This week was all about legal structure, licenses and taxes. The stumbling blocks of every entrepreneur. For me, it is fun to think about how I want to grow my business, what products are selling and what classes I should teach. It's not as much fun to decide whether my business should be a sole proprietorship, a corporation or a partnership. And it's definitely not fun to talk about taxes! However, I spent the whole week doing just that, and it wasn't so bad. It actually felt good to be somewhat knowledgeable about one of our topics, instead of trying to cram as much as I can into a quick 48 hour study period.
I researched to make sure that I have the proper legal structure in place, applied for my seller's permit and read up on the sales tax laws that pertain to my type of business and the online sales.
While it's not really a "fun" topic, it feels good to know that I've got all the right pieces in place and I can keep moving forward on my website.
Saturday, May 30, 2015
Saturday, May 23, 2015
We're getting close to launch date!
This week was all about site design and credit card payments. I spent a great deal of time revisiting some websites. While I found a couple that inspired me, mostly I was reminded of what I didn't like and where I thought I could improve upon what others are doing. That sounds much more egotistical than I really mean. I am not the ultimate web guru. I think I've just outgrown the typical "blog style" website and I am hoping to create something a little bit different.
As always, I am great at brainstorming and coming up with the ideas, I just need to continue to develop my skills so I can implement them!
I got off to a bit of a rocky start with building my site and I still have one little item that is driving me crazy (I can't figure out how to change the name that displays on the web browser tab), but I am finally starting to understand how to change the fonts, backgrounds, etc. I definitely think this will be the last website I build, using a site builder! While it's quick and easy once you get going, there are pieces and parts that you either can't change at all, or have very limited options.
My other little stumbling block is... I have a ton of content I want to put on the site. I'm hoping I can find the time to really do it the way I want it.
As always, I am great at brainstorming and coming up with the ideas, I just need to continue to develop my skills so I can implement them!
I got off to a bit of a rocky start with building my site and I still have one little item that is driving me crazy (I can't figure out how to change the name that displays on the web browser tab), but I am finally starting to understand how to change the fonts, backgrounds, etc. I definitely think this will be the last website I build, using a site builder! While it's quick and easy once you get going, there are pieces and parts that you either can't change at all, or have very limited options.
My other little stumbling block is... I have a ton of content I want to put on the site. I'm hoping I can find the time to really do it the way I want it.
Saturday, May 16, 2015
Site Builders and Hosting...Oh My!
Another week of research and I got a little confused along the way....
This week we researched the options we have for building our site. We can use drag and drop site builders( Weebly, Webstarts, etc.), sites like Wordpress that give you a bit more control or even build it from scratch, writing our own code.
Since I'm really new to learning html, I immediately knew that I wasn't quite ready to build a site by writing my own html and css and have it ready in a little over two weeks so I decided to focus on the drag and drop options.
And here is where I got a bit confused...
This week we researched the options we have for building our site. We can use drag and drop site builders( Weebly, Webstarts, etc.), sites like Wordpress that give you a bit more control or even build it from scratch, writing our own code.
Since I'm really new to learning html, I immediately knew that I wasn't quite ready to build a site by writing my own html and css and have it ready in a little over two weeks so I decided to focus on the drag and drop options.
And here is where I got a bit confused...
- For some reason I thought that the fees I was going to pay to the site builder included hosting.
- When I figured out that I would also have to buy hosting, I couldn't figure out how to know whether the hosting site would work with the site builder I chose.
- I felt like I was getting married and trying to find the perfect husband...but I kept finding out my potential spouse had some kind of major flaw that I wasn't sure I could live with.
- Some site builders DO include hosting.
- Of course it might be difficult to see if my potential hosting company will support my site builder if there isn't any info about it because of #1 ....the site builder uses it own hosting....
- Sure wish I could take a few on a date to get to know them better before I get"engaged" ....
Friday, May 8, 2015
So many choices
This week we researched brokers, manufacturers and wholesalers as well as affiliate marketing and drop-shipping. It was a great introduction to all of those items, but I know I will have to go back and spend quite a bit of time on each of the subjects to really become knowledgeable about it. At least now I have a general understanding about them.
