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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Fachliteratur
- Sprache: Englisch
Establish a successful online business and grow your customer base
Starting an Online Business All-in-One For Dummies is the compass you need to navigate the exciting world of e-commerce. You'll discover the latest web trends, learn the basics of designing a website, and get tips for creating a compelling online presence. Plus, the guidance inside helps you stretch your marketing muscles to boost your brand's visibility, from the basics to more advanced strategies. This updated edition also shows you how to build a print-on-demand business, generate opportunities with AI, and break into the international marketplace.
- Learn how to fund your online business idea
- Drive traffic to your website or social media page using search engine optimization
- Stand out from the competition with proven online business strategies
- Manage security risks and stay one step ahead of potential threats.
Perfect for aspiring online entrepreneurs and established business owners aiming to enhance their digital footprint, this book will take you all the way from start-up to success.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024
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Starting an Online Business All-in-One For Dummies®
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Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Introduction
About This Book
Foolish Assumptions
Icons Used in This Book
Beyond the Book
Where to Go from Here
Book 1: Start-Up Essentials
Chapter 1: Starting from Scratch
What Are You Waiting For? Start Your Business Now!
Choosing Just the Right Business
Getting Started
Chapter 2: Turning Ideas into a Viable Internet Business
Thinking Like an Online Entrepreneur
Putting Your Business Idea under the Microscope
Identifying Your Market and Target Customer
Competing to Win: Analyzing Your Competition
Chapter 3: Getting Real: Creating a Usable Business Plan
Understanding the Value of a Plan
Recognizing That the Parts of the Plan Make a Whole
Getting Help to Write the Plan
Using a Business Plan Today, Tomorrow, and Always
Chapter 4: Funding Your Online Business
Bootstrapping the Low-Cost, No-Cost Site
Finding the Perfect Investor
Checking Out Alternative Financing
Taking a Shortcut: Purchasing an Existing Site
Chapter 5: Creating Policies and Managing Compliance to Keep It Real
Taking Care of Customers
Delivering on Your Promises
Putting Policies in Place
Complying With the Law
Book 2: Legal and Accounting
Chapter 1: Minding the Law
Keeping Your Business Legal
Zoning for Business (at Home)
Obtaining Business Licenses
Chapter 2: Choosing the Right Foundation: From Partnerships to Corporations
Strategizing for the Best Organization
Operating Alone as a Sole Proprietor
Sharing the Load with a Partnership
Limited Liability Company
Making It Official with Incorporation
Changing Your Organization as It Grows
Chapter 3: The Trademark-and-Copyright Two-Step
Understanding Why Trademarks and Copyrights Matter
Making Your (Trade)Mark
Protecting Your Investment with Copyrights
Establishing Registration Yourself
Retaining Professional Assistance
Chapter 4: Accounting for Taxes (and Then Some)
The Tax Man Cometh — Again and Again
By the Numbers: Accounting Basics
Choosing Software to Make Your Tasks Easy
Hiring a Professional
Following the Rules of Recordkeeping
Book 3: Website Functionality and Aesthetics
Chapter 1: What’s in a (Domain) Name?
Basics of URL Structure and Why It Matters
Registering the Perfect Name
Finding Out What to Do When Somebody Gets There First
All the Good Ones Are (Not) Taken
Chapter 2: Designing for User Experience
Mapping the Customer Experience
Maximizing Performance for Profitability
Establishing Page Goals
Mapping Your Route to a Successful Site
Putting Your Best Site Forward
Testing Your Design Assumptions
Chapter 3: Serving Up Your Site
Determining What Makes the Difference for High-Performance Hosting
Putting Your Site in the Cloud
Serving Yourself: Don’t Overlook Other Server Options
Keeping Your Customers and Your Site Secure
Chapter 4: Developing Content That Satisfies Visitors and Search Engines
Words Are Words — Right? Wrong!
Getting Ready to Write for the Web
Moved to Purchase: Turning Words into Action
Chapter 5: Going Beyond Beta and Launching Your Site
Some Things to Know Before You Start Uploading
Taking the Compatibility Test: Testing Screen Resolutions, Browsers, and Platforms
Taking a Trial Run
Three, Two, One — Takeoff!
