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Starting an online business

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jersey10

Joined
20 January 2008
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Does anybody have any good info / links on how to start an online business? Has anybody set up a successful / unsuccessful online business and would recommend / not recommend it?
 
Start with your state government. There is a wealth of knowledge on what you need, questions you should ask, how to create a business plan and what legal requirements there are.


I have used godaddy.com as my domain as it is reliable and extremeley cheap to buy and host a domain..

cheers,
 
from a logistics standpoint theres a few things to consider, what exactly are you doing? how much volume are you thinking? what will you be doing yourself and what will you be outsourcing?

eg. start up site selling something would go something like this.

register an ABN and a business name. then get a domain name from one of a host of providers (i use cheapdomains.com.au $38/2 years).

if its a small site with minimal traffic it would be best to go with a hosting provider to manage all the backend of DNS and mail management and hosting so you can outsource all that stuff.

if its a large site it will need setup time and ongoing maintenance which will increase the cost substantially.

front end who is designing the site? things like logos or e-commerce or web page design or database design are all necessary and don't come very cheaply, you get what you pay for.

its all doable yourself on a small scale with minimal outlay, buy a pc, get a static ip address, and host your own website but you'll need to do some reading on setting it up.
 
http://www.ozcableguy.com/webs.asp

The ozcableguy has some great free guides. Disarray just reminded me of his site. He's a local Brissie guy I used to buy network gear from when ADSL first started up.


His guides are very easy to understand if you are looking to host your own mail server or web page and the like..

What you looking to sell?




Disarray, what E-POS software do you use and would you recommend it?. Having to learn one more piece of software is what has stopped me entering e commerce in the past.


cheers,
 
i can't help with the e-commerce i'm afraid, i prefer to outsource as much mail and web functionality as possible so i don't have to spend my days dicking around with exchange or iis. and if you enter e-commerce i guarantee you'll be learning more than 1 piece of software unless you already have a security focus
 
Hi Jersey 10, I don`t have an on-line biz. I kept this link which I found here at ASF in another thread to Absolve website design for some reason.First visual impressions do make a difference.
 
The online business world can be a pleasure or a pain, it is all about the setup.

I am in the process of seting up couple of new stores now.
things that I have found out.
1. Get good shopping cart software, something that can be modified if need and that can be expanded as you grow. also get one that will interface with an accounting program makes it easier to do the books.
2. Get a website developer / programmer for modifications to the site, this is if you are not a tech person.
3. Outsource as much of the hardware / systems stuff as possible, lowers the upfront costs as well as having to worry about the upgrades, maintainence etc.
4. Use the Pay per click providers to drive traffic.
5. Use third party payment providers to do the CC processing less hassles, fraud protection etc.
6. get the site secured and rated by a third security company, helps with trust.
7. get your site linked by as many other sites as possible.
8. use an afilliate program to help drive sells. either your own or through a provider.
9. find a niche to fill easier to drive traffic if you are different to everybody else.

Some sites that may help.

www.ecommercetemplates.com - Shopping cart software.
www.transact24.com - online payment processing.
www.paypal.com.au - online payment processing.
www.verisign.com - SSL security.
www.asiaregistry.com - domain names / hosting.
www.adwords.google.com - Pay per click provider.
sem.smallbusiness.yahoo.com/searchenginemarketing/index.php?&abr=2022403519 - pay per click provider.
www.emarketingman.com - general info site.
uk.cj.com/index.html - an affiliate program provider.
www.getafreelancer.com - freelance provider site, you can hire a developer or programer.

google start a web business you get heaps.

there is problerly a lot more that I mist but this should help.
have fun in the e business world.
 
thanks for the responses people - very helpful as usual.

I am not selling anything at the moment. Just have a few ideas in my head that i may want to pursue in the future. I am probably looking at setting something up along the same lines as youtube where people are able to upload 'stuff' and other people are able to view with a few other bits n pieces.
 
jersey10 are you into trading too?

I share your ambition for starting an online business, and if you consider websites to be businesses then yeah, I've done a few (with mixed results, but learning all the way)

pm me if you'd like to chat / have Q's
 
Be very wary of online services offering expertise, tips, ebooks, consultations for a fee or download cost. Most of these are 99.999% rubbish.

Outsource. The following websites allow you to post jobs you would like done like website design, graphic design, logos, business cards etc


www.serviceseeking.com.au
www.elance.com

Pat
 
Also, I imagine there's a lot of free software available at places like Sourceforge and Freshmeat.
 
ps: if you're planning on taking on youtube, i wouldn't bother
 
I started a little stock market forum in 2004 called Aussie Stock Forums - some of you may have heard of it. :

All I can say is that it's a lot of hard work to build it up from nothing to the point where you can earn an income from it.

A few important points:

  • Link building is vital. Get links to your site from anywhere you can.
  • Content is king. Make sure your site has something to offer visitors.
  • Make your site the best of its kind. It will ensure return visitors/customers.
  • Never give up!
 

Hi Joe,

Yes it really is a great forum, i am glad i found it. What program did you / do you use for designing and maintaining this website / forum?

Jersey10.
 
jersey10 said:
Hi Joe,

Yes it really is a great forum, i am glad i found it. What program did you / do you use for designing and maintaining this website / forum?

Jersey10.
Click to expand...

The forum software ASF uses is vbulletin. It's the best commercially available forum software IMO.
 
wildcaktus said:
2. Get a website developer / programmer for modifications to the site, this is if you are not a tech person.
Click to expand...

.. and expect to pay them well if you want the job done properly Too many clients come to me and expect a full-blown ecommerce / works site built for $500-$1500. It's not really a realistic assumption, unless you want an absolute beginner doing it for you.

If you deal with a proper web development firm (who will do a professional job, and at least get it completed and working for you) you're probably looking at around $10k, possibly more - simply due to their overheads, cost of office, equipment, etc. But as anybody should know, if you wish a business to be successful you need to put in the money for it to be so.

Depends on your goal for the online business I guess, big or small. A lot of the time I think people come up with these grand ideas of building an online commerce site, and expect to pull in $10k of sales a month and endless riches.. yet they expect $1000 will cover the cost of the site
 
Joe Blow said:
The forum software ASF uses is vbulletin. It's the best commercially available forum software IMO.
Click to expand...

Hi Joe,

After purchasing the vbulletin is it fairly self explanatory to get your forum up and running?? How did you find the process betweeen purchasing the software and actually having people using the forum? What was the timeframe for this?

Jersey10
 
I think you could challenge you tube if you used a system like ehow that pays contributors based on traffic their particular entry attracts.

If I was that way minded I would use ehow as a inspiration even though they do cross promote their own posts, some good information is available and criticism allowed and rating of submissions allowed. Ehow only pays US residents though. Not sure if anything like it in Australia.

If I were selling a product I would use emailcash reward system at least until I had a customer base.

Wish I was that way inclined, maybe some good opportunity online.
 
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