business should function in the same way whether you're selling 10 or 10,000 products. Be the police officer on the side of the road who steps in when needed, instead of a toll booth which all cars need to pass through.


*****


Monday 1 April 2013

How to Start a Free Online Business


Everyone goes through that point in life where some pondering on career choice is necessary. Some go through it a gillion times in a lifetime, while some are fortunate enough to go through it only once, having picked the perfect one the first time. But when it comes to entrepreneurship, anyone can make a career out of it. Some, in fact, after wrestling with a career they haven't been comfortable with or have lost the passion for, have found that it has been what's right for them all along. Consider it yourself. Maybe that's where your calling is. And if you're going to be an entrepreneur, don't think it's so difficult. It will take hard work yes, but you can start even now if you've saved up a considerable amount of money for your capital. How do you go about it? You can start a free online business.

A free online business can be anything from affiliate marketing to actually selling your own products and/or services through the Internet. Affiliate marketing is also known as crowd-sourcing. With it you become an affiliate to a primary legitimate business which is the retailer or the brand. The gist of it is you establish a website where you advertise that retailer and those people who come and visit your affiliate website will be referred to the retailer.

There also are network marketing businesses which let you in on the network and make you a distributor of products and services such as home décor or travel and lodging packages, and those being in demand products, there is a concurrent high demand for distributors like you. So you and all other distributors work to recruit other distributors and with each recruit you get perks and privileges from your network marketing company such as all-expense-paid vacation trips, all to reward you and motivate you to perform your role even better as a distributor and recruiter.

You can also choose to sell your own product or service. No matter who you are and what previous line of work you were in (or are still in, if you choose to only earn additional income from your online business), you have something you can offer to people. You might be a talented web designer so you can be a freelance web developer, designing the site itself and managing its content too. You might be a prodigious painter and you've got masterpieces you can sell for reasonable prices to art appreciators wanting to beautify their homes with a splashes of color on canvas. You might be a very creative graphic artist in which case you can design T-shirts or other home decor to display on sale on your website. If you don't think you're one for affiliate marketing, network marketing or any other type of passive entrepreneurship, perhaps the free online business that's suited for you is active marketing of your own product or service. All it takes is determination, some capital, and a computer with an Internet connection. Plan it all now and start today!




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Friday 22 March 2013

How to Start Your Own Online Business Empire


Forbes Magazine approximates that 40 million people will want to start their own business online. The reason is because more and more people are realizing that entrepreneurship may be the only way to their heart's desire. That being said, more and more people are wondering how they would go about starting a business online.

Starting a business online is actually easier than what most people think. It's actually easier than starting a business offline (brick-and-mortar). The reason is because starting a business online doesn't have the big headaches that come with starting a business offline. Starting offline, you have to get A LOT of money, find a commercial zoned space for your business (the zoning has to relate to what type of business you're running), and sometimes, finding employees which just brings in more headaches. On the other hand, starting a business online is almost completely opposite. You don't need too much capital (money to start a business), you could work at home (or anywhere you can get internet), and you can do most of the work yourself. Though all that may be true, still, starting a business (online or offline) first requires research.

Research is probably one of the biggest hurdles future millionaires have gone through. Even if you were to join a home based business, like an MLM (Multi Level Marketing) for example, you would still need to do some research. What I mean is that there are things you still must consider when joining any business (especially with all the HYPE going around on the internet). If you would like more information on how to find the right business opportunity to join, then read my article:

You see, when business owner does thorough research in the beginning, he/she is able to plan their business much more effectively. Trust me, planning the business is very important. Without a solid plan, there will be no solid business. In fact, lots of people get so excited in starting a business, especially the ones that join already formed businesses (MLM, Network Marketing, Business Opportunities), that they inevitably forget to plan right. Here's a saying in the business that may get you in the right mindset of entrepreneurship: "If you FAIL to PLAN, you PLAN to FAIL." Simple as that.

So now, you're probably wondering what should you research. Well, before we get into that, you must understand that a business is, in all it's purity, a solution to a problem. Think about it, McDonalds has the solution to the "I'm hungy. What should we eat?" problem. Home Depot has the solution to improve your home. Any business you see out there, is a solution to a problem. So, what you need to research is what solution are you going to provide? Are you going to provide great advice on how to get more healthy and fit? Are you going to provide a solution to those who need money? Are you going to provide a solution to those that are having problems with their spouses?

There are a lot of problems out there. However, one person can't solve them all. But then again, one person can solve one problem. What abilities do you posses that might be a solution to a problem? What passions do you have that may constitute as a solution to a problem? These type of questions are the questions you ask when you are starting a business. What you are essentially doing is trying to find the right market. For example: Maybe you love the idea of weddings. Well, then your market is, yes you guessed, The Wedding Market. Simple right?

Yes, it is simple finding a market. However, that's just the first step. The next thing to do is break it down. You need to find what we call a "niche" in the market. The reason being is because just wedding is too general. Lets put it this way: McDonald's is in the fast food industry (Wedding). However, they don't serve all kinds of fast food. Their specialty are hamburgers (Niche). So, their Market is fast food, and their niche is hamburgers. So with the wedding market, the niche can be wedding dresses. Another niche of wedding would be wedding planning. There are a ton of niches in each market. The simplest way to find the one you're going to be successful at is one where you will have passion about. After all, you got to be enthusiastic about your product right?

After the initial research stage, your next step would be to open up shop. You're probably wondering how to do that. It's simple really. First, you have to think a name of your shop. This may become a little difficult. I say so because, as stated in the beginning of the article, about 40 million people want to start an online business. That means, the name you want for your shop can already be taken. Just get a little creative, and you could end up owning a BRAND name. Now that you have a name, go register it. The name is what we call a domain. A domain is this: www.yourshopname.com Register your domain. There are lots of places to do this, but the one I recommend is namecheap.com (it's the one I use). OK, now that you have your market and name, you need somewhere to put it. This is what we call a host/server. Think of it as the real estate if you were opening an offline business. There are a lot of hosting services out there. It really doesn't matter where you go for hosting. It's really your choice. I would recommend justhost.com because it's what I use.

Alright! You got a market, a shop. Now, you need traffic (potential customers). Getting traffic is what we call Internet Marketing. Marketing is the hardest part in the online business world. However, once you master it, you are set for life. Once you master Internet Marketing, you can go beyond what you are selling, and sell anything to anyone around the world while you sleep. Sounds good huh? Unfortunately, it's not easy to master the Internet Marketing skill. It takes time, diligence, and hard, hard work. Fortunately, all the time, diligence, and hard, hard work will pay off 100x in the future. Think of it this way, work hard for 40 hours a week, for a year or two, and reap the benefits for life! So how do you market you say.

Well, that is about another 500 articles to write. What I recommend you do is Google "how to internet marketing" and you will find 1,000,000 answers to that question. Internet Marketing is the meat of online businesses. It's what makes you work. It also is what makes you rich. If you really want more information, take a look at my sig on the bottom and it will tell you exactly what I do.

So now you know what it takes to start an online business. It may seem hard, but it really isn't. As long as you set your mind to it, you can make it happen. Trust me, in this business, mindset is what counts. The desire to do something and change your life for, not the better, but the best is all you really need to succeed.




Arleigh Cortez is an entrepreneur with a goal to change the world. He specializes in providing the BEST Online Marketing education in the world, while trying his hardest to provide the leadership, guidance, and knowledge to persevere and overcome any obstacle any person may have in life. If you're an entrepreneur and would like to start a business, or need help with your business, then go to: [http://www.thehomebusinessway.com]