Book 4: Online and Operating
Chapter 1: Determining Your Revenue Model
Selling Tangible Products
Selling Your Professional Services
Selling Thought Leadership — Your Own Information Product
Analyzing Opportunities
Choosing an Affiliate Advertising Program
Putting It All Together: Multiple Revenue Streams
Chapter 2: Making Money with Affiliate Programs
Looking at How Affiliate Programs Work
Avoiding Scams and Questionable Content
Chapter 3: Paying with the Right Payment Options
Accepting Credit Card Payments
Offering Alternative Payment Options
Managing the Payment Process to Protect Your Income
Chapter 4: Putting the (Shopping) Cart before the Horse
Not All Carts Are Created Equal
Shopping Around for the Best Hosted Solution
Finding Stand-Alone Shopping-Cart Software
Designing a Custom Cart
Chapter 5: Taking Inventory
Finding Out What’s Popular
Putting Together All Your Research
Pricing Your Products
Building Your Inventory
Chapter 6: Fulfilling Expectations and Orders
Figuring Out the Logistics of Shipping
Developing an In-House Fulfillment Model
Deciding to Outsource Fulfillment
Shaping Up and Shipping Out
Maintaining the Backend
Book 5: Managing Security Risks
Chapter 1: Understanding Security and Your Risks
Legal Responsibility: The Merchant and the Customer
Keeping Your Website Secure
Chapter 2: Developing a Plan: Security and Business Continuity
Making a Plan
Creating a Budget for Your Plan
Finding Security Resources
Chapter 3: Spotting and Thwarting Bad Actors, Hackers, and More
Fending Off Attacks
Deterring Bad Actors
Avoiding Common Threats
Keeping Your Domain Name Safe
Staying Away from Scams
Mobile Security Risks
Understanding How a Wireless LAN Works
Establishing Barriers
Chapter 4: Locking Down Your Site and Your Business
Protecting against Personal Data Loss and Credit Card Fraud
Backing Up Your Data
Adding Firewalls
Book 6: Online Marketing Basics
Chapter 1: Jump-Starting Traffic and Driving Sales
Defining Key Elements for Digital Marketing Success
Getting to Know Your Buyers — Really Well
Calculating Your Site’s Conversion Rate
Figuring Out When You Get the Most Traffic
Leading Customers to the Right Web Pages
Enticing Customers to Convert
Chapter 2: Influencing for Attention and Customers
Writing Reviews
Becoming an Online Influencer
Chapter 3: Web Marketing at Work
Developing a Marketing Strategy
Gaining a Following with Social Media
Reeling in Customers with Newsletters
Automating Routine Tasks
Searching for Traffic with Search Engine Advertising
Chapter 4: Analyzing and Monitoring Your Customers
Tracking Trends
Measuring Website Traffic
Analyzing Your Traffic Analysis Software
Collecting the Correct Information
Getting to Know Your Customer
Chapter 5: Mastering Search Engines, Optimization, and Rankings
Navigating the Ins and Outs of Major Search Engines
Getting Your Website Noticed by Search Engines
Placing Keywords in Key Spots on Your Website
Arranging Your Pages Strategically
Watching Your Rankings
Moving Up in the Rankings
Book 7: E-Commerce Fundamentals
Chapter 1: Starting Up with E-Commerce Functionality
Knowing What You Want: Features
Realizing What You Can Have: Cost
Shopping for E-Commerce Solutions
Chapter 2: Web-ify Your Store with Shopify
Why Open a Shopify Store?
Setting Up Shop
Managing Your Shopify Store
Selecting a Plan
Breaking Down the Fees
Growing with Your New Business Partner
Chapter 3: Making eBay THE Way
Understanding How eBay Works
Getting Started on eBay
Setting Up an Item for Sale
Opening an eBay Store
Chapter 4: Posting Pictures for Profit
Establishing Your Instagram Account
Enticing Customers to Your Instagram Offering
Providing Great Content and Community for Your Instagram Feed
Book 8: E-Commerce Trends and Market Opportunities
Chapter 1: Discovering Niche Markets
Deciding to Sell a Niche Product
Finding Your Niche
Chapter 2: Becoming a Social Influencer for Real Dollars
Setting the Virtual Stage for Success
Understanding How to Profit
Developing Your Fan Base
Choosing the Right Platform
Creating Your Own Video Channel
Gathering, Networking, and Promoting: Online Communities
Chapter 3: Evaluating the SaaS Model: Selling Software and Apps
Deciding to Deliver Online Services
Putting the Software in the SaaS
Understanding the SaaS Model for Making Money
Creating Apps for the Mobile Customer
Chapter 4: Generating Efficiencies and Opportunities with AI, ChatGPT, and More
Understanding the Basics of the Technology
Creating with Artificial Intelligence
Using ChatGPT to Your Advantage
Identifying What’s Coming Next
Chapter 5: Building a POD (Print-on-Demand) Business
Avoiding the Inventory Trap (the Basics of POD)
Choosing Customized Products
Selecting a POD Partner
Know Your (Cost) Margins
Building a Customer Base
Chapter 6: Growing Beyond Borders: The International Marketplace
Understanding the Scope of a Global Opportunity
Focusing on Target Countries
Making Operational Decisions
Developing Cultural Awareness
Book 9: E-Commerce Advanced
Chapter 1: Mapping the Digital Buyer’s Journey
Deconstructing the Path of an Online Buyer
Monitoring the Flipped and Fluid Digital Sales Funnel
Putting It All Together: The Buyer, the Conversion, the Channel
Chapter 2: Getting Personal with Content Marketing
Delivering the Goods with the Right Content Approach
Developing Buyer Personas
Creating Content for Storytelling and Consumption
Launching the Personalization Effort Online
Chapter 3: Overhauling an Aging Online Business
Paying Attention to the Signs
Using VOC to Understand What Your Customer Really Thinks
Listening and Taking Action: Time to Redesign
Qualifying for a Makeover from Lagging Sales
Reengaging Customers to Spend with You, Again
Chapter 4: Expanding Products to Increase Stagnant Sales
Figuring Out When to Expand Your Product Line
Replacement or Expansion: The Art of Culling Your Inventory
Finding Alternatives to Spur Growth
Chapter 5: Transitioning a Small Site into Big Business
Seeking Out the Next Level of Your Business
Purposefully Making the Next Move
Index
About the Authors
Connect with Dummies
End User License Agreement
List of Tables
Book 2 Chapter 4
TABLE 4-1 IRS Tax Forms Based on Business Type
TABLE 4-2 Due Dates for Payroll Taxes
TABLE 4-3 IRS Periods of Limitations
Book 3 Chapter 1
TABLE 1-1 Sampling of Extensions Used in Domain Registration
Book 5 Chapter 2
TABLE 2-1 Security Coverage Checklist
TABLE 2-2 Equipment Inventory Assessment Guide
Book 6 Chapter 3
TABLE 3-1 Email Newsletter Distribution Services
TABLE 3-2 Search Engine Advertising Companies
Book 9 Chapter 2
TABLE 2-1 Align Your Content to Each Stage of the Buyer’s Journey
Book 9 Chapter 5
TABLE 5-1 Associations for Online-Business Professionals
List of Illustrations
Book 1 Chapter 1
FIGURE 1-1: A timeline for starting your online business.
