When starting an online business from scratch the newcomer as well as those who may have run an online business before will be faced with a number of choices and decisions.
The first thing that should be looked at is why you want to start a business on the Internet. There can be many good reasons why you might want to do this but equally if you are trying to set up an Internet business just for the sake of it, then chances are you are going to fail. The main reasons you may wish to start an Internet business are probably going to be one of, or a combination of the following.
* You are tired of your current job, and see it as a dead end running your business would be a better opportunity.
* You want to dramatically change your career direction and try something new and exciting.
* You already have a business and see the Internet as the next logical route for expansion of your business.
* You would simply like to earn a little extra money to supplement your current income.
* You would simply like to work from home, be that for family or personal reasons or just because it is something you've dreamed about for years.
* You've always wanted to be your own boss and this seems like the easiest and quickest way to get started.
Whilst these are all quite valid reasons for starting an online business, you have to really want to do this for it to be a success, because despite what many business opportunities, or Internet marketing 'experts' will try to tell you, an Internet based business will take time dedication and hard work to succeed.
Another point that you the prospective Internet businessperson needs to consider is - "is it right for me? Or am I right for the Internet?"
What do I mean by this? Well an Internet based business model will just not be right for many people, we are all different, some people work better and feel more comfortable in the structured environment of 'conventional' work. This is not a bad thing, but could make you very miserable if you attempt an Internet based business and find it hard to cope with the different challenges and problems that an online business throws at us.
With an Internet based business you are likely to be solely responsible for all decisions, responsible for all the technical aspects of setting up and maintaining websites, all sales and promotion.
In short you will probably have to do everything connected with running your business by yourself, and while some will see this as a challenge and rise to it, others may be overwhelmed and find it hard to cope. As I have said we are all different and not everyone will find the solitude and responsibility of running their own business to be right for them.
It is best to consider the realities of going it alone before you start and possibly save yourself a lot of stress and unhappiness if you think that you will find it hard to cope running a business alone.
If having carefully considered the reasons for starting an online business, having decided that they are valid, and that you will be happy doing everything yourself the next hurdle is, who will you customers be? This is probably the single most important thing you need to consider when starting your online business.
Part 2 in this series will look at who your target market is likely to be and how you will reach them.
Graham Murdo
grahammurdo@gmail.com