DH and I are working on starting a side business, word of mouth and internet product sales. We think our concept is good, but wonder if we will be able to make a go of it, kwim? What do we need to know before we jump in with both feet? We have our domain name registered and a certificate of assumed name ready to send to the state. How did you start? How did you spread the word? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks!

It kind of depends on what you hope to get out of your business. Do you just want some extra cash and enjoy doing a hobby so decided to start selling items...or are you hoping to eventually earn a full paycheck from your online business?

Making it work and really profitable takes a lot of time and effort. There's search engine optimization that needs to be done. You CAN do it yourself! but it takes lots of time, research, development, etc. Especially if you're new to online business, it can be overwhelming but it's kinda like having to learn the rules to a new game and once you understand them it gets easier! Or you can pay somebody to do it for you if you have more money than time. Usually not the case when you're just starting out.

Online networking is important too, and amitymama's a good start on that. But if you're wanting to make a good living working from home, you need to really promote yourself, and that's a full time job, honestly!!

There are lots of things to consider, you'll need hosting for your website. You'll need to build you site, which you can also do yourself. What types of payments are you going to accept? BTW, paypal now does not require customers to set up a paypal accnt in order to process credit card payments - so that's making it a little easier for small businesses, you just need a business paypal acct and they do charge fees, but so does EVERY CC payment processor out there!

Oh, the list goes on and on!! Most things you can do yourself, if you're a fast learner and have the time to put into it. I did everything myself for my business... logo, banner, and website design..search engine optimization..advertising and promoting..etc. I'm a perfectionist and want everything to be just right. I put LOTS of effort into giving a professional appearance, and that includes my product packaging and labels too.

So I guess you need to decide what you want to get out of it. Is this going to be your full-time business, or just a little something on the side? You can start out small and grow, but it does take lots of work to make an online business thrive. You'll just need to start there and make your decisions accordingly.

Sorry this is so long, but there's so much involved, I'm sure I'm missing something even so. Hope this helps to give you some direction!!

Good luck,

Christina,
Thanks for the reply! Right now this will be a side business, as we both WOHM, but I'd love to see it grow. We've got the search engine stuff covered, as a friend has a business doing just that - he's also hosting our website and helping with that stuff.
This will be a niche market, I think, so I'm not sure how much I'll spam here, although I may pay for a sig line banner, just in case! :D
Have a great day!
Sonya

Originally posted by copmom
We've got the search engine stuff covered, as a friend has a business doing just that - he's also hosting our website and helping with that stuff.



Great, then you've got a big foot in the door with the help on SEO. That's been one of the hardest and most time consuming things for me! That way you can focus on other aspects of the business.

Really, my best advice (and take it for what you paid for it ;) ) is to start slow, know your budget and stick to it, and utilize as much free and cheap advertising as possible, especially in the beginning. Word of mouth is great. You sound like you know your niche, so that's a definate step in the right direction.

If you want paid advertising, I use www.google.com (adwords) and www.overture.com and both are doing pretty well for me.

Thanks, Jennifer! :D
Sonya