Book 1 Chapter 2
FIGURE 2-1: Using your close contacts and moving outward is a good method for g...
FIGURE 2-2: Start your SWOT chart to help investigate your business idea.
Book 2 Chapter 4
FIGURE 4-1: A sample balance sheet.
FIGURE 4-2: A sample income (P&L) statement.
Book 3 Chapter 1
FIGURE 1-1: A URL, deconstructed.
Book 3 Chapter 2
FIGURE 2-1: Guide the traffic flow through your site based on defined goals and...
FIGURE 2-2: The home page on your website leads into all your categories.
Book 3 Chapter 4
FIGURE 4-1: This site organizes its content to lead viewers to create a free ac...
FIGURE 4-2: Choose headlines and content that match your customers’ specific ne...
FIGURE 4-3: Prioritize and organize your content using short descriptions and i...
Book 3 Chapter 5
FIGURE 5-1: Compare your site in more than one browser and device.
FIGURE 5-2: When testing for mobile compatibility, don’t forget to check both i...
Book 4 Chapter 3
FIGURE 3-1: Processing credit cards online.
Book 5 Chapter 3
FIGURE 3-1: Overview of a wireless network.
Book 5 Chapter 4
FIGURE 4-1: Layers of security.
Book 6 Chapter 3
FIGURE 3-1: Google displays ads alongside its search results.
FIGURE 3-2: Tell Google Ads some info about your business.
FIGURE 3-3: Choose the keyword phrases to associate with your ad.
FIGURE 3-4: Set your daily ad budget here.
Book 6 Chapter 4
FIGURE 4-1: Your analytics reports shows you all the visitors and how much they...
FIGURE 4-2: See where your website visitors are coming from.
FIGURE 4-3: See how your viewers are navigating your website.
FIGURE 4-4: Ask your customers to agree to your placing cookies on their comput...
FIGURE 4-5: Ask customers what they like to buy and use that information.
Book 6 Chapter 5
FIGURE 5-1: Use separate
<META>
tags for different types of information...
FIGURE 5-2: See how important keywords are used throughout the page.
FIGURE 5-3: See the overall statistics of a website.
Book 7 Chapter 2
FIGURE 2-1: Tell Shopify which platforms your business will use.
FIGURE 2-2: Shopify creates your account.
FIGURE 2-3: Review the Shopify plans offered.
FIGURE 2-4: Access all your account controls from one screen.
FIGURE 2-5: Shopify wants to help you add your first product to your store.
FIGURE 2-6: Enter key details about your product.
FIGURE 2-7: Complete the pricing and shipping information for your product.
Book 7 Chapter 3
FIGURE 3-1: Enter your information here.
FIGURE 3-2: Decide on your unique eBay ID.
FIGURE 3-3: eBay needs your personal and bank account information.
FIGURE 3-4: Edit your eBay profile page.
FIGURE 3-5: You give eBay the details on how you’re willing to ship your item.
FIGURE 3-6: Feedback becomes your instant reputation on eBay.
FIGURE 3-7: The central hub for updating your eBay store.
Book 7 Chapter 4
FIGURE 4-1: The menu options available from the Instagram Profile screen.
FIGURE 4-2: The Preferences screen.
FIGURE 4-3: You can provide contact information for customers to find on Instag...
FIGURE 4-4: Instagram is able to connect your business account with your Facebo...
Book 8 Chapter 4
FIGURE 4-1: AI image generators use prompts for you to describe the type of pic...
Book 9 Chapter 1
FIGURE 1-1: The traditional sales funnel was a direct route to purchase.
FIGURE 1-2: Buyers move in and out of the various stages of the modern sales fu...
Book 9 Chapter 3
FIGURE 3-1: Your checklist for evaluating change.
Book 9 Chapter 4
FIGURE 4-1: The four stages of a product’s life cycle.
