STARTING AN INTERNET BUSINESS
FIND THE RIGHT PLACE FOR YOUR OFFICE
In order to work in peace, it could be a good idea thinking in starting an internet business working at your garage, attic, basement. Anywhere but the family living room or dinning room
The right place should match your personal work style and budget
If you decide to work at home, you'll need space for a desk, a chair, a computer, phone and other frequently-used equipment.
You ought to have a comfortable space, with chairs or a couch where you can hold meeting or just collect your thoughts.
And storage space for filing cabinets, books and reference materials
You might need a large work space for activities such as hand mailings (does anyone still do this?) shipping and assembling materials.
BE UNIQUE!
Your easy home business will be much easier if you work in something that you love!
So the first thing you must do is to define the niche where you are the specialist This is the niche where starting an internet business you can stand out from competition, and for which you can charge a decent free. There are four primary ways to define your niche:
WHERE you work -- e.g., east side of town; in firm that specializes in business advertising, in a restaurant who has attained renown for having the best cakes in town, etc.
WHEN you are called upon -- e.g., you repair computers on weekend and after-hours calls; you provide support to people involved in scandals or tragedies; last-minute dinner parties, etc..
WHO are your customers -- e.g., a computer consultants, public relations firms, home business women, ezine publishers, etc.
WHAT kind of product or service you provide -- e.g., e-book publishing tools, advice for new entrepreneurs, home made syrup, etc..
And my best advice is:
Think about starting an internet business with what you already know!
You can read more about it HERE
STARTING AN INTERNET BUSINESS IN AN ORGANIZED MANNER
In your work space you must keep those things you most frequently use near your desk.
A placing scale: On a scale of one to four, rate the items you use every day a one; those you use once a year, a four.
Place all the items with a 1 within an arm's reach of your desk area.
Items with a 2: in files, cabinets, countertops or shelves within your immediate range.
Items with 3: in nearby cabinets or closets, or on shelves outside your office space.
Items with 4: in remote locations outside your office space (maybe other room, the attic, the garage)
Open a business bank account. Keep separate your personal and your business accounts.
Get a separate phone line for business calls. (This will give you a more professional image).
As you are your own boss, you must establish a time schedule for yourself. Don's spend time with extra sleep or reading newspaper
Put yourself a deadline complete a given project by a certain time.
Give yourself a reward if you accomplish a specific task.
Don't let household activities become a regular part of your workday. You can be fiscally at home, but must be mentally at work
Tell your family and friends that in your working hours they should avoid disturbing you. You are not on vacations, you are WORKING at home
If disruptions become a main obstacle in your workday, you should consider relocating your office in a different area of the house, or changing your working hours
MAKE SHURE THAT YOU ARE STARTING AN INTERNET BUSINESS THAT'S LEGAL
Make sure you can operate a business from your home, get sure there aren't any zoning restrictions and, if there are problems in doing so, get a separate mailing address or apply for a use permit or variance to your zoning laws.
If you have employees or are incorporated or in a partnership,get an employer's ID number
If your job is covered by federal laws, obtain a federal license
If you have any required state or local business licenses, get them.
Protect your products or services with trademarks, copyrights or patents needed
If you work with other people, and are not a sole proprietor, incorporate or form a limited-liability company
Find out if you are required to collect sales tax for your product or service. If so, register with the state agency responsible for collecting sales taxes.
If you are using a name other than your own or a variation thereof, register your business name.
Note: it could be wise to consult a lawyer or the appropriate government agencies in your city and state to be sure about which of this points apply to your business or locale.
BE REACHABLE WHEN STARTING AN INTERNET BUSINESS
Follow as many as the following advises as you need ...
Work in regular business hours. People can feel very annoyed if they don't know when they can find you.
If you need to intensively use your telephone...
hire a second line to receive customer's calls
or have a fax
or have an e-mail address
or all of the above
Use voice mail to take messages when you're out of the office or unable to answer the telephone. You can purchase an answering machine or add a voice mail system to your computer.
Use call forwarding to receive calls when you're out of the office.
Use a cellular phone, a 700 number or a pager.
To handle incoming calls while you're on the telephone, get call waiting or voice mail that picks them up so people never get a busy signal.
Get distinctive ringing that gives you two phone numbers on one line
Choose a good direct name that fits your business image. A confusing name for your business can result in clients overlooking you, or can target people that aren't really interested in what you offer them.
Find a good Web hosting service like HostGator and buy your own Internet domain.
STARTING AN INTERNET'S BUSINESS' MONEY AND ENTRY PLANS
You must have enough money to cover your costs of living and starting your internet business during the following startup period:
From six months to a year to get underway
One to three years to turn a profit
Three to five years to become self-sustaining.
There are five entry plans that you can consider as options:
The Sideline Plan: Keep your full-time job and develop your business as a sideline until it takes off
The Part-time Plan; Provide yourself with a part-time job income while you build up the operation.
The Interchange Plan: Start your job with a major client from you previous job (if ethically possible), or even turn your previous employer into your first major customer
The Reduction Plan: Reduce your expenses to be able to live from your working spouse or partner salary until your business gets underway
The Clients-Source Plan: If you are a recognized expert in your field, you might be able to assure your source of revenue, with a retainer contracts with a few clients for one year
Get deposits, retainers or partial progress payments as often as you can.
Ask for payment up front for expenses or arrange to charge them to your client's account.
Bill immediately upon delivery of your service or product.
Don't give credit from your pocket, take bank cards.
