I have been thinking of starting my own business online. I have a few ideas but was wondering about how you all when about it!
1.) How did you come about deciding on the services you provide? If you sell a specific product, what made you decide specifically on that product or type of products?
2.)What did you have to do to begin the entire process of owning your own business online? What specific Steps did you have to take?
3.) What are some tips you would like to pass onto other people looking into a business like this? I have a very small scale online business. I sell a handmade product that I make. I was making them for friends, then starting selling on consignment to a local giftshop. I have since grown the buisness and am selling on Etsy.
I started so small that I didn't really start out to own my own business. I had no financing, no business plan, etc. But the whole thing evolved organically. I have since obtained a resale license so that I can buy supplies wholesale. It makes the whole thing a bit more complicated with sales tax but its been worth it.
There are so many online businesses that it can be very difficult to stand out. Competing with large companies (who have big advertising budgets) can be nearly impossible. Definitely do your research regarding your competition. What will make your business/service/product different. Why would someone choose your business over another similar one.
Ebay and etsy can be helpful to see if there is interest in your service/product without large setup fees associated with creating your own website. If you seriously looking into home based business opportunity, email me for info. I think I have something you would be interested in. 1)I fell onto my candle business by accident actually. Once we got it going, my husband and I decided we wanted to expand it and include other items. We decided on a name to help set the tone of our business and now we keep an eye out for various items that fit the bill. We started with candles, we have added soaps and now we are looking at lotions.
2) once we decided we wanted to expand we talked about HOW we were going to do this. We have a website that profiles everything but its for informational only right now. We will have an E-Commerce site up by next year. The candle aspect is all online as that is how it started.
3)its not easy but its worth it. You will get out of it what your willing to put into it. And you have to be prepared to fail. not everything will work. You just gotta pick up the peices and keep going and find what does work. I'm going to lump all my answers together here for you while throwing in some other advice that is beyond your questions for you to consider.
Like you, more and more people are looking to join the on-line work from home businesses where they can enjoy tax benefits, flexible hours and the freedom of being their own boss while earning a residual income.
Not only is it a lifestyle and source of financial freedom, people are enjoying the added benefit of being able to be around their family more than if they were out "at" a job, something that is once again becoming important to society even though we all need that second income while raising our children.
If that's something that you're looking into, then you'll want to start figuring out what the current market trend is, find something in that trend that excites you....something you'd really enjoy doing and start researching companies from there.
Of course, you want to beware of that "get rich quick" and "pay us this amount of money and we'll show you how" sort of thing. Run Forest run! You know that's gotta be a bad deal.
Of the companies that appear to be legitimate, check out what they're offering you and if that fits what you want, and if it does, then look even harder - inside and out - at that company. Find out what kind of training and ongoing support they'll offer you as well as that can be such a crucial point to your success.
Once you're satisfied that everything is above board, then go for it! The trend is swinging very quickly to on-line home based businesses and it can be very lucrative as well as rewarding.
If you鈥檇 like more info, please visit my profile so that I can be of further assistance. Great questions!
I own my own online home-based business, and here are my answers to your questions:
1) I took a look at MANY different products (I didn't want to offer a service, because the only thing I can really do well is edit - and I actually DO do that on the side too!) to decide what was high quality, in demand and provided by a reputable company with integrity and a proven track-record.
2) Thankfully, the process was simple, because leadership and support was build right into the company I chose - they assist people in starting up their home-based online businesses and had EVERYTHING in place for me (setting up my website, choosing a domain name, ordering business cards, etc, etc, etc) . I just had to follow the steps. (They had thought of things I probably would have not even thought about!)
3) Tips:
- Research and evaluate each opportunity in order to choose wisely.
- In order to assess if a company is legit: check with the Better Business Bureau to see what their reputation is like, check to see how long the business has been around, and make sure there is a product involved (if not, it鈥檚 likely a pyramid scheme).
- Be wary of those that ask for money upfront!
- Of the companies that appear to be legitimate, look to see what kind of training and ongoing support they'll offer you, as that can be a crucial point to your success.
- Remember that businesses take time to build, so be patient with yourself.
- Check out the website as listed in my profile 鈥?there are more ideas for you there - and I hope I have been of some assistance.
Good luck! It depends.
What are you good at doing? What can you offer others?
You have to realize whether or not what you offer is actually needed or not.
For example, I have been teaching English for nine years, and recently became bored of teaching in schools, so decided to offer online English lessons.
I put all my work from down the years together and made my own courses.
Next I built a website http://www.englishnowtv.com and offered some services there. I'm not a techie or anything, so the site is still in need of tweaking and additions etc.
I also have many materials at home such as ESL books, and decided I can make money from selling the same type of products on the web as an affiliate, hence http://www.eslgoods.com
You really do need to know your stuff though, and working at home is not all it's cracked up to be.
Is your house/neighborhood quiet or noisy? Will you be distracted by working at home?
How much time can you really commit to your new business, given that many customers might live in foreign countries, meaning you'll have to spend irregular hours running it?
How much money can you invest?
What would you do if the business became successful overnight and you couldn't meet demand?
Are you prepared to work hard and expect little in return until you get established? (this is often the case with internet businesses)
I would suggest reading business magazines, especially 'Entrepreneur', it's a GREAT read for business advice for those who want to work for themselves. Also, check out your local library or bookstore for self-help books on working your own business.
Most of all...BE PATIENT!! Success can be an upward journey for quite some time, but once you get to the top, the rest of the ride is easier - not stress free, but easier!!
I guess bottom line is: BE PREPARED!!
Best of luck to you!! |