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Begin Reading
Index
About the Authors
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Starting an Online Business All-in-One For Dummies®, 7th Edition
Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2024942909
ISBN 978-1-394-27108-5 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-394-27110-8 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-394-27109-2 (ebk)
Introduction
Online businesses have finally found a permanent foothold in today’s marketplace, leaving little doubt that the Internet is not only the conduit for a viable online-business model, but is often a necessary tool for building, managing, and growing any type of business. Even traditional retailers are increasingly seeing their e-commerce sales eclipse in-store sales throughout the year, and especially during major shopping holidays, such as Black Friday.
We are excited about the potential that an online business holds and the fact that e-commerce and digital marketing are now thought of as necessary components of almost any business. Since beginning our own online endeavors, we have had the privilege of meeting and working with a variety of entrepreneurs — people who, much like you, share a dream of finding economic independence by running their own businesses. As you might have guessed, many of them found success on the Internet.
The Internet provides not only a legitimate resource for starting a business that will offer a steady source of income for your family, but also a nearly endless source of ideas and opportunities to market and grow your company. It can even give you the flexibility to work from home, the freedom to work part-time, or the ability to earn an additional source of income to help make your life more enjoyable. And maybe your online business could be the next Amazon, eBay, or Facebook! Almost anything is possible with the Internet, but the pursuit of success starts with a good idea, a solid business foundation, and an endless amount of determination and hard work.
In this book, we help get you started by sharing with you the knowledge and tools we’ve picked up along the way and by providing you with a few shortcuts to help further your own online endeavors.
About This Book
Much has changed since we wrote the first edition of this book in 2006, but much has stayed the same. Our number-one goal for the book — to cover the many ways you can start or expand a business by using the Internet — is still the same. Likewise, many of the basic principles for starting your online business are still tried-and-true methods. For this seventh edition, we took great care to update all the key information that has remained valid in the past few years. Our second goal for the book is to expose you, the reader, to new trends and tools that can be utilized by all types of businesses from nonprofit organizations to traditional retailers. We searched out many of the new opportunities that have recently evolved. For example, the expanding use of artificial intelligence (AI), ChatGPT, print-on-demand (POD) capabilities, and an ever-expanding international marketplace, all of which are forever changing the way businesses must operate online.
Artificial intelligence alone has affected almost every area of online businesses, from developing and refining content for your business to downloading mobile applications and updating the logistics backend of how you organize inventory and ship packages. AI can help businesses look at their data and give the business owners some insight into how to approach potential customers with AI–written personalized communication to convert them into buying customers. AI programs called chatbots can help businesses reduce customer support costs by answering user questions. In addition, the increased sophistication and reduced costs of making goods in a “print-on-demand” environment change the game and enable aspiring entrepreneurs to respond quickly and nimbly to trends and fads and carry a dynamic assortment of relevant and timely products. And as the world becomes more connected and technologically advanced, an online business has even easier access to a global audience of potential customers. While the complexities and regulations of offering your products to a truly international audience may seem intimidating to some, for entrepreneurs it all leads to new ways to make money online, which we delve into a little deeper in this edition of the book.
Similarly, another change that continues to gain momentum and provide online-business opportunities is social commerce. Newer social media networking sites, such as Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, have joined X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Pinterest in becoming necessary staples for both promoting your business and making money. There is an entire industry of “influencers” that is not only guiding consumers on what to buy, but has also become a new job path or business plan for some people to develop a following and monetize their reviews and guides for potential customers. Nonprofit organizations are realizing significant boosts in fundraising dollars thanks to the power of donations through social media. Powering all these platforms and online businesses is the use of content to help drive website traffic (customers). Google continues to emphasize the importance of quality content and rewards those online businesses that follow suit and produce with better search engine rankings. Knowing what type of content visitors want to see and understanding how to deliver it for the best results are now critical parts of managing and growing an online business. It may seem like a lot of information, but don’t worry! All these changes (and more!) are captured in this newest edition of our book.
The book also provides you with details regarding specific online-business strategies and moneymaking opportunities but also covers basic offline information. It’s the stuff that every small-business owner needs to understand, such as how to apply standard accounting principles and keep up with the legal side of running a business.
Of course, using this book doesn’t guarantee that you will make a lot of money — or any money, for that matter. We provide you with just enough knowledge and inspiration to keep your online-business dreams on track. Running a business is hard work and requires persistence, dedication, and perhaps an equal mix of patience and luck.
Foolish Assumptions
While we wrote this book, we assumed a few things about you:
You’re a smart, inquisitive person who is seeking information about running a business on the Internet.
You have an entrepreneurial spirit and are a bit of a risk taker — at least in the area of starting a business.
You may be looking for ways to use the Internet to build an existing bricks-and-mortar business or to increase online donations for a nonprofit organization.
You’re comfortable using computers and browsing the Internet.
You use email regularly.
You’re willing to find out about new technologies.
You want to use websites and online technologies to build a brand.
You’re open to the idea of reaching out to others on the Internet using social media, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Snapchat.
You want to use the Internet to make money.
