A. OVERVIEW OF THE CONCEPT OF BUSINESS
Business is an organization that produces or sells goods or services to gain profit.
Business produces most goods and services consumed by people and employs many people.
The prospect makes a profit: the difference between income and business expenses that encourages people to open and expand businesses.
Earnings repay owner to take risks that are covered in investing their money and time.
Business history and changes in views on the accountability of business in the United States:
Form of American business has evolved several times over several centuries, namely:
Industrial revolution that arise in the mid-18th century, creating a system of factories making materials and labor needed to produce goods in large quantities and new machinery needed for mass production come together in one place.
The 19th century became the solution of large-scale increase of entrepreneurs, business and the United States adheres to the philosophy of laissez-faire.
Laisses-faire is the principle which states that the government should not intervene in the economy but should let businesses apply in the absence of regulation.
Sabtu, 30 April 2011
Senin, 04 April 2011
Financial Management Axioms
1) Risk - return trade-off.
2) Time value of money.
3) Cash - not profits - is king.
4) Incremental cash flows count.
5) The curse of competitive markets.
6) Efficient capital markets.
7) The agency problem.
8) Taxes bias business decisions.
9) All risk is not equal.
10) Ethical dilemmas are everywhere in finance.
2) Time value of money.
3) Cash - not profits - is king.
4) Incremental cash flows count.
5) The curse of competitive markets.
6) Efficient capital markets.
7) The agency problem.
8) Taxes bias business decisions.
9) All risk is not equal.
10) Ethical dilemmas are everywhere in finance.
Sabtu, 02 April 2011
What should I sell on the Internet?
how to answer to that question, your only choice is research, and lots of it. Based on years of experience, here's the basic process that successful Online Retailers would go through every time we try to decide on a new product to sell on the Internet.
Find out what the Demand for the product is:
On the Internet is just another place to sell products. The basic concept of Demand is the same on the 'Net as it is anywhere else, and has been for all time. If there aren't enough people who want it, there's no profit in selling it!
Find out what the level of Competition is:
Again, the internet is the same way. The 'Net is just another place to sell things, and if there are too many people selling the same things, nobody makes any money on them.
We start with a dedicated Internet Store shopping site with a high degree of popularity, like Yahoo Shopping, for example. We spend hours in there, acting like a customer, using different search terms to search on the products
Find out what the General Interest level is
General interest in a product helps to gauge where our Demand and Competition numbers fall into the big picture. For example, if there isn't much Demand for a product, and there isn't much Competition, it would seem that it might not be a good seller. You can't sell something to people if they're not out there looking to buy it. If there aren't many people out there trying to sell it, either, then it's probably not a good idea.
Find out how others are Advertising this product:
Same thing on the Internet. If you're going to sell a product Online, you're going to have to advertise it in some way or another. Today, Pay Per Click Search Engines are the dominant force in Internet product Advertising.
Once again, we act like a customer. We use as many search terms as we can think of to search for the product we think we want to sell. What we're looking for here is two fold:
How many other people are paying to Advertise the product Online?
What do their ads look like and say?
Jumat, 18 Maret 2011
Adsense Success Tips
After becoming a member and put Adsense ads on your blog page, it does not mean your work is finished and just waiting for income from Adsense, there is still much to do. Here are some tips adsense success is largely I quote from the book written by Jubilee Enterprise Adsense Secrets (one of the books that you MUST have in order to successfully dismantle the secret Adsense and optimize your income).
Follow the TOS (Terms of Service)
TOS Adsense program usually frequently changed or updated, the things that previously could be turned into legal or illegal should not be made again. For that follow the development of the TOS or the provisions issued by the manager Adsense like Google Adsense, Adbrite and the like. If that was legal and has now turned into illegal still you keep, chances are your account will be closed by the manager Adsense.
Choose The Right Ad Form
Choose the form of ads that match your blog.
Choosing Colors Display Ads
Use background color advertisement in accordance with the color web page or blog, as well as the size and type letters.
