Online Marketing Home
Based Business Is Easy!
If you've read through my site and you don't already have a business but you want one, then an online marketing home based business is what you need! But before you start one, there are some things you need to know and some choices you need to make.
First of all, no matter what business you start... No matter what structure or organization it has... No matter if you're selling a product or service or both or neither... If you want to succeed in the marketing of that business, then your website must be your #1 business!
This is the hardest thing for me to get clients to understand. You might be selling sporting goods online, but your website is the focus of your marketing. It drives your sales. It collects most of the email addresses in your customer list. It even provides additional income that can carry you through the occasional slump in sales.
In short, you may be in the sporting goods business, but your website is your business! As long as you keep this in mind, you will be light years ahead of most other small business owners.
Now back to online marketing home based businesses. Why online? Because it is very inexpensive compared to the start-up costs associated with most other businesses. That's also the reason it's home based. Heck, even if you live in a tent you can still run the business from a free internet terminal at your local library. Why marketing?
That's to remind you, once again, that your website is your business. I can't say it enough. It's that important.
If you have that all-important lesson in mind, I'll start in on some of the decisions you need to make. The first is to decide what type of business you want to have. The following pages give you a description and example of some of the most popular online businesses. You can also choose any combination of the above types of businesses. Be careful though, if this is a side business for you and you aren't devoting 40 hours or more each week to it, then you'll want to focus on one at a time. It's a good idea to focus on one at a time anyway because you'll get income rolling in that much faster. You can always add more income streams later.
The next thing you'll need to decide is your business structure. This determines how you get taxed as well as when you get taxed. If you have the opportunity, it's a good idea to talk to a CPA or a business lawyer in your state before making this decision. The rules for different business structures vary from state to state but you will have to register your business with your state in order to do business if there is any physical component to your business (i.e. you sell products you make yourself or perform a service offline). Common business structures are:- Sole Proprietorship
- Partnership
- Limited Liability Partnership
- C-Corporation
- S-Corporation
- Limited Liability Company
Some states have additional options, so you'll want to check out your local laws and regulations. You also have the option of registering your company in another state if you like the rules better there and you know a resident of that state who is willing to represent your company.
No matter what you choose, make sure that you're always following the letter of the law. Making a fortune won't help you if the government or an upset customer or competitor sues you for everything because you didn't get things right in the beginning.
Once you've made these decisions, it's time to get some online real estate and set up shop. From here you can go to my Website Services page in the
Resources section
to begin selecting a hosting and/or website building company. And good luck!
Return to Online Marketing Answers from Online Marketing Home Based Business section
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