The Birth of a Successful Internet Business
Part one of ten -- Soul-Searching
Developing a successful Internet business is the ultimate goal of the Internet entrepreneur. However, statistics show that most Internet businesses never make any real money.
Making money on the Internet isn't easy -- it takes a great deal of time and effort and requires a total commitment. You must be completely passionate about your business and have a sincere desire to succeed. Anything less will be a complete waste of your time and will most likely result in failure.
You must also realize that success isn't going to happen overnight. There will be many obstacles along the way and a great deal to be learned. However, anything worth having is worth working towards and won't come easy. There will be many long days and sleepless nights. However, if everything falls into place, and you plan each step very carefully, the end will justify the means.
The largest obstacle you will ever encounter is fear -- fear of the unknown -- fear of change -- fear of failing. Fear is the root of failure and prevents dreamers from living their true passion. They fail to try.
Above all else, you must take the first step to overcome your fears. With each step you take, you will become a little closer to achieving your dreams. As long as you keep trying, you'll never fail.
There are many common characteristics shared by successful Internet entrepreneurs. Below are some of the most important:
Set Your Goals
Set your goals and write them down on a piece of paper. Set short-term reachable goals and long-term higher goals. However, don't set them too high, as this will cause you to become discouraged if you don't achieve them.
Work consistently towards accomplishing your goals each day, each week and each month until you reach your short-term goals. When you have attained your short-term goals, set them a little higher each time. Ultimately you will achieve your long-term goals.
Self-Disciplined
Get up early each day just as if you were working outside your home. You have to take your business very seriously and be completely self-disciplined.
Self-Motivated
Set up a daily schedule and stick to it. Your own personal drive will have a great impact on your success. You must have the ability to work independently and stay on task.
Positive Attitude
Your attitude is one of the most important factors that will determine your success. Your attitude will either guarantee your success or guarantee your failure. If you have a positive attitude and believe in yourself above all else, you will succeed.
Organizational Skills
Create a list of all the things you want to accomplish during the day. This will give you an organized approach to each day.
Attention to Detail
Whatever you're doing, do it to the best of your ability. Pay close attention to detail. Nothing is ever going to be perfect, as you're only human. However, if something is worth doing, it's worth doing right.
Developing your own Internet business is one of the most difficult, yet rewarding experiences of a lifetime. It is a continuous learning experience and will be filled with many valuable lessons you will carry with you for the rest of your life -- some good, some bad, but lessons still the same.
Although there aren't any shortcuts to achieving your dreams, there is something you can do to speed up the process -- Don't try to reinvent the wheel. Follow in the footsteps of successful Internet entrepreneurs who are already successful. Not only will you save yourself a lot of time and money, but you'll also have a road map to success.
Part two of ten -- Tools of the Trade
An important part of developing a successful Internet business is setting up your office space. Whether you operate your business from an office building or out of your home, having your own "space" is an essential part of your success.
Your office space should be used exclusively for your business and be set up to best suit your needs.
Below, are some suggestions to assist you in setting up your office:
Desk and Chair
When selecting a desk for your office, make sure you get a desk that is specifically designed for a computer. Computer desks provide plenty of room for your monitor, a cabinet for your computer case, a shelf for your printer, and a slide out shelf for your keyboard.
When selecting a chair for your desk, keep in mind, you'll be sitting in this chair for many hours. Make sure it is very comfortable and that you try it out before you buy it.
Take your time and select a desk and chair that you'll be very comfortable with. If you don't, you may find that you're straining yourself in one form or another (back, neck, arms, etc.), which will result in poor work performance.
Computer Equipment
If you haven't purchased a computer, make sure you purchase one that will grow with you. If you don't, you'll find that you'll either have to upgrade your system or purchase another one a few years down the road.
In addition, make sure you purchase your computer from a reputable company that will provide you with quality customer support.
Printer
When selecting a printer, you will basically have two options -- laser or ink jet. You should select a printer depending on your needs. If you'll be doing a large amount of printing and speed and high quality are important, your best option will be a laser printer. Laser printers produce better quality black text than most ink jet printers, and are much faster. However, an ink jet will enable you to print in color, which is a big advantage.
Another important consideration is the printer's resolution. The resolution determines the print quality, and refers to the number of dots per inch on a page -- the higher, the better. Most printers today support a 600 x 600 dpi resolution that will produce a good quality for most print jobs. Keep in mind, although a printer may support as high as a 1200 x 1200 dpi (dots per inch), you most likely won't notice any quality difference, when compared with a 600 x 600 dpi, with most print jobs.
Scanner
A scanner will enable you to scan photographs and documents into your computer. For example, if you'd like to place a photograph of yourself or your products on your website, a scanner will make it possible.
Fax Machine
With today's advanced technology, you can use your computer to send and receive faxes. All you'll need is a telephone line, fax modem and software.