Selecting Ad Position on Pages Blog
put your ads in a position that lets people click, draw people's attention. Usually at the bar right or left, or at the beginning of the article is much better.
Use Ads links Unit
Do not dismiss this ads link units. Most people think the ad Ad Unit is much more important, so ignore the Adlink units. Put Ads link unit is in the right position for example on the menu tabs, so that member the impression that the blog page menu.
Statistics and analysis controlling Adsense Check
Perform ongoing evaluation by examining and analyzing the statistics of visitors who click on ads. Do not just wait.
Do not Ignore Adsense Channel
Make every advertising channel that you plug in your blog. It is useful to analyze your adsense stats.
Record Growth Adsense
Follow the progress and setbacks your Adsense, recording and evaluation. Immediately find where the deficiency.
Do not create a moment blog
Do not assume that just by capital blog you will definitely be a big income through Adsense. There are many techniques and other business to be done. Blogs need to be maintained to generate.
Do not make a full site Ads
It is not good to create a blog full of ads. Do not berganggapan blog full of ads it will more likely produce a large number of clicks, just the opposite will make visitors saturated and get out of your blog.
Do not Wait Adsense
Most owners wait for the Adsense blog, they think for blogs continue to put Adsense ads then just wait for the results. Like a store, your blog needs to be treated, promoted (as with the technique of SEO) and others.
Do not just rely on just Adsense
It should be understood, income through the Internet not only through Adsense alone. Do development for example with tapped affiliate programs and others.
Create an article in accordance with the targeted keywords
Make your blog articles as possible and tailored to ynag targeted keywords. Do research to find out what keywords that match your blog.
Optimize Keywords
Try each article contains the main keywords targeted. Optimize this keyword with the technique of SEO for your blog ranked in search engines.
G4TR5TKRVTXE
Follow the TOS (Terms of Service)
TOS Adsense program usually frequently changed or updated, the things that previously could be turned into legal or illegal should not be made again. For that follow the development of the TOS or the provisions issued by the manager Adsense like Google Adsense, Adbrite and the like. If that was legal and has now turned into illegal still you keep, chances are your account will be closed by the manager Adsense.
Choose The Right Ad Form
Choose the form of ads that match your blog.
Choosing Colors Display Ads
Use background color advertisement in accordance with the color web page or blog, as well as the size and type letters.
Selecting Ad Position on Pages Blog
put your ads in a position that lets people click, draw people's attention. Usually at the bar right or left, or at the beginning of the article is much better.
Use Ads links Unit
Do not dismiss this ads link units. Most people think the ad Ad Unit is much more important, so ignore the Adlink units. Put Ads link unit is in the right position for example on the menu tabs, so that member the impression that the blog page menu.
Statistics and analysis controlling Adsense Check
Perform ongoing evaluation by examining and analyzing the statistics of visitors who click on ads. Do not just wait.
Do not Ignore Adsense Channel
Make every advertising channel that you plug in your blog. It is useful to analyze your adsense stats.
Record Growth Adsense
Follow the progress and setbacks your Adsense, recording and evaluation. Immediately find where the deficiency.
Do not create a moment blog
Do not assume that just by capital blog you will definitely be a big income through Adsense. There are many techniques and other business to be done. Blogs need to be maintained to generate.
Do not make a full site Ads
It is not good to create a blog full of ads. Do not berganggapan blog full of ads it will more likely produce a large number of clicks, just the opposite will make visitors saturated and get out of your blog.
Do not Wait Adsense
Most owners wait for the Adsense blog, they think for blogs continue to put Adsense ads then just wait for the results. Like a store, your blog needs to be treated, promoted (as with the technique of SEO) and others.
Do not just rely on just Adsense
It should be understood, income through the Internet not only through Adsense alone. Do development for example with tapped affiliate programs and others.
Create an article in accordance with the targeted keywords
Make your blog articles as possible and tailored to ynag targeted keywords. Do research to find out what keywords that match your blog.
Optimize Keywords
Try each article contains the main keywords targeted. Optimize this keyword with the technique of SEO for your blog ranked in search engines.
