It is a big decision to make, going out on your own and working for yourself.
It does not have to be a difficult one though if you plan ahead and have a clear idea of what you want to achieve. Start off with an idea and gradually build on it, test the water by researching your chosen subject. Online businesses are very easy to set up and do not have to be expensive, plus you can do most of your pre-planning and research for free. Using search engines such as Google can quickly show how popular and how competitive your chosen business idea is, do not be put off by competition if your subject is very popular there are bound to be lots of others already in the field. Offering something slightly different or of better quality/service can give you an edge over the competition. Also learning good marketing strategies before you launch your business will help you better your competition.
Be prepared to put in the work, unless you have a large budget to get you started you are going to have to do a lot of the setting up yourself. Think about how you can market your business in the most cost effective way, you will probably need to hire some outside help for some of the tasks.
Starting up your online business such as getting your first website up and running is really easy these days with so many packages to choose from that do most of the work for you, again it all depends on your budget but remember the most expensive is often not the best. Some businesses spend fortunes on fancy websites with moving images and graphics that look great, but very often they just end up confusing or annoying the visitor. A simple black text on white background web page is much easier on the eye, think about if you read a book or any written text is it easier to read black on white or other colours? What if the pages of the book you are reading started flashing images at you, how easy is it to take in the information?
Some images and gimmicks can of course attract your customers attention and enhance the overall look and appeal of your website but don't over do it. It is good practice to test your ideas, show them to friends and colleagues for some feedback before going ahead with them.
To summarise then lets look at a simple list of tasks,
· Write a business plan
· Decide on a budget for your venture
· Research your chosen subject
· Test your ideas
· Start building the business
· Outsource some tasks
Your business plan does not need to be complex nor set in stone, you can always add to it and adapt it as you get going.
It is a good idea to set yourself a budget of at least 10% above your estimates to give yourself a cushion for the unexpected.
Research is the key, you must be sure there is a market for your product or service. How popular is your subject online?
Test everything out if you can before committing yourself to a task. Most things can be changed quite easily such as website design or layout, try several and see what people think works best for your business.
Once you have a clear focus on what you want to do, start building your business. Your website, products or service, emails, marketing and stock if you have any should all be in place.
The jobs you can't do, don't know how to do or just don't want to do should be outsourced. The more you can do yourself the more control you will have over the business, so learn as much as you can. Some tasks like building a website if you have zero experience may seem impossible right now but with a little effort you may surprise yourself. A lot of tasks like building your own site are much easier these days with lots of companies offering great learn as you go packages.
(c) Gordon Bloomfield 2010
Marketing and online resources.
Useful links to get you started, the last three are for when your site is up and running to generate that all-important traffic.
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Friday, 15 October 2010
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