Career
Pathways
How to Start an Online Business
With the recession a great number of businesses have sprung up online, in order to keep expenses low as well as to profit more when the economy does recover. Yet having a presence online is not necessarily a guarantee for success. A successful online venture requires hard work, and some smart business moves.
1. Understand the Market. Even if the business will be based on the Internet, it is still a business – which means that market research should not be ignored. Identify your potential market, determine is size, income level and its growth rate, as you would for any normal business. Identify your competition and develop sound business and competition strategies.
2. Make sure your back-office infrastructure is sound. Invest in a robust website which will withstand increased traffic during peak hours. Outsource such things as credit card processing technologies which may lie outside your field of expertise.
3. Develop an Attractive Web Site. After developing a strong architecture, it is now time to think about what your website – or online “shop” will look like. Remember that this is your place of business and treat it accordingly. Create a visually appealing website, but do not introduce so much clutter that it is hard to navigate. Most importantly, make the process of making a purchase easy for the customer, so that they will not hesitate to make a transaction.
4. Promote your website through Search Engine Optimization. Focus your efforts on attracting customers online. Take advantage of search engine optimization so that your website appears on top of search engine listings.
In general, there are two rules of thumb:
1. Incorporate both traditional rules of businesses with rules specific to an online medium to make a feasible and realistic business plan
2. Identify those areas where you can provide expertise. Outsource those aspects of your business that you cannot handle to experts.