G4TR5TKRVTXE
SWOT Analysis
Once you have a shared understanding of who you are as a firm and what you do, you can begin to dig a
little bit deeper with a classic SWOT analysis, stand ing for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats.
The SWOT analysis is a time-honored business tool used to assess a company’s current situation
both internally and externally, with a view toward developing a plan for the future. That said, the
SWOT analysis is somewhat misnamed, in that it isn’t really particularly analytical. It’s a tool for cap-
turing your beliefs and perceptions about your firm and the context in which you’re functioning to paint
a picture of your current situation. It helps you see where you are, where you could go, what you need
to fix, and what you should watch out for.
Divide a piece of paper into four quadrants, and label these Strengths (upper left-hand), Weaknesses
(lower left-hand), Opportunities (upper right-hand), and Threats (lower right-hand). The left side of your
paper (Strengths and Weaknesses) is internal, issues within your company that you believe are either
strengths or weaknesses. The right side (Opportunities and Threats) are both focused outside: What are
the opportunities out there that you can take advantage of, and what are the threats that you need to
watch out for?
What Are Our Strengths? What’s Special about Our Firm?
Start with your strengths. What is truly special about you? Here are a few general possibilities to get you
thinking, in the rough categories of design, service,and knowledge that you offer to your clients:
> Design
- Distinctive style
- Recognition
- Innovation
> Service
- Responsiveness
- Communication
- Speed
> Knowledge
- Expertise in a given market
- Specific body of knowledge (foreign building codes, etc.)
- Relationships with key consultants, contractors, suppliers
These are only a few ideas. Brainstorm with your planning group until you come up with a list of
strengths that feels complete to you.
Bear in mind that most of your competitors can probably also claim the majority of strengths that are
on your list, so focus on those that are truly unique to your firm or those that are easily quantified or
proved. Saying “We’re responsive to clients” isn’t really a useful strength, unless you can back it up
with a few killer examples.
little bit deeper with a classic SWOT analysis, stand ing for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats.
The SWOT analysis is a time-honored business tool used to assess a company’s current situation
both internally and externally, with a view toward developing a plan for the future. That said, the
SWOT analysis is somewhat misnamed, in that it isn’t really particularly analytical. It’s a tool for cap-
turing your beliefs and perceptions about your firm and the context in which you’re functioning to paint
a picture of your current situation. It helps you see where you are, where you could go, what you need
to fix, and what you should watch out for.
Divide a piece of paper into four quadrants, and label these Strengths (upper left-hand), Weaknesses
(lower left-hand), Opportunities (upper right-hand), and Threats (lower right-hand). The left side of your
paper (Strengths and Weaknesses) is internal, issues within your company that you believe are either
strengths or weaknesses. The right side (Opportunities and Threats) are both focused outside: What are
the opportunities out there that you can take advantage of, and what are the threats that you need to
watch out for?
What Are Our Strengths? What’s Special about Our Firm?
Start with your strengths. What is truly special about you? Here are a few general possibilities to get you
thinking, in the rough categories of design, service,and knowledge that you offer to your clients:
> Design
- Distinctive style
- Recognition
- Innovation
> Service
- Responsiveness
- Communication
- Speed
> Knowledge
- Expertise in a given market
- Specific body of knowledge (foreign building codes, etc.)
- Relationships with key consultants, contractors, suppliers
These are only a few ideas. Brainstorm with your planning group until you come up with a list of
strengths that feels complete to you.
Bear in mind that most of your competitors can probably also claim the majority of strengths that are
on your list, so focus on those that are truly unique to your firm or those that are easily quantified or
proved. Saying “We’re responsive to clients” isn’t really a useful strength, unless you can back it up
with a few killer examples.
Selasa, 15 Maret 2011
Using Drop Shippers
If you want to sell products online, but you don't want to spend your own money up front for those products, you want a Drop Shipper.
You're going to spend a few bucks to get your Home-based Internet Business started. Not a lot of money if you do it right, but there will be some costs.
