How to Make Money - Online vs Offline

By Ian G Chivers

Online, Offline….. what’s the difference? Today, I wish to ‘talk’ about the difference in opening a business in your high street, or opening a business online. What drives people to do this? Is there any difference between the two? What skills do you need for each? Let’s suppose you want to open a bricks-and-mortar shop, let’s say a shop selling food products.

What do you need to do before your first customer enters ?

a) Build/compile your Business Plan!

b) Conduct Market Research

c) Find premises, at the right location/rent/price (if you are buying freehold)

d) Formulate a Marketing Plan

e) Engage a solicitor/lawyer to deal with legal issues – Local Government regulations you have to comply with, leases/contract/exit strategies etc.

f) Research the market to find capital items – till, cash register, freezers, cold counters etc.

g) Fit it out to your style and liking – engage with local builders

h) Arrange financing if applicable

i) Get a business bank account

j) Arrange with your bank to have a merchant payment system

k) Find an Accountant

l) If it is too much for you alone, find staff

m) Arrange insurance – fire/theft/buildings etc., and Public Liability

n) Apply to the local body who issues Health and Safety certificates pertinent to the food trade

(or any other bodies/oganisations for other businesses – there are always some!)

o) Find suppliers for the products you wish to sell

p) Negotiate a good deal with your suppliers

q) Local advertising campaign? – local newspapers, flyers, posters etc.

Hmmmm…..the list is endless eh?

I am sure that there are a lot more than the short list above.

Ok, let’s say you do all of the above… what does it take?

1) A vision

2) Drive

3) Tenacity

4) Expertise

5) A skill-set

6) TIME

7) A sense of humour – very necessary this.

I am sure that you can think of others too.

If, after getting this far, a year-down-the-road, what have you got?

i. A business

ii. Hopefully making you a living, but probably very stressful, but having tight reins on your cashflow.

iii. A good name in the community you are serving

iv. Satisfaction? – a moot point maybe

v. A Retirement plan?

Not easy is it? Looking at the above and thinking hard about it, it makes one wonder why people set-up in business on their own. We all have our reasons for wanting to work for ourselves, but when you come down to it, there is only one really. Having control over our own destiny. The one single factor why people succeed or fail is the product. If the product is in demand, then the money will come through the door. If it is not in demand, then it will become a fight to make the money come through the door. Furthermore, if you have the ‘fight’ scenario, then it will cost you more to make a profit, which is a reduced profit! Now that I have outlined (some of) the steps one needs to take to get a bricks-and-mortar business off the ground, what about trying the same thing online? Is it any different? Not a lot!!! For those of you who see online claims that you can do “this”, or “that”, for fifteen minutes each day, (with your laptop sitting on the beach), and live the life of luxury…what do you think of that? Are you fired-up? When I first began online, I was…very much so. It’s like showing a child a scrumptious cake. They want it and know they can have it for free, (from Mum or Dad) if they make the right sounds! Well, it’s just the same here online. If you sign-up with this Guru, or that Guru, and do the things they propound, then you will have that life of luxury. What they do not tell you, or at least emphasise, is the work necessary, not to mention the tools and expertise you need to make it all work. Think back to the bricks and mortar business…..can it be done without time, money and expertise? Probably not. There are a few websites who are trying to redress the balance (myself included) and offer to all, the facts and steps necessary to get online, start a business and actually make money doing this. A good website like the above should show you ‘everything’ that is necessary for you to do to get online, and up-and-running with your own business.

There are many topics that a website such as this should cover. These should include:

• Adsense – Explanation of this and how to....

• Adwords – Explanation of this and how to ....

• Affiliates - why you should try this, why you should not.

• All the Money Transfer options - How to take money online with your website.

• How to protect your links - if you depend on commission earnings, you must do this!

• Copy-Writing - Easy eh? Well, a few rules should be followed.

• Creating an email list - how to, why you should do this...

• Creating a Website - html, other methods, more.

• Email marketing - how to get white-listed, how to avoid spam complaints, more

• Finding a Product – should show you how to do this and the options a#vailable. This is not so hard as you might think, this was my stumbling block in the beginning.

• Necessary Tools - the absolute minimum you need.

• Pre-Selling - sell something before it's ready!

• Publishing - how to and the best way.

• SEO - Search Engine Optimisation

• Getting Traffic - How to.... Pitfalls and is free hosting good enough for you. The above is a snapshot of some of the subject matter that should be discussed. But these are just some of the topics that should be covered. There should also be some other resources for you to download. All with the one objective... to get you up-to-speed as soon as possible and to get you actually earning money online.

It is not easy to do all of the above, but if you are determined and persisten, I am sure that all your efforts will eventually reap rewards for you far beyond working for other people as an employee. The secret is, begin small, in your spare time maybe, and gradually work up to bigger and better things as your skill develops.

Ian G Chivers http://www.2easy4.com

Article Source : Make Money Online