10 things to consider when starting an on line business
Working From Home:
How easy can that be? For most of us I am afraid there are far too many distractions!
It is easy to say we will spend a certain amount of time working around our business but life happens.
Here are some strategies to get you started down the right path.
Be sure to have some kind of office program on your computer and learn how to use it to store all sorts of information around your business.
I use One Note from Microsoft to keep track of what I am doing on a daily basis.
I keep my log ins, my posts and all other communications here in one place in one binder named WBN ( Women’s Business Network). I have other binders for other projects from favorite recipes to airline e tickets.
Have a place in your home designated to working on line. Have a comfortable chair, light and all the little things that make your space seem like you want to shift into you business mode for an hour or two. If you have to use a family space buy yourself a beautiful basket or re design file box to store all your office supplies!
Here’s a few pointers I found on line around working from home.
10 Necessities for a Home Based Business
By: Dan Mitchel
When you make the decision to earn income from the internet you will need to go through a set up process to be ready for business.
Following are the basic steps in setting up for home business success.
1. Attitude
The key to your business success is your attitude.
Treat your business like a business.
This is critical whether you are working part-time or full-time. One of my colleagues is a mother who works from home around her family. She has always put her family first whilst at the same time developing her business. She says, “I work part-time, but I have a full-time attitude.”
Put another way, “If you have a hobby attitude you will have a hobby income, if you have a business attitude you will have a business income.”
You can be successful working part-time and you can be successful working full-time but it is highly unlikely that you will be successful working in your “spare time”.
2. Working Environment
A space that you can call your own, free from distractions for your scheduled time.
A comfortable chair and organized desk. Office supplies at hand.
3. Schedule
Develop a schedule that works for you, your family (or “significant others”) and your business. When you allot a block of time for work then use that time for work. Equally important is to schedule time for your other commitments – family time, self education ( reading, listening and viewing), “health time” (exercise, cooking and eating), and leisure time. During these other times don’t work. After all if one of the reasons to work from home is to spend more time with your family then you don’t want your working at home time to consume your family time.
You are working for yourself and your schedule (by your choice) is your “boss”. When you have people calling you or dropping around unexpectedly or maybe out-of-town visitors may want to catch up with you then you need to make a choice. Are you committed to your own business success? What will be your choice in these situations? Only you can decide what is important to you.
In a family environment you may need to negotiate with your partner and children to have your business time agreed upon, during which you will not be interrupted. Put this schedule prominently somewhere so all family members are aware of your work schedule.
4. Describe Your Business
Be able to describe your business concisely; a powerful one or two sentence description that someone can repeat in describing your business to others. A unique and memorable tag line can also be invaluable for promoting your business.
5. Know Your Product or Service
Once you have selected your product or service to sell, it may or may not be something that you use yourself but you need to know your product intimately. If you are selling e-books then know the content and its value. If you are selling software then use it, know it “inside out”. You will develop a reputation of providing quality information and because of your product knowledge you can become the preferred supplier.
6. Administration
Use good record keeping practices.
This may involve a consultation with a tax adviser who can let you know about the optimal way to set up your financial records and what records need to be kept. Your adviser will also recommend record keeping systems and you can find out what software may simplify this aspect of your business. Additionally your obtain advice on the best arrangement for your bank accounts. You will most likely be advised to have a separate bank account.
7. Computer Protection
Your computer is the lifeline to your business dealings and must be protected including the data that is stored.
You need a virus scanner, personal firewall, anti-spyware, and anti-ad ware and preferably an email scanner with the ability to delete suspect of spam email from the server before it is downloaded to your computer.
Some suggestions are:
AVG Anti-Virus: http://www.grisoft.com
Spybot S&D: http://www.safer-networking.org
Microsoft Anti-Spyware: http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx
Adaware: http://www.lavasoft.com/
Mailwasher Email Scanner: http://www.mailwasher.net
8. A Domain Name
You will most likely need a domain name for your business and one cost effective registrar is Go Daddy,
9. Payment Processing
You will need a way to process credit cards; that may be using services such as:
– PayPal https://www.paypal.com
– Storm Pay http://www.stormpay.com
– 2 Checkout http://www.2checkout.com
– Click bank http://www.clickbank.com or others.
This is the most economical way to get started. Once your business picks up you may need to look into your own merchant account for credit card transactions.
Consideration may also be given to other forms of online currency such as eGold http://www.egold.com
10. Email accounts
Once you have your own domain you can use an associated email account. This can further assist in the promotion of your business and promotes a more professional business image.
As a final comment on continuing in your internet business, conduct your business ethically, provide extraordinary service, and be proud to put your name to the products or services that you are selling and you will be on track to developing a sustainable long term internet business.
About the Author:
Dan Mitchell reports on blogs for http://www.bloggingtrends.com
Great information to have. Thanks to Dan Mitchell!
I know it may seem overwhelming in the beginning. Hang ON!
THE GOOD NEWS IS:
WE HAVE A TEAM OF WOMEN TO HELP YOU RIGHT HERE!
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