When you start your Product Sourcing, you need to decide whether you're going to spend more money buying bulk quantities of products from Wholesalers, storing them at your house, and shipping them to your customers yourself; or whether you're going to start out using Drop Shippers.
Using Drop Shippers allows you to sell brand new, brand name products to your customers without paying for those products
before you sell them. In other words, your customer pays you for the products before you pay your Wholesale Supplier for them. Pretty cool, huh?
Here's how drop shipping works:
1. You open an Internet Store, or start an account on an Auction site, like eBay.
2. You find a Wholesale Supplier who is willing to Drop Ship the products you want to sell.
3. You establish an account with the Drop Ship Supplier(s) you choose.
4. You receive images and descriptions of the products you want to sell from the Supplier, and place them on your Internet Store or Auction.
5. A customer finds your Store or Auction, and falls in love with a product that you have priced at, say, $80. They purchase the item with their credit card. Your Store or Auction charges their credit card $80 plus shipping.
6. You email the order to your Drop Ship Supplier, along with the customer's name and address.
7. The Drop Ship Supplier sends the product directly to your customer from the warehouse, with YOUR business name on the package.
8. The Supplier charges you the wholesale price of, say, $52.00, plus shipping (you've already passed the shipping charge on to your customer, so the shipping costs you nothing).
9. Your customer gets a great name brand product from your store or auction shipped to their door, and they tell all their friends about you, and you make even more money.
You're going to spend a few bucks to get your Home-based Internet Business started. Not a lot of money if you do it right, but there will be some costs.
When you start your Product Sourcing, you need to decide whether you're going to spend more money buying bulk quantities of products from Wholesalers, storing them at your house, and shipping them to your customers yourself; or whether you're going to start out using Drop Shippers.
Using Drop Shippers allows you to sell brand new, brand name products to your customers without paying for those products
before you sell them. In other words, your customer pays you for the products before you pay your Wholesale Supplier for them. Pretty cool, huh?
Here's how drop shipping works:
1. You open an Internet Store, or start an account on an Auction site, like eBay.
2. You find a Wholesale Supplier who is willing to Drop Ship the products you want to sell.
3. You establish an account with the Drop Ship Supplier(s) you choose.
4. You receive images and descriptions of the products you want to sell from the Supplier, and place them on your Internet Store or Auction.
5. A customer finds your Store or Auction, and falls in love with a product that you have priced at, say, $80. They purchase the item with their credit card. Your Store or Auction charges their credit card $80 plus shipping.
6. You email the order to your Drop Ship Supplier, along with the customer's name and address.
7. The Drop Ship Supplier sends the product directly to your customer from the warehouse, with YOUR business name on the package.
8. The Supplier charges you the wholesale price of, say, $52.00, plus shipping (you've already passed the shipping charge on to your customer, so the shipping costs you nothing).
9. Your customer gets a great name brand product from your store or auction shipped to their door, and they tell all their friends about you, and you make even more money.
Senin, 14 Maret 2011
Why you Should have a blog
Blogs have enjoyed an explosion in popularity in the internet community. Short for web log, a blog is an online journal set in an archived format that allows for frequent updates. People use blogs for a variety of reasons, both business and personal. The popularity of blogs is so widespread that a new term has been coined to describe the massive collection of blogs existing online: the blogosphere.
There are a variety of good reasons to host a blog for your company. One is fresh content. By adding a new blog entry daily, or even weekly, you are constantly bringing new content to your site, which helps increase your search engine rankings. Another is to showcase your experience. You can create blog entries about projects you’ve done for clients, or share stories sent in by customers who have purchased your products. Furthermore, a blog provides another way to keep visitors interested by offering them information or entertainment—and keep them coming back for more.
Still another advantage to creating and maintaining a blog is customer interaction. A standard blog feature allows viewers to post comments and feedback on individual entries. You can set your blog to allow comments from anyone, even anonymous visitors (however, if your blog provides a word verification feature, you should turn it on to avoid spam comments…oh yes, spam is everywhere).
