Ingredient to start an Online Business (Part 1)

There was a time when a family could survive on the income of one person, usually the father. But as the cost of living has sharply increased while salaries have failed to keep pace, most families need a second income. Making a second income doesn’t necessarily mean going out and getting a part-time job, per se. A fun way to make extra income is to turn a personal passion into an online business. This week you’ll find out how to build a website around a marketable hobby, interest, or special expertise you may have and monetize it.

The primary idea is to give you a general knowledge of what an Internet business means. All suggestion in this article is to introduce you to the online business idea, and familiarize you with the jargons and naming you need to know. Like any business online business is deep and there are many products people are selling in a sophisticated way that is difficult to explain in one article. We will do follow-ups and specific articles in weeks to come.

The first step is to get Webhosting. If you have little or no budget, there are many places to get Webhosting. A good rule of thumb is a plan to start out modest, mostly the default plan, and expands as your online business grows.

Next, come up with a domain name that is easy to remember and relates to your products or services. An important part of the branding of your business.

Your Webhosting company will give you a panel (mostly called Cpanel) for you to log in to your account. And at this moment you need to decide if your site will be blog-based or eCommerce only or both. You select the web application (engine) and install it through your login panel. Then you can search for free or paid themes. Themes are software applications to give you the look and feel of your site. It is also possible to have a website designed for you for less than $350 to your liking. If you can afford some initial budget it is very much worth it and you can occupy yourself to marketing your site easily.

If your site is a blog, adding content to your site may seem daunting but coming with a content of 500 – 800 words article per week will be sufficient. if you do not have time you can find a freelancer to help you.

Your site might use some widgets (add-ons for a specific function) to make it very functional. Widgets are tools to give you a specific function, like the clock, appointment schedule, or a connection to Marketer, seller, or some required feed.

Also, you may want to add a video. It’s important to change content frequently so people will have something new to see when they come back.

If your site is eCommerce, you can prepare your product images, and product description to feed your site.

Once your site is up you need to learn how you will collect the money. PayPal and other gateways/payment systems make it easy to set up an online payment connection.

Many people will do it first, my advise is to do after testing the water. If the business starts to be good make yourself legal by having business licenses and any government requirements so to work as a business with PayPal and others.

The next phase is to attract people to your business. Start with word of mouth, announce the site on your Social Media accounts. Also, collect Search Engine Optimization Keywords (appropriate search words people might use to find your site). Publish your site with search engines. Promote site through email marketing and advertising.

You also need mentally to be ready and prepare to talk and work toward making your business known. A shift in mindset is very important to reach your target goal. It is not difficult but finesse and simplicity have to govern your attitude and the work to make an online business thrive. Not starting is worse than giving up. But don’t give up, get advice, and help if you get stuck. Giving up should not be an option. Learn new tips and expand your understanding.

Terms used in this article.
Web hosting – a commercial place that hosts a web site.
Banner ads – different sizes of advertisements. Banner ads are usually images
Domain Name – a phrase used to name a web site. (eg yahoo.com, or google.com)
Widgets – are pre-design software to do a specific task. Calendar widget puts a calendar on your site.
Content – what is written on a web page. An article is content for a web site.
PayPal – (www.paypal.com) an internet company which does financial transaction for any online sale or money transfer. It helps speed the financial dealings or checkout while shopping online.
FaceBook – (www.facebook.com) A social network site.
Tweet – A term currently used to send a short message to a user using an online device (phone or a computer). The company called Twitter (www.twitter.com) – helps share tweet for users.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)  – a technique used to make a website to come on the top during the search.
URL (Universal Resource Locator) – the domain name used to access a site.  A full URL can be https://www.google.com.

This is an Entry level article. We will have beginner, intermediate, and advance articles on online business.