Creating an Online Business Doesn't Have to be Hard!

I work with a lot of wanna be businesses owners, both on and off line and one thing I hear over and over again is how overwhelming the idea of starting a business can be! There is SOOOO much to do and so much conflicting advice out there. I've started and run a lot of businesses myself, earlier in the 3-D world and now online and I totally understand what you're going through.

It doesn't have to be hard though. Starting a business can be broken down into easy, manageable, and practical steps and YOU CAN DO THIS! Right now my focus is on helping new online entrepreneurs, but I welcome questions from you 3-D business types too :)

If you want to own a successful business, whether on or off line, the first thing you MUST do is decide you want to. This sounds like it's stating the obvious, but so many would be entrepreneurs never get past this point. I get excuses like, "I don't know what I want to do or what to sell, I don't have the time, etc." When I hear this I know that the person I'm talking to hasn't yet committed to being in business. And until they do that, nothing they try will work because they simply aren't committed to it.

Along with making that decision to be in business, you have to commit to investing in your new business. This means understanding that it will take time, effort and yes, even a little money to get things going. Even if you are internet savvy, running an online business is different than surfing the net or chatting with friends so expect a learning curve.

Ok, so you've committed to starting this business, and you fully understand that there will be an investment required of you and you're prepared to make that investment. What next? Here are the steps I take in creating online businesses:

1. Decide what business you want to be in - Forget money, fame, what you're trained to do. When starting your own business the number one requirement is that you pick something you really love doing! Why, because if you're really interested in something you're going to be excited about it and motivated to keep going. Your excitement will inspire people and also attract those who are excited about your field too. Your best customers will be people who are already interested in your business. Make sense?

2. Decide what you want to sell - Part of the point of business (online or otherwise) is to make money. To do that you have to sell something. And that something is related to what business you've decided to be in. Some people may sell products, others services and still others information. In the beginning pick ONE thing and go with it. Your job in the beginning will be learning how to sell that thing, and one product is plenty when you're in the learning stage. You can always add more later. Hint: Information products are a good first choice because they are relatively easy to develop and can be electronically delivered right to your customer.

3. Decide on a mechanism for delivery - After you have a product you have a way for people to get it. We're talking about online business here and some choices there include websites, blogs, social networks, and auction or store sites (think E-Bay or Amazon stores). Eventually you may want to incorporate more than one method, but in the beginning pick ONE and go with it - remember you're still learning.

4. Decide on a marketing plan - Marketing seems like such a scary word, doesn't it? But really all that means is "getting the word out to your potential customers." With marketing, you want to get the word out to as many people as you can as quickly as possible. Even better you want to get the word out to people who are interested in your product and business (they call this a target market). For instance, you wouldn't hang out on a ballet forum if your business is all about sky diving? Heck no, you'd hang out with the sky diving crowd. The thing about marketing is learning which things give you the most exposure for your time and/or money so you don't end up spinning your wheels and getting nowhere.

So there you have it, my answer to the question,

"What are the steps in creating an online business?" It can be summarized into this easy process:

Decide -> Commit -> pick a business -> pick ONE product -> pick ONE Mechanism of delivery -> Market, Market, Market!

Best wishes to you on your new online venture!