The blog format you choose will vary according to the type of business you run. If you run a consultation practice, make note of your clients’ successes as they occur (be sure to get the client’s permission before you write about them!). If you are selling a product, you can use a blog to keep consumers updated about company and industry developments. You can also transform a blog into an online resource center for information relating to your product or services. Find a few interesting links every day to related web sites and give visitors something new to look forward to every time they visit your site.
How do you get a blog? You can either maintain a separate blog from your web site, or use a web host that integrates blogging software with their packages. If you set up a separate blog, be sure to link to it from every page of your web site, and link back to your web site from your blog. Most blog hosting companies provide blog accounts free of charge. The most popular blog provider is Blogger.com (powered by search engine giant Google), followed closely by LiveJournal.com. Blog hosts generally provide customizable templates in a wide variety of styles, so you can find one that matches your web site.
There are a variety of good reasons to host a blog for your company. One is fresh content. By adding a new blog entry daily, or even weekly, you are constantly bringing new content to your site, which helps increase your search engine rankings. Another is to showcase your experience. You can create blog entries about projects you’ve done for clients, or share stories sent in by customers who have purchased your products. Furthermore, a blog provides another way to keep visitors interested by offering them information or entertainment—and keep them coming back for more.
Still another advantage to creating and maintaining a blog is customer interaction. A standard blog feature allows viewers to post comments and feedback on individual entries. You can set your blog to allow comments from anyone, even anonymous visitors (however, if your blog provides a word verification feature, you should turn it on to avoid spam comments…oh yes, spam is everywhere).
The blog format you choose will vary according to the type of business you run. If you run a consultation practice, make note of your clients’ successes as they occur (be sure to get the client’s permission before you write about them!). If you are selling a product, you can use a blog to keep consumers updated about company and industry developments. You can also transform a blog into an online resource center for information relating to your product or services. Find a few interesting links every day to related web sites and give visitors something new to look forward to every time they visit your site.
How do you get a blog? You can either maintain a separate blog from your web site, or use a web host that integrates blogging software with their packages. If you set up a separate blog, be sure to link to it from every page of your web site, and link back to your web site from your blog. Most blog hosting companies provide blog accounts free of charge. The most popular blog provider is Blogger.com (powered by search engine giant Google), followed closely by LiveJournal.com. Blog hosts generally provide customizable templates in a wide variety of styles, so you can find one that matches your web site.
Marketing strategy with your website
Because your web site is the primary liaison between you and your customers in a virtual corporation, you must put as much time and work into it as you would constructing a brick-and-mortar store or office. Your web site is a showcase for your company, your products and your services. A poor web site will turn away customers faster than a poorly laid out store or office. Customers and clients arriving at a physical location are more reluctant to go elsewhere because they would have to get back into their cars and drive there. On the internet, finding another company to do business with is just a few clicks away.
Market research shows that web sites have between three and ten seconds to entice visitors to stay. Therefore, first impressions count, big-time. There are two stages to making a successful business web site: first, the design and content placement; next, attracting visitors. Each stage has several important steps. You can choose to invest either time or money, or a little bit of both, in creating a dynamic web site that will support your virtual corporation.
Naming Your Domain
Often your domain name will be the first thing people discover about your virtual corporation, whether through advertising, word-of-mouth, or search engine results. The domain name is whatever comes between the www and the .com in your web address: for example, in www.google.com the domain name is Google; and in www.big-money-from-mink-oil-extract.com the domain name is big-money-from-mink-oil-extract. A domain name is located in the address bar of a web browser, and may be different from the title of your web page, which is the text that appears at the top of your window in the left-hand corner of the uppermost bar—appropriately called the title bar.
You should give careful consideration to your domain name before you register it with a web host. A domain name should be easy to remember, easy to spell, and use as few characters such as dashes and underscores as possible. If customers can remember your domain name and type it into their address bar without having to go through a search engine, they will be more likely to visit your site right away. Search engines produce multiple results, and if potential customers have to search for your site every time, they may find another web site they like better.
