Starting An Online Store - What Nobody Tells You

Whether you've just lost your job, you're looking to stay home with the kids, or you just want to make some extra income the thought of an online business is very exciting! However, I can tell you from experience that the excitement can wear off fast. Many of us, including myself, jumped in with both feet and almost no online business experience. While that's not necessarily a bad thing, it does set you back. If only I knew then what I know now, I'd be years ahead!

The problem here isn't a lack of skills or even good products. Those can be found and even outsourced if necessary. The problem is one that many conventional businesses face; time, money, & passion. By the time you realize how many things you need to be an expert at to make it work, you are several months into the process and have already made some bad choices that may cost you severely.

So, instead of giving you a bunch of how to's that make me look like I know what I'm doing, I'd prefer to give you some solid advice on things that I wish I'd known before I started:

If you've ever read any books about starting a business (on or offline), this one is at the top of every list. If you are wondering why I'd even mention it here, it's because with an online business, this one is magnified ten fold!

Unlike an offline business, you will have no choice but to read, write, and generally breathe everything about your niche. That means the next year or two of your life will revolve around this niche whether you feel like it or not! Whether it be article marketing, Facebooking, Blogging, or simple content creation you need to become an "expert" at your niche, or you won't be found.

If you've found your widgets (or the niche you are passionate about), you've made a big step; Congratulations! If you're like many people, the next thing you want to do is name your company and buy a domain. DON'T DO IT!

This is where many people go wrong! This is where you can learn from offline businesses by building a business plan. Many people role their eyes here, but just hold on because it doesn't have to be that bad. Just take a moment and ask yourself some simple questions:

• What does the competitive landscape look like?  Google it.
  
• What is it that I'm offering that's unique to my competition?
• Is there anyone that I know that is my potential customer / would they be honest with me if I ran my business idea past them? Just do it!
  

By answering these simple questions you've started the basics of a business plan. Okay, so there won't be any financial data or complicated marketing plans, but at least you can be sure that you are filling a need in the marketplace. If you have trouble with this step, then you'll certainly have trouble later in the process. Get these answers right, and you'll be way ahead of the game and you won't have spent a dime!

Slow down there speedy!  What about your books?  I don't mean your dusty old Stephen King books, I mean your financial books.  How will you handle the money side of things.  It's easy to miss this step and say, "oh, I'll deal with that later", which will cost you down the road.  I realize that this isn't the sexiest thing you'll ever do, but it's important none the less.  At the bare minimum, you should meet with an accountant to discuss the basics.  Here are some things to consider:

• Accounting software isn't necessary, but is really helpful.  Look into QuickBooks or Peachtree.  You won't be able to run these without experience though, so be aware.
• Federal Tax ID. Again your accountant can help you with this.
  
• Business license.  Most cities will guide you with this; just head downtown.
  
• Insurance.  If you have an actual product you are selling, this could be a deal breaker, so be sure to check it out.  I suggest a broker since online businesses can be difficult to cover.  If you aren't selling any physical products, this might not be necessary.
  

So now that you've covered some basics, you've probably realized that your online market is saturated, right?  If not, then you either have found a gold mine or your market doesn't exist.  Either way this is the time to get some help!

While I'm always skeptical of internet marketing experts, they can be a big help.  I can tell you that one of the first steps we made in our online business was to select a domain name based on the name of our business Champagne Baby.  This is one of those mistakes that will haunt us forever.  If I'd only realized that nobody is looking for Champagne Baby; they are looking for baby gifts, baby shower gifts, new mother gifts, etc.  Of course I also didn't know that Google puts a lot of weight towards the keywords in your domain name.  If I'd only spoken to someone about this before hand things would be different.

Getting help on this issue is tough though because you don't really know who is good at what they do.  I personally would suggest finding someone who specializes in SEO.  Make sure you get references and check out the sites of the references before you do anything.  If you can find someone that is willing to give you a game plan, that would be best.  Don't fall for anyone promising you quick top google results for cash.  This is going to take a lot of work unless you use PPC (pay per click) which can be expensive if you don't know what you are doing.

Lastly, if you are afraid of building a website on your own, don't be.  Do a little research and you'll find that there are many e commerce site builders out there that don't require a bunch of coding.  Many you just pay a fee and upload your products.  Just realize that the cheaper and simpler the sites, the less customizable they are and less Google friendly they are.  Again, your SEO professional can guide you through this step.

This can be one of the hardest parts of an online business.  Just imagine the billions of web pages out there and you are just a needle in a very large haystack.  This is where your SEO friend should be helping you.  He or she will probably talk about a bunch of mumbo jumbo, but don't be scared!  The two biggest things to know are keywords and back-links.

If you are looking for instant success, then PPC is the way to go.  However, if you are looking for long-term growth and sustainability, organic search results are the way to go.  This will take a lot of work, but can pay dividends if you can get it right.  Here are some basic ways to get found:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Build Quality Hubpages
• Build Quality Squidoo Pages
• Build a Blog (Blogger or WordPress)
  
• Comment on Forums & other Blogs (Stay within your niche)
  
• Build Great Content / Build a great reputation
  

If all of this seems like too much work for you, then you may want to reconsider doing the online business.  Unless you have the funds to outsource this work, you will have to role up your sleeves and get'er done.