You’ve bought items online and maybe even sold a few things.
Icons Used in This Book
Throughout the book, icons call attention to important details.
This friendly reminder serves up important information. Whenever you see this icon, know that this information is something worthwhile to keep in mind as you move forward.
You can usually understand an idea without having to know its behind-the scenes details. Even when we point them out with this icon, feel free to skip them and move on.
Check out this helpful hint. We picked up this information somewhere along the way.
Pay special attention when this icon appears. It could save you from making a fatal error — at least in your online business!
Beyond the Book
In addition to what you’re reading now, this book also comes with a free access-anywhere Cheat Sheet that gives you even more pointers on how to build a loyal online customer base and promote your business through social media. Also check out our list of web resources for online businesses as well as our handy checklist when launching your online business. To get this Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and type Starting an Online Business All-in-One For Dummies Cheat Sheet in the Search box.
Where to Go from Here
You can start reading any section of the book that most interests you or that you think is helpful to you and your business. For example, if you’re starting a business for the first time, you might want to begin with Book 1. For those needing a boost in marketing or expanding an existing business, you probably want to go directly to the books that discuss those specific topics. However, you should at least browse through every section of this book.
Even if your e-commerce skills are more advanced, it never hurts to have a refresher course on some business basics. Considering that the Internet touches many different aspects of people’s lives, you never know what unexpected tidbits of information you might discover.
If you have questions or comments, you are welcome to share them with us on X (www.twitter.com/shannonbelew and www.twitter.com/joelelad) or connect with us on LinkedIn.
Book 1
Start-Up Essentials
Contents at a Glance
Chapter 1: Starting from Scratch
What Are You Waiting For? Start Your Business Now!
Choosing Just the Right Business
Getting Started
Chapter 2: Turning Ideas into a Viable Internet Business
Thinking Like an Online Entrepreneur
Putting Your Business Idea under the Microscope
Identifying Your Market and Target Customer
Competing to Win: Analyzing Your Competition
Chapter 3: Getting Real: Creating a Usable Business Plan
Understanding the Value of a Plan
Recognizing That the Parts of the Plan Make a Whole
Getting Help to Write the Plan
Using a Business Plan Today, Tomorrow, and Always
Chapter 4: Funding Your Online Business
Bootstrapping the Low-Cost, No-Cost Site
Finding the Perfect Investor
Checking Out Alternative Financing
Taking a Shortcut: Purchasing an Existing Site
Chapter 5: Creating Policies and Managing Compliance to Keep It Real
Taking Care of Customers
Delivering on Your Promises
Putting Policies in Place
Complying With the Law
Chapter 1
Starting from Scratch
IN THIS CHAPTER
Recognizing when the time is right
Understanding the different types of online businesses
Gathering your thoughts and getting started
It’s sometimes difficult to remember a time when we didn’t have instant online access to almost anything desired, from finding a phone number for a new business (no phone book necessary!) to ordering groceries from Amazon and having them delivered to your doorstep within hours (without ever leaving the comfort of your sofa!). The Internet has replaced or supplemented trips to the mall, library, bank, gym, auto dealership … the list is almost endless. You name it; there’s little you cannot find, access, or buy online. Behind each of these unique and convenient online retailers are entrepreneurs that started out just like you — with a good idea for an online business and the motivation to turn it into a reality.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that everyone from consumers to investors now recognizes the legitimacy of online businesses. It was once considered risky to shop online. But an Internet-based business model has proven to be a worthwhile investment time and time again, with the same potential risks and rewards as any other type of business. Add to the mix that technology has also come a long way, and shopping online using everything from a desktop computer or laptop to a tablet or a web-enabled mobile phone (smartphone) is as easy as ever. Online-shopping options don’t stop there. It’s now common to shop by voice using Alexa or similar devices. And “smart” appliances, such as refrigerators, can sync with a mobile app or have a built-in screen to restock or order groceries online.
For anyone who remained skeptical, their attitudes likely changed during the global COVID-19 pandemic, which forced consumer buying habits to shift online out of necessity. A world of home-bound shoppers resulted in a 43 percent increase in e-commerce sales in the first year of the pandemic. (E-commerce, or electronic commerce, is a type of business activity conducted over the Internet, such as sales or advertising.) According to a report from the U.S. Census Bureau, online sales skyrocketed to $815 billion in 2020! And the confidence in online buying as a legitimate (and necessary!) business model has not only remained steady, but has continued to see double-digit increases in sales, year-over-year — for all types of products and services in almost every industry.
Individuals are not the only ones spending more on online transactions. Increasingly, businesses of all sizes are also buying products and services online. Those same companies are also spending money to advertise on the Internet and reach their customers through traditional websites and social media sites. All these interactions represent a business opportunity by which people earn a living on the Internet. Why shouldn’t one of those people be you?
