New Online Business

indublin

Hi Folks, just a query regarding settting up and running an online business.
Obviously depending on it been the right product for sale are they or can they be profitable to earn a decent wage or is it more off a part-time job.
Do most people start part time and then depending on how it goes maybe move into it full time.


I see some irish online business sites are using .com and some are .ie , which would be better to use starting off as i would like to do it properly.


any info would be great,tks.

DJB

It really depends on the business, how much you can invest and how much time you can put into it. If you haven't got many resources available to you (e.g. time, skills, money) then it could take a long time to build up the business. It would be advisable to have a steady form of income during this stage and depending on the business, this period could last from a few months to a few years (the latter most likely).

The other route is with lots of time, skills and/or money. You can get a great product, website, business, whatever it is up there and making you money. You should still keep a main source of income while it builds (a partners salary, savings, redundancy money, whatever) but you could generate more as you can put more in. If you haven't got these resources available, you could look at getting them in with a partner, investor, or paying someone... whatever suits your situation.

And there's always the in between where you mix and match those 2 extremes.

I have a few side projects going on at the moment and I've taken different routes with each. One of them, I've brought in a team to share work load and responsibility. Another, I've brought in a couple of investors and to share some workload. And another, I'm funding myself and paying someone to work on the project for a few months. And there's a few more in the pipeline.

You do what suits your situation after you way up the risk/reward ratio. How much of an entrepreneur are you?

Regarding ie/com - it depends again. Where is your target market? Ireland? US? UK? World? I usually try to secure a domain that I can get com/net/eu/ie/co.uk or as much of that as possible. If your market is around the world, might be best to go .com unless you want an Irish feel to your website.

Hope that helps. Shout if you have any questions.

Dave

thebusinessshop

Just another thing to add is that your online business will take time to gain brand awareness, no matter how unique your product/service offering is- and unless you have investment capital it is best to start it while you have another income stream. So factor in a high percentage of expenses for advertising on the likes of Google etc and specific printed publications related to your product. Until SEO kicks in, you will really need this.

There are ways and means to cut down on expenses for a new business- if you wish you can reference some notes we have compiled from our own experiences establishing our online concern.

Link

Good luck with your future enterprise.

indublin

Thanks DJB for the reply. to be honest with you i am caught between a rock and a hard place in choosing which way to go . I have the time, money and hopefully will pick up the skills if i plan this properly. I am just trying to decide between choosing between a store ie a Franchise or should i play it safe and look more into an online Business. I mean at the moment all the signs are that the current climate is not going to be good with regards to people spending and that only the big stores will Survive. I havn't decided on a specific product yet either but i am willing to give either one a go but just trying to gage which is more secure long term.

You sound like its all working out for yourself. Was it the plan to pursue what your doing more part time or outsource instead of going all out full time.

tks.

pauldiv

It sounds like you are in a wee bit of a hurry not fully focused.

Selling on the net is hard and a lot of people fail because they have not chosen the right niche. A niche is what a small business needs to succeed unless it can provide something better than the big boys for the same price or less.

Selling Products - you have ongoing costs and higher risks.

You could eliminate most of the risk by just getting hold of a product and opening an Ebay shop with a paypal account.
Some people make crafts and sell them on Ebay for example.
Others start on ebay as a hobby and it can get more serious if sales are high.

There are hosts that can set you up with an online shop for a monthly fee or you can go to a web design company and pay a small fortune for a custom design.

Selling Services - Much lower risks.

If you want to sell a service then it is possible to get set up at almost zero cost if you are willing to research and learn some technical skills like designing a web site and setting up a hosting account with an ISP.

Some people sell their skills, eg, writing, photoshop creations or any other computer skills that can be used to create something of value that someone needs.
You are creating a business out of thin air by going down this route.
Zero outlay and maximum profit from your work.

I already knew what type of business I wanted and that the net would be the enabler for my future plans. I also have a niche product.

I had the major resources that are required to start up at minimum cost - time and technical skills.

What I did not have was money and web savvy.
You dont really need money - if you are smart.

I decided I was not going to spend any money - I did not need to and quickly realised that the most important skill I needed was web savvy.

I waited 18 months, did my research and continued practicing at my business and technical skills. I researched all the ways people make money online and I learned about competitor analysis and SEO.

That was the best thing I could have done as I am now sharply focused on my target market and can give them something they need.

To be honest I have not sold a lot via my site but my google ranking for some of my search terms are number at 1.

I recently met someone who shares my interests and we are now working together on a project that is ambitious but will be very lucrative if we are successful.

If you spent a year researching before making a commitment then I think you will be glad you did it.

Have fun.

indublin

Its interesting to read your journey from all the groundwork you originally done and to see where you are now. I think your right as regards being a bit of an eager beaver on my part but i think i have been looking to hard which has backfired and actually blurred what i am trying to do, if thats possible or if that makes sense. i'd say its been a few years since i realised i wanted to try something on my own and break away from the aul 9 to 5 and maybe step out of the safe Zone but there is only so many books/websites and business/Franchise exhibitions that you can go to looking for your Niche that your confident and actually excited about.
I suppose if it was as easy as that to find it then we would all be budding entrepreneurs.


I was asking about online stores as regards to a full on shop front Premises/Business as in the current climate there seems to be nothing that cant be purchased or accessed from your Couch or desk and i was trying to gauge if this was a part time route or could i do it full time which i suppose obviously depends on what the product is.

tks for the replys

pauldiv

lol you CAN get almost anything from the comfort of your pc.
I live in the sticks and just use my landline for my business and communications.

I chose ideas that I am passionate about and because of that I dont regard what I do as work. I do it for fun mostly and my skills are valuable to people who dont have them. I did 9 - 5 for years but there is no way I could go back.

I would just be wasting everyone's time because whenever I was in a job I wanted to somewhere else doing my own thing.

There is a funny article out there called "10 Reasons why you should never get a job". The guy is called Steve Pavlina and he is a a bit of a bighead but he has a few messages for budding apprentices.

Kurttt

Also there is no such thing as a part time business owner, if its worth doing its worth doing properly.

The problem with a tiny business is it really ties you down, you cant really afford to take a two week holiday because you'll loose your regular customers by not being available (save ebayers).

For an online business bide your time and learn everything you can about the industry, then lauch and grow as fast as possible to three people, then consolidate and re-asses your strategy, as a lot will have changed from what you initally thought.

maperoo

In relation to .com or .ie ... if the domains are available, register both, no question!... it'll only cost you about a fiver to register a dot com, or fifty to register a ie, and you can just redirect the .com to the .ie ... for now!