Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

   Hi, I`m Mike Myatt and I thought a lot about starting an online business, it sounds very convenient. I still have to learn a lot about running a business like this, I`m thinking for the beginning to hire a company wich has the know-how to help me get it started. I thought it`s easier and more profitable to build a business like this, the costs for starting an e-commerce business will be reduced. I have some quesitions though:

        What are the milestones in creating such a business? Is promoting the business so difficult as most of the people consider? Do you need many employees for this? Many partners? What should I be aware of?

     Hopefuly I`ll find some answers. Thank you in advance!

     Regards,

      Mike Myatt

The grass is always greener on the other side Mike  and now that you`ve said you`re willing to hire someone to help get you started, you`re probably going to get a flurry of offers and people sending you private messages promising you riches if you follow their method.

My only advice would be that you get ready to work just as hard as if you were starting a brick and mortar business. It`s no different. Don`t be dazzled by the quick fix. Do you Life Plan, Business Plan and keep at it just like with any other business.

Good luck,
Aleem


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Get Your Name in ".com" at the International Internet Authority

Hello Mike. 

    I`ve been doing online business for about 4 years now and if you want to know just what to do I would suggest you check out Pay It Forward 4 Profits.  It`s free to sign on but what you`ll get is free access to our Success Guide that will teach you everything you need to know to get started and what to do to inform the W.W.W. that you`re in business and what you offer. 

Good luck.

RSchlieper (Ron)

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Hi Mike. As far as hiring those companies that "do the work" for you, I`d be very careful. I spent over $20,000 on those those companies. Before you lay down a chunk of money for that stuff I`d research it. SUN is a good place to start and ask opinions. Don`t get ripped off by those "too good to be true" things. the biggest rip off I`ve had so far is the Stores Online thing. Yes, it`s an excellent service, but it`ll cost you $2700/yr for hosting, plus monthly fees, and that Doesn`t include any advertising or anything but hosting. BEWARE of those types of things.

There is a lot that goes into having an online business, but it`s not hard to learn. Like Ron, I`m also in Pay It Forward 4 Profits. It`s a Network Marketing Franchise, and it IS free to join. It has TONS of great information in it. Stuff that`ll put you in the 2% of online businesses that actually make it. It`s worth checking it out. Send me a message and I`d love to share some more info with you! I`m also on the PIF4P Advanced Mentoring Team and also Mastering Your Primary.

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I know you`ve heard of this before... Pay It Forward 4 Profits Free info on perfecting/advertising your primary business! Mastering Your Primary Business

I think an online store is like anything else ... you still need a business plan, and idea, and the know-how to make it work. What are you going to sell? Obtaining and selling a product, in theory, is not much different online as it is offline.

The costs discussed in this thread do seem a bit high to me though ...

What I would do is this.
1) Write a business plan. Honestly, it can be as easy as "I want to sell widgets through my online store and send them out through USPS."
2) Find someone who will help you build and market your site. Some developers will want flat fees, and some will take a percentage of your profit, depending on how good your product and idea looks to them. :-)
You could probably set this up pretty well through a place like Yahoo! Small Business ... they are good for beginners because all the cart and shopping stuff is built in.

In general ... e-commerce solutions do not require many employees, especially to start. You`d just have to work with your developer and your business plan to see how involved it would be ... and perhaps when things get going, you will want to hire more people to help you.

I`m fascinated with the conceptual nature of starting an online store. And so I`ve spent time here on SuN reading, learning, putting forth opinons, asking questions, and so forth.

It seems to me that starting an online business requires having ongoing and convenient access to someone with online programming and development skills. That can be you, but most likely will be someone else.

It`s like starting a ship-building business. Unless you`re skilled at building boats, you`re going to have to partner with someone who is. Few people start a business without acquiring accounting skills, one way or another. I think it`s crazy to start an online business without acquiring the skills necessary to manipulate and even control the Internet medium of information transfers.

Something else that`s become clear to me is the difference between programming Internet-based tools and "designing" the appearance of those tools. Neither of those two concepts is directly related to the "marketing" of the product.

Examine your own skills and capabilities. Where are you strong, Programming, Design, or Marketing? If you`re not strong in ANY of those three, then you may want to do some rethinking.

If you`re strong in Marketing, then the big problem seems to be finding the other two skill sets. There`ve been a number of posts about "what to look for" in a designer or developer (programmer).

Mike-
As Craig wisely suggested you need to think about your skill sets before your embark on any business venture. The one thing I would add to what Craig said is that how good of a salesman are you? do you have a better mousetrap?? If you have the knack or the product the other things can work themselves out with dedication and patience.

If you need some expertise make sure you do your homework and hire the right subject matter expert. There are many snake oil salesman that promise the world but can`t deliver.

Best of luck,
Howard


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ourmonmouth.com Full-Service Internet Solution Provider and Business/Community directory of Monmouth County New Jersey.

I think this is true in some things, but not all.

For example, many craft people know nothing about online marketing or ecommerce, but they can do something I can`t - they can weave or paint or make clothing or whatever else it is. So then they do what they do best, which is make their craft, and they hire me to make a system for e-commerce and marketing that is simple enough for them to just do their own customer service and they are golden.

But yes, they have better success when they do have some sales or marketing skills on their own, on top of a unique product ... because I can`t hold their hand at every trade show.

The question that has not been answered it this ... WHAT is the product you are selling? Is it a service, and item? So in deciding what skills he has, he should also find something unique and in-demand so it sells itself.

I also find myself in the business of educating customers for their long-term marketing. As in, I will get you started ... but here are some things you can learn to keep you going so you don`t have to keep paying me. Maybe that`s not good business sense in my part, but many clients find pride in self-reliance ... and are more likely to recommend me to others.

I was a truck driver, and I`m successful online. My girlfriend had to teach me how to send an email. I must admit, the learning curve was very big, but there are so many tools, and so much help you can get. Anyone can do it. But I think most people get all excited thinking they`re going to make tons of money online really fast, then don`t realize that it actually takes WORK, TIME and MONEY to achieve that. There aren`t any easy answers.

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I know you`ve heard of this before... Pay It Forward 4 Profits Free info on perfecting/advertising your primary business! Mastering Your Primary Business

Um...I think I assumed that if someone is starting an online business, they have a product and the skill to produce that product. Indeed, there are also businesses that have no product, and there are people who broker other people`s creative effort.

Given the assumption, it comes down to how much time do you want to invest in the design, programming, marketing, and...yes...the sales, side of things. However, if you have no product, no skills, can`t design, can`t program, don`t know marketing, and can`t sell, you STILL can put together an online business. Will it function or make money? I`d say the probabilities are low.