Are You Ready To Start An Online Business?

By: Jon Cole

If you would like to be a bit more secure financially, you may have considered starting some kind of online business. However before you commit yourself to beginning an online income-generating activity or before you give up the idea, it is useful to consider whether it would be the right step for you to take by examining a few important points.

I have been engaged in several online businesses for close to ten years, and based on this experience I would like to present you with three important factors that you should think about before making a decision of whether or not to go ahead with an online business.

1. How much time could you spare for your online work? Don't expect to just open a website and watch the money pours into your bank account without a stitch of effort on your part. There is no such business like that in the world. Even very profitable activities require some amount of work. Examine your current routine and consider how much time you could actually devote to online work. In case you are wondering how much time is necessary, here is a way to make your calculations. The actual amount of time necessary depends on what kind of business it is and what your income needs or expectations are. Let's say you are able to work two hors a day, or about 45 hours per month. If this activity is able to bring in $45 for each hour worked then you could expect a gross income of about $2000 per month. That may not seem like much, but if you already have other income it could come in handy. Or, if that is not enough, maybe you could work more.

2. What do you have to offer online? Before you start calculating your income you have to think about the kind of business that you could possibly run. An easy way to start an online business is to extend an existing "real world" business to the Internet. If you run a retail store, then set up a website and you can extend your reach. Another way to conduct online business is to offer some kind of service that can be delivered digitally or by e-mail. Writers, designers and artists can get into an online business by setting up a website or simply by soliciting work on free-lancer sites or by answering online classified advertisements. If you don't have any physical products or digital services to sell there is another route to online entrepreneurship. Write an information product based on some area of your knowledge and expertise. Turn your knowledge into an e-book, a digital report or an online course and then sell that product online. Many online businesses have been started in this way.

3. Do you have the necessary online business skills? You don't have to go back to school and get a degree but it is helpful to pick up a few skills if you are going to conduct business online. From my experience, it is good to know how to edit web pages. You don't have to know how to design them but it is important to know how to update them. In addition to that, it is useful to have a grasp of the basics of Internet marketing, and by this I am thinking of search engine optimization, pay per click advertising, and article marketing. These three tools can help you to greatly expand your online reach and it is worth learning the basics in this field.

These are some of the things that you have to think about before starting any kind of online business. Take a close look at them, and if you have a good feeling, then go ahead and try your hand at online business.

Article Source: http://www.uberarticles.com/articles

Jon Cole is a staff writer for the American Educational Guidance Center. The Center publishes websites that help students select online degree programs and conduct a traditional college search.

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