Altameroy Blog

Someone called me the other day and talked about how he is going
to need to make some money soon and wanted to start up a web
site. I explained that the two concepts did not necessarily go
together. My advice? Well, for what it’s worth, I would say
forget everything you ever knew about brick and mortar
businesses and start all over again.

A solid business plan for a web business is really going to
elude you until you get in there and get your feet wet first. It
ain’t that easy. There are a lot more people selling get rich
quick packages than there are people getting rich. You must surf
and read, surf and read, surf and read. After a few months
figure out who does have some real business credibility and
follow that person and the links he or she connects to. Do
something you know how to do and dissect it until you can find a
niche. Starting a web business without the basic knowledge of
whatever business you pick is fool hardy at best. Don’t pay for
information you can get for free. Those first months of surfing
should give you some pretty good leads. Don’t go it alone. Find
a friend, mentor or relative to bounce ideas off of. Be open to
honest feedback. You know who will give you honest opinions and
who will not. I love my relatives but we will never be in
business together.

Study the business you want to get into and how it works on the
web. Research the concept, develop a rough plan and refine as
you continue to research. Plan, plan, plan. Don’t touch your
retirement savings.

Take a look at a real business plan, (you can find them free on
the web) and start sketching in your ideas. Revise it at least
ten times. Be realistic about money. It’s expensive to market
anything on the web, -you’ll need to learn to find additional
ways to get the word out. Spend much of your free time in
bookstores or libraries perusing books on marketing, sales, web
design, budgeting, time management and personal success stories.
I think book stores tend to have more of the most current stuff
as far as web marketing is concerned.

Build an alternate plan for your business plan. Make a
contingency plan. Make a goal sheet with target dates. What do
you (your name) need to learn more about in order to operate on
the web in addition to your craft? Web design? Marketing? Search
Engines? Self promotion? Again, follow the leaders - err on the
conservative side and stay objective. Can you sell? Selling your
goods, selling yourself, and selling your credibility is more
important for the success of any web business than you can
imagine right now.

You might want to make an appointment with a person at SCORE at
the Small Business Administration. They have all been through
the fire, can give you realistic feedback, show you how to
develop a business plan and where to look for financing.

Don’t give up your dream. But don’t give up your day job yet
either.

This work is the original work of the author and is copyrighted
2005.