If you can use the name of your company as your domain name, that’s great. However, if you’ve decided to name your company Google or Yahoo, you’re probably out of luck as far as domain availability. When you’re choosing a domain name, list several of your top choices and include breaking characters (yes, you should still avoid them as much as possible, but if your company’s name is Flowers Forever and you have to choose between flowers-forever and something entirely irrelevant to your business, by all means use dashes!). You can then go to www.DomainAbbey.com or another domain search site to find out if your choice of domain names is available. If the .com name you want is taken, don’t forget to check for availability in other web extensions like .biz, .net, .cc, .org and .info.
Once you’ve determined what your domain name will be, it’s a good idea to check on other web sites with similar domain names before you register yours. For example, if you choose flowers-forever and then discover the web site www.flowersforever.com offers exactly the same products and services you plan to offer, you may want to consider something different. If there are existing web
sites with only a character’s difference between them offering the same thing, customers may end up at that other site and stay there. Try reversing the words if it still makes sense (forever-flowers), or coming up with a creative domain name that is not the name of your company but still reveals what your business does (FlowerArrangements or BestFreshFlowers).
You can register your domain name through any of a number of companies that provide domain name reservation. Most of these are free services. However, it will save you a step—and possibly some trouble—if you register directly through the web site host you plan to use like www.DomainAbbey.com
Selecting a Web Host: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
With thousands of web hosting companies to choose from, you have plenty of opportunity to select the one that’s right for your business. It is always a good idea to research web host companies before signing on with one, especially one that requires a certain term of service.
Though there are a large number of free web hosting services, there are many reasons to select a paid hosting company. In order to be a professional and successful virtual corporation, you need your own domain name. If you use a free service, your domain name will be something like
“www.AnotherCompany.com/YourCompany”
This is difficult to remember, and it’s a big-time hint to savvy internet users that you’re running a small-time company. Also, free web hosts don’t provide you with your own e-mail addresses. An e-mail address of flowersforever@yahoo.com is another tip-off that you’re the sole employee of your business. Fortunately, you can find a good web host for a low price. A basic package for web hosting will generally run you between $5 and $10 a month far less than the cost of your internet connection.
Other than the ability to have your own domain name, there are several things you should consider when selecting a web host.
• Free e-mail addresses: you@yourdomain.com. Paid web hosting services generally provide you with a certain number of e-mail addresses that match your domain name. You can configure them to be sent to an offline e-mail program such as Eudora or Outlook Express, or to any web-based e-mail account like @yahoo.com or @msn.com. You can also distribute free e-mail addresses to any employees or contractors you hire, and configure them to be sent to their primary e-mail address. As mentioned before, having multiple e-mail addresses helps you to create virtual “departments” that make your company look bigger and more competent.
• Storage space. Web pages you create are stored on a file server maintained by your web host company. You should ensure your web host provides you with sufficient storage space for your files. If you plan to have several dozen (or several hundred) pages with product pictures or other multiple images, you will need more storage space than if you run a consulting service or other business that relies on text-based information.
• Bandwidth. Though not as much of a problem as it once was, you should make sure your web host provides enough bandwidth to keep your web site running smoothly. What is bandwidth? Technically, it is the amount of information that can be sent over a network connection in a given period of time. In plain English, it is whether or not your web site traffic will exceed the limits of the web host’s server. If you have limited bandwidth, at some points your site may become unavailable for viewing. Customers trying to visit your site will view either a generic Error 404 Page Not Found message, or a customized message from the web hosting company stating that your site has exceeded its bandwidth allowance for the day, and they should try again tomorrow. Most will not. If your site is graphics-heavy, you should look for a web host that offers a higher bandwidth allowance (sometimes referred to as “data transfer allowance”).
• Design options. Unless you are already a graphic designer or a computer programmer, you probably don’t know enough HTML coding to build a web site from scratch. Many web hosts offer customizable page templates or easy-to-use drag-and-drop design programs for site building. Templates are a great way to create a professional-looking web site with a minimal amount of fuss. If you plan to use an application like Microsoft FrontPage or Macromedia Dreamweaver to create your pages, you don’t need this option. However, you will need an FTP (file transfer protocol) program to upload the pages to the hosting server.
