Everyone wants to start their own business and become their own boss, but many don’t know how to do it. There are various types of home based businesses. Service businesses, product sales, and web-based home businesses to name a few.
In this article, I’ll walk you through the process of starting your own online business from home. I’ll try to take some of the mystery out of the process. By following this guide, you will be up and running in no time without making a huge investment.
First, you need to know what your business is going to do. Will you provide a service? Do you intend to sell products? These are the two general types of online home based businesses that I will discuss in this article.
If you plan to provide a service, what type of service will you provide? Will it be provided to people who own websites? Will it be a service that everyone can use, or will it be limited to your area?
Ask similar questions if you plan to sell a product. Will it be a product that you sell and deliver locally, nationally or internationally? If you choose worldwide, do you know anything about shipping your product abroad? The same applies to domestic delivery. Are you aware of the costs associated with having your product delivered anywhere in the country where you live?
Once you’ve answered these questions, you’ll have a better idea of how your home web business will eventually take shape.
Then you will need a domain name. Most people think that your business name is the best way to get a domain name, however, a generic domain name with keywords associated with your product or service will serve you much better. You can also register your company name as a domain name and direct it to your website, but it’s not required.
The generic domain name can help you with search engine traffic and may be easier to remember. This is just one of many factors that will help you with search engine optimization, but it’s a step you should take early on. Example: Cars.com is a better domain name than Ford.com, even though Ford has spent millions on advertising and branding. Even cheapusedcars.com is better because people will search for it.
You need to find a good domain name registrar, not a cheap domain registrar. Cheap means cheap in the field of domain names. Your domain name is important. Spending $25 a year on a registrar that offers more services and quality VS spending $10 or less on a cheap registrar is what we are talking about here. If this extra $15 a year will make or break your home business, then maybe you shouldn’t start one.
Then you will need a web hosting service. Once again, cheaper is not better. There are good hosting services for $100 a year or even a little less. Anyone offering you accommodation for less than that should raise a red flag. Choose and pay for at least one year, just as you have registered your domain name. If you’re going with a monthly plan, you probably aren’t fully committed to your new home business.
You now have your domain name and hosting for your new website, but where is the website and how can I get it? You have several options. You can learn HTML and create your own. You can use a WYSIWYG editor like FrontPage to create your own website. You can hire someone to build your website for you.
First, let’s talk about learning HTML to create your own home business website. There is a learning curve here. This is the best option of the three I mentioned above, but it takes time to learn. It probably won’t be operational for a few days with this option. It will save you a lot of money in the long run to learn HTML and build your own websites. The more websites you have in your wallet, the more you will have at least one that will be a big winner. Writing your own code means you can create a new site as often as you like.
Next, create your own home business website with a WYSIWYG editor. (What you see is what you get). These editors are similar to creating a document. Everything is visual and it is not necessary
Part code.
Then, hiring a web designer to create your home business website is another option. A professional website designer knows how to give his website the look he needs. However, be careful when choosing a web designer. I’ll add a few things to keep in mind here;
1. If they say they will register the domain name for you, say no. Registering a domain name is not technically difficult. Do it yourself. Many web designers register the domain name at the cheapest place they can find and then charge you $100 or more per year for the domain name. So many of them register it in their own name! This will cause you big problems if you decide to stop using their services. The domain name should always be in your name.
2. Ask them what program they use to build their website. If you are going to use FrontPage or Dreamweaver or another WYSIWYG editor, you can also create your own business website from home. If they don’t write HTML from scratch, then they shouldn’t be in the web design business.
3. If they want to bill you monthly to run their website, be careful. Do not sign annual contracts. Your job is to build a home business website. Let them stick to it. Most designers are just designers. They are not search engine gurus, business leaders or anything else. Hire a designer to design and others to do what they’re good at.
4. Don’t let them talk about features you don’t need. Just like used car dealers, they will try to get you to add a lot of bells and whistles that you don’t need.
5. A brochure website is one that is basically designed to let people know what products or services you are providing and to contact you for more information. This is usually a home page, an about page, and a contact page. It shouldn’t cost you more than $500.
6. If you are going to add the ability to purchase your product or service by paying for it through your home business website, then it becomes an eCommerce website. Again, pay attention to the bells and whistles that the used website seller is trying to sell you. PayPal is a good option when you are starting out. You can easily get a PayPal account. You can create your own purchase buttons and insert them into your website with the code they provide you without being an HTML guru. You can even set shipping costs and everything else through PayPal for free. They charge small percentages per sale, but the services they provide are worth it. Plus, they don’t have setup fees or monthly fees like other ecommerce solutions. When your sales volume reaches thousands of dollars a month, you can look for a better solution, but until then, use PayPal.
7. An old adage among those who make money on the web is “You build first for show and the rest for dough.” What does this mean? You’ll probably be very concerned about the appearance of your website at first, but design is the least important aspect of your home web business. Many will disagree, but who cares? Let me repeat, design is the least important aspect of your home business. A beautiful website with no traffic gets uglier every day. An ugly website with money generating traffic becomes more beautiful per dollar. Create a total budget for your home web business. Do not spend more than 30% of this budget on design. Dedicate the rest of your website to promotion, advertising and other actions that attract customers. Don’t let a designer tell you that your design is more important than the success of your home-based business.
Now that your domain name, hosting, and website are up and running, now you need clients. Where do you find them? I have my website, now they won’t find me? No they will not.
There are many things you can do to get traffic. You can buy AdWords from Google, MSN (coming soon), or Yahoo. This sends you traffic from people searching for specific keywords. Keep an eye on the bids and set your spending limits until you see which keywords will earn you.