Even during challenging economic conditions and the most extreme world health crisis, when traditional retail stores have struggled with growth, online retail sales continue to surge. Traditional retailers continue to see more revenue come from their websites, accounting for more than 15 percent of total retail sales in 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Even more staggering is that the same report noted that total e-commerce sales in 2023 generated more than $1.8 trillion. By comparison, when U.S. government agencies first started tracking e-commerce sales in 1998, annual sales were only $5 million. That’s considerable growth across only two decades, and further speaks to the stability and opportunity offered from an online business. With all this growth, you may wonder if it’s too late to profit. The answer is — no! Research and economic forecasts from multiple sources predict strong, continued growth of e-commerce sales globally. Even social media sites are providing an avenue for making and increasing online sales, thanks to 107 million buyers who collectively drove more than $67 billion in social commerce sales in 2023, according to the Insider Intelligence report from eMarketer, an independent market research company.
Though all of these facts and figures are impressive, these numbers are from the United States, and North America represents only a small portion of potential online consumers. The international market is expected to exceed $5 trillion in sales by 2027, for the B2C (business-to-consumer) segment and $36 trillion by 2026 for the B2B (business-to-business) segment, as forecast by the International Trade Administration (ITA). Much like the United States, countries across Europe and the Asia-Pacific region are seeing steady increases in sales, but the most substantial opportunity for e-commerce sales is in Latin America and the Middle East. No matter where you are geographically located, there is potential to increase your online revenue through international sales. We discuss that in more detail in Book 8, Chapter 6. Isn’t it time you join this generation of online entrepreneurs and take advantage of these rapidly growing markets and start an online business? In this chapter, we describe the kinds of businesses that exist online and motivate you to get started.
What Are You Waiting For? Start Your Business Now!
You might have dreamed for years about starting an online business. Or perhaps you woke up just yesterday with a brilliant idea. What are you waiting for? The truth is that the most difficult part of beginning a new endeavor is making the decision to do it. You can easily get bogged down with excuses for why your business won’t happen. To keep you motivated and on track, here’s a list of the top reasons to start an online business now:
You can gain financial freedom.
One major incentive for owning any business is the potential for a better income. The Internet offers the opportunity to create your own wealth.
You have unlimited customer reach.
No geographical boundaries exist when you run a business over the Internet. You can choose to sell your products or services in your community, in your own country, or to the entire world.
It’s affordable.
You can now create a website inexpensively and sometimes for free. The cost to maintain your site, secure products, and cover related expenses is often relatively low. This low start-up cost is especially evident when you compare the start-up costs of an online business and a traditional
bricks-and-mortar business
(a physical building from which to sell retail merchandise).
Your schedule is flexible.
Part-time, full-time, year-round, or seasonal: Your schedule is up to you when you operate your virtual business. You can work in the wee hours of the night or in the middle of the day. An online business affords you the luxury of creating a schedule that works for you. (Of course, the more time you invest, typically the greater your earnings potential!)
Novices are welcome.
As the Internet has grown, e-commerce applications have become increasingly simple to use. Although you benefit by having experience with your products or services, the process of offering those items for sale online is easy to understand. You can set up shop with little or no experience under your belt!
You can start quickly.
From online auction sites such as eBay to storefronts powered by
Shopify.com
, the tools that can help get you started are readily available, essentially overnight. Many of these sites (such as Shopify) handle all the details for you — they set up the website infrastructure, manage the payment and shopping-cart system, and may even provide easy access to merchandise or provide information on how to get your products.
You can expand an existing business.
If you already own a business, the Internet provides you with the most economical and most efficient way to expose your business to a huge new group of customers and increase sales.
No age barriers exist.
You might be retired and itching for extra income, or perhaps you’re a teenager who’s only beginning to consider career opportunities. Online businesses provide economic opportunities for entrepreneurs of all ages.
A variety of ideas qualify.
As proven time and again, the Internet supports a broad range of business concepts. Although some ideas are better suited to long-term success, almost all your ideas have potential.
Niche markets hold unlimited potential.
Thanks to the reach of the Internet, unique or custom products and services have a potentially lucrative home in e-commerce. These products and services may not generate a large enough demand in a local market to sustain an offline business, but can find a significant niche customer base through the broad reach of an online audience.
Everyone else is doing it.
Okay, maybe your parents wouldn’t approve of using this logic. It’s certainly true, though: People around the world are finding success and more financial freedom by starting businesses online. It’s one leap you should be proud to take!
If you’re still hesitant, consider this bonus reason: The information you need to take your business online is right at your fingertips — literally. This book gives you most of what you need to get started. Whatever else you require, such as information about conducting business in your specific state or country, or regulations for your specific industry, is on the Internet (put there by some other enterprising entrepreneur, no doubt). You have no more excuses!
Choosing Just the Right Business
After you decide to start your own online business, you should look at the different categories of online businesses from which you can choose. In this section, we conveniently provide those categories.
Not all online businesses will explode like Amazon, eBay, YouTube, or Facebook. But even if your business never grows into a megabrand, you need to plan for the long haul. You want your business to succeed and survive. Also, selecting the right type of online business is just as important. Losing interest or lacking an understanding of your chosen business area can hinder the growth of your new online business. Putting some thought into the type of online business you want to pursue pays off.
