What are all the steps involved in starting your own online business?

Question

I currently have my own website and I have a bunch of stuff I want to include in the store. I am also aware of the tools I need to actually get the business on the internet, however, I am unsure if I need to make the business "official" since it will be online only. Like do I need to get a federal identification number? Do I have to become a type of company ie., corporation, LLC etc. Do I need to get some kind of special license? Do I need to write a business plan? Can I still go to a bank for a business loan? If so, what type of information should I bring or have in place before I go?

Answer 1

The best routes to take are to research the process of starting a business as well as the industry you're interested in.

I recommend checking out the SBA, Entrepreneur, The Start Up Journal & Nolo. All 4 are great informational resources for the new/small business owner. I posted links for you in the source box.

Research, research, research – this cannot be stressed enough. Read as much as you can. Here are some book titles that are relevant:

* Starting an Online Business For Dummies, 4th Edition by Greg Holden
* How to Start and Maintain A Successful Online Business by Kelly Thornton
* The Complete E-Commerce Book: Design, Build, and Maintain a Successful Web-Based Business by Janice Reynolds

There are plenty of free informational resources out there. Check the source box for links to articles.

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!

Answer 2

One of the first things I would recommend that you do is start thinking about your interests/passions... and go into an internet business that is based on that. Why? Because it makes the work a lot easier.

Answering the following questions should help you develop ideas:

1) what websites do you visit when you're just surfing online?
2) do you have pets?
3) do you play and sports?
4) do you collect anythings?
5) do you have any specialized education?

See what I mean....

After that,you've got to decide the business model that you want to use - do you want to develop you own product or do you want to be an affiliate marketer (market other peoples products)?

Then you've got to learn basic skills such as building and uploading websites, setting up autoresponders, setting up a merchant account to take orders, etc.

And then, probably the most important part... you have got to learn how to market you business. If your interested in starting up your own internet business, then I would like to recommend either one of the following great resources:

if you don't have much experience with computers and the Internet - http://www.affiliatemarketinglessons.com/warpspeedwealth.html

If you have good experience with computers and the Internet - http://www.affiliatemarketinglessons.com/IS2006.html

Be sure to check out the money back guarantees ...you simply cannot loose. They can offer such guarantees because of their success rate...

If your interested in affiliate marketing (marketing other people's products/services) then you'll want grab a copy of this book - http://www.affiliatemarketinglessons.com/superaffiliate.html

If your interested in joining an existing internet business, then I would recommend SFI Marketing Group (http://affiliatemarketinglessons.com/SFI.html). I would recommend that you join this opportunity either way because 1) its Free and 2) you'll learn a lot through their training.

Anyways, I hope this helps... and I wish you much success.

For more information, you can try out the International Association of Home Business Entrepreneurs - http://www.affiliatemarketinglessons.com/iahbe.html

Answer 3

You need to get an FIN and collect sales taxes fot sales in the state you reside in. You can choose to incorporate or not. If not, you have to get a business license and regeister as a DBA (doing business as) company.

You can go to a bank for a loan. You should have a pretty good plan put together first.

Answer 4

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