I was actually kind of surprised at how easy it would be to secure product to sell. Our assignment was to research sunglasses. As I was looking at all of the options available on AliBaba, I kept thinking about all the vendors at the swap meet in Hawaii. It was a huge swap meet, but we saw the same products over and over again. I bet most of them bought it from someplace like AliBaba. I could see how you could easily start a business based on purchasing product from a site like that and then reselling it.
While I enjoyed researching the brokers, manufacturers and wholesalers and I am sure I will use the information in the future.... I was SUPER excited to study affiliate marketing and drop-shipping. As someone who blogs and loves reading and following blogs, I have seen a great deal of affiliate marketing. There was a point when I contemplated trying to make money from my blog, but I wasn't sure how to get started and I wanted to make sure that I could control what products or companies were promoted on my site. I was absolutely shocked at how easy it would be to get started and by how many choices their are. The more I studied, the more ideas that popped into my head about people I know that might be interested in pursuing it.
I was actually kind of surprised at how easy it would be to secure product to sell. Our assignment was to research sunglasses. As I was looking at all of the options available on AliBaba, I kept thinking about all the vendors at the swap meet in Hawaii. It was a huge swap meet, but we saw the same products over and over again. I bet most of them bought it from someplace like AliBaba. I could see how you could easily start a business based on purchasing product from a site like that and then reselling it.
While I enjoyed researching the brokers, manufacturers and wholesalers and I am sure I will use the information in the future.... I was SUPER excited to study affiliate marketing and drop-shipping. As someone who blogs and loves reading and following blogs, I have seen a great deal of affiliate marketing. There was a point when I contemplated trying to make money from my blog, but I wasn't sure how to get started and I wanted to make sure that I could control what products or companies were promoted on my site. I was absolutely shocked at how easy it would be to get started and by how many choices their are. The more I studied, the more ideas that popped into my head about people I know that might be interested in pursuing it.
Saturday, May 2, 2015
New Semester - New Focus - Online Business
It's a new semester and I am excited to be taking classes related to my degree. I have had a ton of homework, but it's fun stuff that I would be interested in researching anyway.
This semester I plan to use this blog to document what I'm learning for my Web Business class.
So far we have been studying the different types of business models that can be used for a web business. I was familiar with many of them, but wouldn't have been able to identify and classify them by business model before I studied the list. We also spent some time experimenting with google adwords. Not only did I find it interesting to work on our assignment and compare the competition and demand for different products, but I immediately saw the benefit of researching some keywords for my existing business. After seeing how competitive some of the keywords are, I have found that I am pondering and brainstorming how to set myself apart so that I can increase my web traffic and find new customers.
As part of our research we have also been debating whether it is more beneficial to choose a business model first or select a product first when developing an online business. While I believe that you should choose your product first, I have to admit that if you're simply looking to build a business, you could probably be successful doing it either way. Many of my classmates made a good case for choosing the business model first. They felt that you could then choose a business model that suits your job skills and the business goals you have and then find a business/product that suited the business model.
This semester I plan to use this blog to document what I'm learning for my Web Business class.
So far we have been studying the different types of business models that can be used for a web business. I was familiar with many of them, but wouldn't have been able to identify and classify them by business model before I studied the list. We also spent some time experimenting with google adwords. Not only did I find it interesting to work on our assignment and compare the competition and demand for different products, but I immediately saw the benefit of researching some keywords for my existing business. After seeing how competitive some of the keywords are, I have found that I am pondering and brainstorming how to set myself apart so that I can increase my web traffic and find new customers.
As part of our research we have also been debating whether it is more beneficial to choose a business model first or select a product first when developing an online business. While I believe that you should choose your product first, I have to admit that if you're simply looking to build a business, you could probably be successful doing it either way. Many of my classmates made a good case for choosing the business model first. They felt that you could then choose a business model that suits your job skills and the business goals you have and then find a business/product that suited the business model.
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