• Term contracts and discounts. Some web hosts require that you sign a contract for a certain term of service with them, usually 12 or 24 months. Others offer service on a month-to-month basis. It is better to find a host without a contract; that way, if you are dissatisfied with the service you can switch web host providers (and keep your domain name) without having to pay a cancellation fee. Also, many web hosts offer discounts for long-term customers or those who pay for several months of service up front. A few offer bundled packages, such as a web site and a shopping cart system for one lower combined price.
• Customer service and technical support. Just as you plan to provide outstanding customer service for your clients, your web host company should provide outstanding customer service for you. Be sure the company lists a phone number on their main web site, and has 24/7 technical support available, either by phone or live web chat. Because your virtual corporation exists mainly in cyberspace, you will more than likely need technical support at some point—and you don’t want to have
to wait until “the next business day” to find out why your site is suddenly displaying Japanese characters or empty boxes with little red X’s where your images used to be.
• Expandability. As your business expands, your web site should have the ability to grow with it. A good web host will offer the option to upgrade your hosting package to include more storage, bandwidth and features as you need it. If you find that your company has outgrown your current host’s capacity, it can be a nightmare trying to switch your domain name to another providers and transfer all of your files to another server. You can eliminate this potential for disaster by ensuring the web host you choose is flexible and reliable.
• Add-ons and additional services. Would your customers be interested in knowing their local weather and news headlines when they visit your site? How about taking a fun poll and seeing instant results? Or the ability to listen to audio clips? Many web hosting companies offer a variety of fun, free add-ons to make your site a great place to visit. You can get free traffic counters, site-specific search boxes, interactive forms, and even mini-games that display right on your site. Some web hosts also offer additional services such as web tracking (so you can find out how many people visited your site and how they found it), shopping cart services (which automates your purchasing process for you without relying on a third-party payment system) and more.
Market research shows that web sites have between three and ten seconds to entice visitors to stay. Therefore, first impressions count, big-time. There are two stages to making a successful business web site: first, the design and content placement; next, attracting visitors. Each stage has several important steps. You can choose to invest either time or money, or a little bit of both, in creating a dynamic web site that will support your virtual corporation.
Naming Your Domain
Often your domain name will be the first thing people discover about your virtual corporation, whether through advertising, word-of-mouth, or search engine results. The domain name is whatever comes between the www and the .com in your web address: for example, in www.google.com the domain name is Google; and in www.big-money-from-mink-oil-extract.com the domain name is big-money-from-mink-oil-extract. A domain name is located in the address bar of a web browser, and may be different from the title of your web page, which is the text that appears at the top of your window in the left-hand corner of the uppermost bar—appropriately called the title bar.
You should give careful consideration to your domain name before you register it with a web host. A domain name should be easy to remember, easy to spell, and use as few characters such as dashes and underscores as possible. If customers can remember your domain name and type it into their address bar without having to go through a search engine, they will be more likely to visit your site right away. Search engines produce multiple results, and if potential customers have to search for your site every time, they may find another web site they like better.
If you can use the name of your company as your domain name, that’s great. However, if you’ve decided to name your company Google or Yahoo, you’re probably out of luck as far as domain availability. When you’re choosing a domain name, list several of your top choices and include breaking characters (yes, you should still avoid them as much as possible, but if your company’s name is Flowers Forever and you have to choose between flowers-forever and something entirely irrelevant to your business, by all means use dashes!). You can then go to www.DomainAbbey.com or another domain search site to find out if your choice of domain names is available. If the .com name you want is taken, don’t forget to check for availability in other web extensions like .biz, .net, .cc, .org and .info.