Digital Camera
A digital camera will enable you to take pictures of your products, or whatever you'd like, and transfer them into your computer. They provide a great way to create your own images for your website or product development.
Telephone
A business line will enable your customers to contact you. Even if you're using your telephone line to connect to the Internet, most phone services now offer voice mail. Voice mail will enable your callers to leave a message while you're connected to the Internet. There are also software programs and devices that will enable you to take calls while you're connected to the Internet.
Filing Cabinet
A filing cabinet will enable you to organize your paperwork such as your receipts, tax information, and business records.
In addition to the basic office equipment, you'll also need to stock up on some supplies:
• Pens
• Pencils
• Pencil Holder
• Pencil Sharpener
• Address/Phone Book
• Business Cards
• Note Pads
• Envelopes
• Printer Paper
• Ink Cartridges
• Log Books Files
• Excedrin Migraine, Motrin IB, Advil, Tylenol or whatever your favorite headache medicine may be. You're going to need it:)
Take your time and set up your office according to your budget. Start out with the essentials such as a computer and an Internet connection. You can add additional equipment and supplies as you go.
Setting up your office space is an essential part of your success. Not only will it designate a specific area as your business space, but it will also provide you with some added motivation to work towards accomplishing your dreams.
Top Ten Lessons Learned in Home Based Internet Business
Since starting my home based Internet business back in 1997, I have learned many lessons along the way. These lessons have played a major role in my success, and I'd like to share them with you.
Lesson #1
Collecting your visitors' email addresses should be one of your top priorities.
Start collecting email addresses the moment you put your site up. Developing a list of targeted potential customers is an absolute must.
Although publishing an ezine is usually the best route to go, it is not a necessity. You can use your list to send out web site updates, product updates, or whatever you'd like.
Lesson #2
Your web site can either make or break you.
A professional looking web site will play a major role in your success. If you aren't secure in your abilities to design a professional looking site, you will be much better off hiring a professional.
Lesson # 3
If you want to make a lot of money, you must create a niche.
A niche fills a specific customer need.
People want products and services that fulfill a specific personal need. If you are the first to fulfill the need, you'll reap the rewards.
Lesson # 4
Generating web site traffic takes a lot of time and effort.
The key to generating a lot of traffic to your site is getting your link on as many sites as possible. Sure, listing your site with the Search Engines is your first step; however, you must not solely rely on Search Engines to bring you traffic.
My two biggest traffic generators are as follows:
Affiliate Program - Having your own affiliate program is one of the best ways to get hundreds, even thousands of links to your web site.
Providing a Free Product or Service - Providing your visitors with a free product or service is a great way to drive traffic to your site.
For example, I offer a free article syndication service. This service provides free content for web sites branded with a link to my site.
Lesson # 5
Selling your own products and services is much more profitable than marketing affiliate programs.
Some of the top Internet sellers include:
• Software
• Information
• Private sites
• Internet services
Lesson # 6
People do not like to be sold. You will be far more successful if you have a sincere desire to assist your potential customers. This can be accomplished by writing informative articles, courses, tutorials, or even providing advice within discussion forums in your area of expertise.
Trust plays a major role on the Internet. You must build your credibility with your target audience.
Lesson # 7
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Automation can save you hours of valuable time. Although there are certain areas of business that must be personally dealt with, there are many areas that can be completely automated:
• List management
• Customer follow-up
• Welcome messages
• Thank you messages
• Order processing
• Order fulfillment
• Order confirmation
This can be accomplished using autoresponders, scripts and software programs.
Lesson # 8
Organization is an essential part of developing a successful home based business:
• Create a daily work schedule for an organized approach to each day.
• Use an email program that will filter your messages into specific folders.
• Organize your computer folders and files for quick and easy access.
• Create a "Frequently Asked Questions" page to lessen support requests.
• Create templates for frequently used messages.
• Create a page (residing on your computer) that contains a list of affiliate programs you're promoting. Include your log-in information and hyperlinks for easy access.
Lesson # 9
Customer satisfaction and support should be your top priority.
Lesson # 10
You have to spend money to make money. You must be willing to invest in your Internet business including:
• Computer
• Internet Access
• Software
• Domain Name
• Web Hosting
• Education (books, courses, etc.)
• Advertising
Lesson # 11 (I know, there were only supposed to be ten, but this one is important...)
SPAM is a four letter word and will be treated as such.
Although this list is far from complete, these lessons should provide you with some basic guidelines to assist you in developing a successful online business.
The Birth of a Successful Internet Business
Part three of ten -- Essential Software
An essential part of running a successful Internet business is quality software. Software will play a major roll in your success. You must be willing to invest in the software you'll need to assist you in running your business.
Email Program
The first and most important software you'll need is a quality email program. Although most Internet Service Providers include email accounts for their customers, these accounts aren't adequate for an Internet business -- especially if you get a large amount of email. Not only do the email addresses contain your ISP's name, but they are also very limited on features and options.
There are many email programs available on the Internet. However, the best program I've found is Eudora. Eudora is a standalone email program that works with any ISP. It will enable you to easily organize your email by filtering your messages into specific mailboxes. This feature alone can save you a great deal of time. What's more, your email address will be your own domain -- not someone else's.
Eudora
http://www.eudora.com
Mailing List Software
Collecting your visitors' email address is one of the most important parts of developing a successful Internet business. You must develop a database of potential customers if you truly want to succeed. Publishing an ezine is a great way to accomplish this. In order to do so, you must have a good mailing list program that will enable you to send your potential customers personalized messages.
Mailloop
http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/t.cgi?l=ml
Group Mail
http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/t.cgi?l=gm
If you're using a software program that resides on your computer, you'll also need a good form processing script to enable your visitors to subscribe:
Master Form
http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/t.cgi?l=wm2
If you're an American Online customer, you won't be able to use a software program that runs on your computer. You'll need to use a program that runs with your web browser.
1-2-All Broadcast Email
http://www.activecampaign.com/
Subscribe Me
http://www.siteinteractive.com/subpro/
HTML Editor
Your website is the storefront of your business and is one of the most important factors in determining your success. In order to design your website, you'll need to get a good HTML editor.
Coffee Cup
http://www.coffeecup.com/editor/
DreamWeaver
http://www.macromedia.com/software/dreamweaver/
HotDog
http://www.sausagetools.com/
HomeSite
http://www.allaire.com/Products/HomeSite
Microsoft Frontpage
http://www.microsoft.com/frontpage
Before you begin the actual design process, I highly recommend that you download and install two web browsers -- Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator. These are the two most widely used browsers on the Internet. However, they are not created equally. Your page might look great when viewed through Internet Explorer, but may not display well when viewed through Navigator. It is very important that you view your website through both browsers, and design your pages accordingly.
Internet Explorer
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.asp
Netscape Navigator
http://home.netscape.com/computing/download/index.html
Graphics Editor
Graphic design is an intimidating subject for many Internet entrepreneurs. However, most of us must learn some basic design techniques in order to avoid the high costs of hiring a professional designer.
In order to create or edit your graphics, you'll need to invest in a good graphics program. The most popular program used by Internet marketers is Paint Shop Pro. This powerful program is the only program you'll need to design professional looking graphics.
Paint Shop Pro
http://www.jasc.com/
Zip/Unzip Program
Zip files are used to compress and transport file archives over the Internet. It is the preferred method used for electronic file distribution, as rather than downloading several different files, you can simply download one Zip file. In addition, the download time will be minimized, as the files within the Zip archive are compressed.
Once a Zip file is downloaded, it can be easily opened and extracted (unzipped) with a Zip/Unzip software program.
Although there are many Zip software programs available on the Internet, WinZip is the most popular. WinZip makes working with file archives simple.
WinZip
http://www.winzip.com/download.htm
FTP Program
File Transfer Protocol, better known as FTP, is a procedure used to upload and download files to and from your web server.
In order to use FTP, you'll need to download and install a software program on your computer. The most widely used FTP program is WS FTP Pro.
WS FTP
http://www.wsftp.com
Text Editor
Text editors have a variety of uses such as writing HTML, editing scripts, and writing ezine articles -- just to name a few. NotePad is an excellent text editor and is most likely already installed on your computer. However, it can't handle large files and is better suited for smaller files. You may find that you'd like an editor that is a little more powerful. I use a great program called NoteTab Pro. This powerful editor will enable you to edit large files, format your text, convert your text to HTML, and even includes a spellchecker and thesaurus.
NoteTab Pro
http://www.notetab.com/
Ad Tracking
Testing and tracking your marketing strategies is an essential part of your success. I recommend using a great script called LnkinLite. It's simple to use and will assist you in tracking all of your strategies.
LnkinLite
http://www.dtp-aus.com/cgiscript/lnkinlte.shtml
Financial Management
Quicken
http://www.quicken.com
Tax Program
Filing your taxes and keeping up with the ever-changing tax laws can be very intimidating. However, if you keep good records and use a good tax program, you can file your taxes with ease. I highly recommend using Turbo Tax. This great program will make the process a lot easier and even enable you to file your taxes electronically. What's more, it will even allow you to import your Quicken files.
Turbo Tax
http://www.turbotax.com
Although this list of software is far from complete, it will provide you with a basic guideline to get you started.
If you're serious about your business and you really want to succeed, purchasing software is an absolute must. Do your homework and select software that best suits your needs. It will be well worth the investment