Creating online businesses for today and tomorrow
The secret to e-commerce success is to create a business that will stand the test of time. Sure, some people take advantage of relatively short-lived trends and make a mint (from Hoverboards to fidget spinners, for example). The odds that you could create the same magnitude of buying hysteria with a product or service, however, are small. Instead, hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs are quietly and steadily making a respectable living by using the Internet, and their ideas will find a market for many years. They’re not making millions of dollars a month, but they’re paying their bills and making a profit.
The widely used term online business can be used in different ways. It sometimes refers to a company that operates only over the Internet and has no other physical location from which to sell goods or services. It can refer to a traditional bricks-and-mortar business that also sells over the Internet. And we sometimes use it to reference a segment of revenues generated from the web for traditional businesses or organizations. In this book, an online business is any entity (or person) using the Internet, in whole or part, as a source of income for itself, its business, or its organization (such as a club or a nonprofit agency).
Finding a business that’s your type
You can pursue a variety of businesses to earn money online. Almost all types of income-generating opportunities fall into one of two categories:
Business to consumer (B2C):
Customers are typically the individual consumers who make up the general public. They buy products or services designed for personal use.
Business to business (B2B):
Customers are most likely other businesses. They might buy hospital equipment, steel by the ton, employee uniforms, or anything that would be used primarily by a company.
Crossover between the two categories can occur. Sometimes, either type of customer can use the products or services you offer, as is the case with office supplies. And with more businesses now shopping online, this crossover occurs frequently.
Knowing whether your primary customers are individuals or businesses helps you to create more effective marketing campaigns. Typically, these two groups buy from you for very different reasons. By marketing to each individual group, you can better target your advertising messages for increased sales. You may find that your primary customers require (or respond better to) one type of marketing and that your secondary customers require another type.
Within the two primary categories, you find the different types of businesses you can operate. Here are a few examples of the ways in which you can generate revenue online:
Online retail:
When you have a bricks-and-mortar (or traditional retail) store and offer your products for sale online as well, you enter the world of online retailing. You’re responsible for hiring the resources and purchasing the tools needed to sell your wares over the Internet. One example of an online retailer is the Barnes & Noble bookstore — you can buy your books online or visit the bricks-and-mortar store. As mentioned, most traditional businesses now have some component of revenue that comes from online sales.
Pure e-commerce: E-commerce is a broad term used to describe the transaction of business via the Internet. E-commerce can also refer to any website where you sell merchandise and may lack a physical location for customers to visit in person (bricks-and-mortar store). For years, the term commonly used for this type of online business has been an e-commerce storefront. (Offline, the retail industry uses this term to describe the outside of a building, which includes its signage, front door, and overall image.) As online businesses, and e-commerce, have matured, the term storefront isn’t used as often. Instead, you may hear someone simply refer to a business as an e-commerce site (regardless of how it’s structured) or online merchant. In this book, we continue to use storefront to refer to a one-stop shop for setting up an online presence to sell products. Etsy (www.etsy.com) is an example of a storefront. The storefront site provides you with a custom page that displays all your wares. Etsy allows you to customize the page from which you sell your handcrafted or vintage wares. Think of it as a flea market or one of those small kiosks you see in the mall — you get your very own little shopping area that you can customize, and visitors to your page see your merchandise and can learn a little about you if you choose to include personal information about yourself or your business.
We discuss e-commerce fundamentals, including simplified solutions for storefronts, in more detail in Book 7. For now, you need to know that good storefront providers offer the following:
Templates for your website:
You don’t need to build a site from scratch. Many storefront providers offer wizards or HTML files that you can customize for your storefront. Website builder WIX (
www.wix.com
) is also an easy tool that uses drag-and-drop functionality to make it simple to build a site.
Hosting options:
Many storefront providers have a variety of options for you, some free and some for a fee. These options might include shopping-cart systems, phone support for your storefront, and discounts on fees if you pay rent by the year rather than monthly.
A shopping-cart solution:
When selling items on your website, online customers need a place to hold items as they shop, and then complete the purchase process. This virtual shopping cart is actually a back-end solution that customers use to buy products from you.
Payment options:
The capability to accept online payment (credit card or debit card) is an absolute must. But other options allow payment to be deferred or even allow financing of purchases.
Products (in some cases):
Your preferred storefront solution may offer you everything but the kitchen sink, as the saying goes. Increasingly, you have the option to use a provider that also supplies the product. Your contribution is providing unique artwork or content, or simply providing traffic, or customers (as with an Etsy storefront).
An auction (in some cases):
The way your customers buy products is somewhat different when you auction items. Your customers can bid on the final purchase price, as opposed to buying at a price you set. (eBay, the daddy of all online auction sites, has become so popular, however, that it has blurred the lines among auction, storefront, and online retail. We discuss eBay in Book 7,
Chapter 3
.)
Service business:
You don’t have to sell products to have an online business. From doing taxes to writing brochures, most professional services can be sold online, just like physical products. Web-based services or applications, also called software as a service (SaaS), is another type of service business and is often sold B2B.