Once you’ve determined what your domain name will be, it’s a good idea to check on other web sites with similar domain names before you register yours. For example, if you choose flowers-forever and then discover the web site www.flowersforever.com offers exactly the same products and services you plan to offer, you may want to consider something different. If there are existing web
sites with only a character’s difference between them offering the same thing, customers may end up at that other site and stay there. Try reversing the words if it still makes sense (forever-flowers), or coming up with a creative domain name that is not the name of your company but still reveals what your business does (FlowerArrangements or BestFreshFlowers).
You can register your domain name through any of a number of companies that provide domain name reservation. Most of these are free services. However, it will save you a step—and possibly some trouble—if you register directly through the web site host you plan to use like www.DomainAbbey.com
Selecting a Web Host: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
With thousands of web hosting companies to choose from, you have plenty of opportunity to select the one that’s right for your business. It is always a good idea to research web host companies before signing on with one, especially one that requires a certain term of service.
Though there are a large number of free web hosting services, there are many reasons to select a paid hosting company. In order to be a professional and successful virtual corporation, you need your own domain name. If you use a free service, your domain name will be something like
“www.AnotherCompany.com/YourCompany”
This is difficult to remember, and it’s a big-time hint to savvy internet users that you’re running a small-time company. Also, free web hosts don’t provide you with your own e-mail addresses. An e-mail address of flowersforever@yahoo.com is another tip-off that you’re the sole employee of your business. Fortunately, you can find a good web host for a low price. A basic package for web hosting will generally run you between $5 and $10 a month far less than the cost of your internet connection.
Other than the ability to have your own domain name, there are several things you should consider when selecting a web host.
• Free e-mail addresses: you@yourdomain.com. Paid web hosting services generally provide you with a certain number of e-mail addresses that match your domain name. You can configure them to be sent to an offline e-mail program such as Eudora or Outlook Express, or to any web-based e-mail account like @yahoo.com or @msn.com. You can also distribute free e-mail addresses to any employees or contractors you hire, and configure them to be sent to their primary e-mail address. As mentioned before, having multiple e-mail addresses helps you to create virtual “departments” that make your company look bigger and more competent.
• Storage space. Web pages you create are stored on a file server maintained by your web host company. You should ensure your web host provides you with sufficient storage space for your files. If you plan to have several dozen (or several hundred) pages with product pictures or other multiple images, you will need more storage space than if you run a consulting service or other business that relies on text-based information.
• Bandwidth. Though not as much of a problem as it once was, you should make sure your web host provides enough bandwidth to keep your web site running smoothly. What is bandwidth? Technically, it is the amount of information that can be sent over a network connection in a given period of time. In plain English, it is whether or not your web site traffic will exceed the limits of the web host’s server. If you have limited bandwidth, at some points your site may become unavailable for viewing. Customers trying to visit your site will view either a generic Error 404 Page Not Found message, or a customized message from the web hosting company stating that your site has exceeded its bandwidth allowance for the day, and they should try again tomorrow. Most will not. If your site is graphics-heavy, you should look for a web host that offers a higher bandwidth allowance (sometimes referred to as “data transfer allowance”).
• Design options. Unless you are already a graphic designer or a computer programmer, you probably don’t know enough HTML coding to build a web site from scratch. Many web hosts offer customizable page templates or easy-to-use drag-and-drop design programs for site building. Templates are a great way to create a professional-looking web site with a minimal amount of fuss. If you plan to use an application like Microsoft FrontPage or Macromedia Dreamweaver to create your pages, you don’t need this option. However, you will need an FTP (file transfer protocol) program to upload the pages to the hosting server.
• Term contracts and discounts. Some web hosts require that you sign a contract for a certain term of service with them, usually 12 or 24 months. Others offer service on a month-to-month basis. It is better to find a host without a contract; that way, if you are dissatisfied with the service you can switch web host providers (and keep your domain name) without having to pay a cancellation fee. Also, many web hosts offer discounts for long-term customers or those who pay for several months of service up front. A few offer bundled packages, such as a web site and a shopping cart system for one lower combined price.
• Customer service and technical support. Just as you plan to provide outstanding customer service for your clients, your web host company should provide outstanding customer service for you. