Starting a Business
Starting a business is no easy feat. In addition to raising startup capital, business owners need to purchase product inventory, buy or lease office or retail space, obtain a federal tax ID number, hire employees, and establish business and marketing plans.
The first step of starting a business involves conducting market research. Just because you 'think' a business will generate profit does not necessarily mean it will be successful. Therefore, it is crucial to determine if an actual need for the business exists
Business owners must comply with regulations surrounding their business activities. An Internet business will have different guidelines than a Fortune 500 company. The best source for obtaining information and resources for starting a business is the Small Business Administration.
The SBA website offers links to counseling, mentoring, and training programs; Women's Business Center; and Veterans Business Outreach Centers. Visitors can download podcasts and download step-by-step guides for starting nearly any type of small or home-based business.
The SBA also offers a comprehensive guide to starting an Internet business. Conducting business online presents with its' own set of regulations, which if not implemented can be costly for owners.
Considerations include: privacy laws for collecting email addresses or credit card information; identity theft when accepting online payments; Children's Online Privacy Protection Act; computer and information security; copyright infringement; and collecting sales tax.
Competition in the online world is tough. Unless your company is a well-established household name, plan on working hard to land a top 10 spot in the search engines. Thanks to the scammers and cheaters who didn't play by the rules, honest Internet marketers now have to work 10 times harder to prove they deserve top rank.
To land at the top requires implementing a variety of online marketing strategies. It can be advantageous to hire an Internet marketing consultant to review business plans. Knowing which strategy is best suited for your business model can save countless hours.
Once the best marketing strategies are determined, consider hiring an online marketing company to manage all or part of your campaigns. To achieve success online requires constant implementation of new marketing campaigns. It is impossible for one person to implement and track every strategy required, let alone engage in all other aspects of running the business.
At minimum, online business should engage in podcast marketing, online videos, electronic newsletters, article marketing, and social media marketing. Combined, these tools provide an online arsenal that can escalate company websites and blogs to the top of their niche.
However, fully utilizing the power of these tools requires a team. Hiring an independent marketing agency can allow business owners to forego the time-consuming and expensive process of buying required equipment to effectively launch advertising campaigns.
When starting any business it is best to take things at a slow pace and carefully monitor results. However, marketing should be more aggressive with online businesses because of the high level of competition.
At Online Marketing DNA we can help you achieve the success you desire. Our time-tested and proven strategic marketing management programs are offered to business owner ready to dominate their niche.
We work closely with clients to ensure they achieve desired results. Therefore, we are limited to the number of companies we can work with at any given time. Only a few spots remain. If you are considering starting a business and want to reach the summit quickly, contact us today.