If you receive checks, use a check guarantee service
Offer two to five percent discounts to obtain your payment within 20 days from the date of invoicing.
Be careful with overdue accounts, the longer the accounts are overdue, the less likely they are to be paid.
WHERE TO LOOK FOR START UP MONEY FOR STARTING AN INTERNET BUSINESS
Most easy home businesses do not involve extensive startup costs, so you most probably will be able to "bootstrap" your fledgling operation using your own money, but if you can't, use...
Credit cards. Be clever in this, try to limit charges to items that will pay for themselves, generating income as quickly as possible.
Personal loans. If you or a spouse have a good credit record, and an existing job, banks will usually give you a personal
Home equity loans. If you own your home, see if you can refinance it, and this will give you a startup capital.
Microloans. If you need an amount smaller than $ 25,000 the US Small Business Administration and a variety of private foundations offer microloan programs, that are not based on your personal assets but rather on good character and proven management ability.
THE IRS
If you meet the basic criteria established by the IRS for starting an internet business at a home office, you can deduct the cost of operating and maintaining that part of your residence used for business. So you can claim your deductions, whether you live and work in a house, apartment or condominium
In order to be able to claim your deductions, the portion of your home you wish to claim as a tax write-off, must be used exclusively and regularly for business. And that portion of your home, must be either your principal place of business or a location where you meet with customers or clients in the normal course of business activities.
If you qualify for a home-office deduction, there are many expenses that you can deduct
Mortgage payments and capital improvements, pro rated for the portion of your residence used as an office.
The cost of operating your car
Dues you pay to professional and trade associations.
Note: You must be sure the IRS considers you a self-employed individual or independent contractor rather than an employee. This rules can be tricky, so it's wise to consult your accountant for clarification.
AVOID UNNECESSARY RISKS WHEN STARTING AN INTERNET BUSINESS
Get Needed Insurance Your homeowner's or apartment dweller's insurance may not protect you against the following contingencies:
Business property: You must consider purchasing business property insurance to cover your computer and other office equipment and furnishings.
Liability for accidents or injuries to customers or business visitors. Consider purchasing a rider to your policy to cover anyone who comes to your home on business.
Damaged or stolen business property. Even your car will not be covered if you use it for business, if you don't indicate that on your policy and pay the additional amount required.
Malpractice or errors or omissions This kind of insurance s will cover you against claims that your product or service harmed someone or caused a business loss.
Disability insurance can cover you against loss of income should you become disabled.
Partnership insurance will protect you against suits arising from the actions of any partners you have.
ASSURE YOUR PAYMENT WHEN STARTING AN INTERNET BUSINESS
You will avoid many problems with customers and clients, with a good contract.
You can obtain pro forma contracts on computer software
A written contract is always better that a verbal one
A contract will make your customers take you more seriously
Spell out specifics such as...
What product or service will you provide
When will you provide it
How you will do it
What it will cost
When and how, customers or clients are obliged to pay you
Consult an attorney or colleagues about the kind of contract you should use. You can as your professional or trade association for information
STARTING AN INTERNET BUSINESS NEEDS PROMOTION
Utilize on line promotion resources
Utilize off line promotion resources
Utilize word of mouth use face-to-face contact to establish relationships that can generate leads. Talk with people about what you do and listening carefully to find out how you might serve them.
Get referrals from satisfied customers.
STARTING AN INTERNET BUSINESS WITHOUT BECOMING A WORKAHOLIC
Don't be fanatic! Take a break every few hours, and that will increase your productivity and your creativity.
Make Time for Your Private Life
Set up a firm schedule, but establish and respect a fixed stopping point every day
Make sure clients know your work hours, because you live there, your are not supposed to receive them at any time. You must learn to say "I will look at it tomorrow" or "We can talk about it on Monday"...
Hey, you are your own boss, working from your own home! So take some time for doing something you enjoy such as gardening, playing with a pet, or sitting in the sun.
Remember that relaxing on a regular basis, has therapeutic effects
MAKE USE OF THE TECHNOLOGY WHEN STARTING AN INTERNET BUSINESS
Use as much as the following as you can:
For standardized documents, your can use the templates that come with your word processor
The spell checker, grammar checker, and electronic thesaurus features that come with the software
Special preprinted stationary
A computer - OF COURSE :-)
Letter - opening machines
E-mail and Internet - OF COURSE :-)
Programmable telephones
Bubble jet or laser printers
Electric staplers
Letter folders and dictation equipment.
And accept payments with credit cards using ClickBank. You can click HERE to learn how to do it.
THERE'S NO NEED FOR ISOLATION WHEN STARTING AN INTERNET BUSINESS
Don't Become Isolated and Lonely: Keep in Contact To avoid feeling isolated, starting an internet business at home requires you to take the initiative and become involved in the world around you. Here are seven ways to keep in contact with peers and colleagues:
You can join professional, technical or trade associations, and community organizations.
Read specialty newsletters, journals and magazines to keep you informed about what's happening in your field.
Go to courses, workshops and relevant seminars
Try to maintain contacts with peers with regular breakfast, lunch or dinner meetings
Join forums or networking group that meets on a regular basis.
Don't neglect the importance of personal and professional friendships.
If you have more to lose through the lack of knowledge than the cost of an expertise, it's time to hire one.
If the time you spend on repetitive matters exceeds its benefit, hire an employee, so you can take on an extra project.
One of the best things about self-employment is that you can tailor your work to fit your own values, priorities and lifestyle.
Find a match between the life you would like to live and what the world needs and will pay for
Written by Dr. Roberto A. Bonomi