Content site:
Charging a fee for content and information products has become an accepted business model, provided the content has sufficient perceived value, whether informative, educational, or entertaining. And as a content site becomes more popular with visitors, options such as paid advertisements on the site can also generate income. Savvy entrepreneurs, like those who founded Patreon (
www.patreon.com
), have built platforms that make it easy for content creators to build a community of online fans and sell their digital content. The growing use of electronic readers and Apple’s iPad are also helping create more acceptance and demand for paid content of all types, from e-books to podcasts. Similarly, the popularity of YouTube and other social media sites is driving interest in video. When you consider types of content to offer for sale, include video as an option for your paid content offerings.
Social commerce:
A growing online moneymaking opportunity is found in a category labeled
social commerce.
People are discovering ways to earn revenue from Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and other
social sites
(online venues that connect and engage consumers). Whether it’s selling games and apps through social media sites, opening an online boutique on Instagram, or boosting online sales of products and services through engagement in social networks, one thing is certain: Social commerce is a real opportunity for a viable online business.
E-commerce applications:
If anything lends itself for sale over the Internet, it’s technology. E-commerce applications continue to provide lucrative growth for innovators. Think of e-commerce as any type of technology product that makes doing business online (and offline) easier. Inventory programs, shopping-cart solutions, and payroll management software are all examples of innovations that fit nicely in this category.
In Book 4, we explain how to create a revenue model for your business; you can apply this model to any of the types of businesses in the preceding list.
As you can see, you have no shortage of opportunities to satisfy your urge to start a business. After you officially decide to take the plunge, you can narrow the field and get started.
Getting Started
Even after reading this entire chapter, you might still consider having an online business to be a dream — a vision for your future. You might want to take small steps, testing the water to see whether an online business is right for you, just as you dip your toe into a pool before diving in. At some point, though, you have to decide to go for it. To that end, this checklist describes what you need to do to begin wading into your own online business:
Make the decision to commit.
Although you don’t have to quit your day job, you need to acknowledge that you’re ready to pursue your goal. Say aloud, “I want to start an online business!”
Set clear goals.
Write down
why
you want this business and what you expect to gain from it. These goals can be related to financial objectives, lifestyle goals, or both. If you know what you’re looking for, you can also more easily choose the right business to meet your needs.
Talk with your family.
After you commit to your idea and establish your goals, share your plan. If you’re married or living with a partner, talk about your vision for the future. After all, your dream for an online business affects that person’s life too. Discussing your plans with family is also a helpful step in making your business a reality.
Create an action timeline.
Unlike the broad goals you set in the first item in this list, writing down specific action steps can help you realize tangible results. From researching business ideas to obtaining a business license, assign a targeted date of completion to further ensure that you make each step happen. (
Figure 1-1
shows an example of an action timeline to use with your business.)
Identify a business.
As we show you in the preceding section, you can choose from different types of businesses to operate online. Before going any further, however, you have to decide which business to pursue. Narrow your choices by thinking about what you enjoy doing or which specific qualifications you already possess. Consider your professional experience and your personal desires. You might even have a hobby that can be developed into a moneymaking business.
Develop your business idea.
Define your idea and determine how you will turn it into a profitable online business. (Read Book 1,
Chapter 2
when you’re ready to evaluate whether your idea is feasible.)
After you make it through this checklist, you’re ready to go to work and transform your dream into a legitimate business.
FIGURE 1-1: A timeline for starting your online business.
Chapter 2
Turning Ideas into a Viable Internet Business
IN THIS CHAPTER
Training yourself to think like an online entrepreneur
Evaluating your business idea’s chances for success
Scrutinizing your future customers
Picking apart your competitors
Congratulations! After you make the emotional commitment to get started, you have to shift gears and concentrate on the next set of actions that will make your Internet business a reality. From evaluating the potential success of your idea to identifying who will buy your products, in this chapter you gain the tools to help get your idea off the ground. In the process, you begin thinking like an online entrepreneur and find out how to start your business on the right track.
Thinking Like an Online Entrepreneur
Using the Internet to conduct business is similar in many ways to operating a traditional company. In fact, many traditional offline businesses now conduct part of their business online. Today, consumers research products and services online and expect to be able to buy products or services online, even from bricks-and-mortar stores. For those reasons, the lines between online and offline businesses are increasingly blurred.
Profitability (or how much money you make after subtracting your expenses), taxes, marketing, advertising, and customer feedback are other examples of factors that affect your business whether it’s online or offline. However, some exceptions set apart an online business, particularly in regard to how you deliver products and service your customers. Even the most experienced entrepreneur can get caught in the trap of forgetting those differences. Your attitude and how you approach the business as an online entrepreneur can make a huge difference in how successful you are online.
Adjusting your attitude slightly and viewing business from behind the lens of an online entrepreneur isn’t difficult. Doing so is simply a matter of recognizing that the Internet changes the way you can and should operate your online business.
When you think like an online entrepreneur, you
See the invisible storefront.
Although the doors, walls, and even the salesclerk for your online business might be invisible, they definitely exist. In fact, every part of your web business leaves a distinct impression. Yet rarely do you hear or see the response to your storefront directly from customers. Consequently, and contrary to popular belief, a website demands your continual care and attention — adding products, fixing bugs, replying to email, and more.
Understand who your customers are.
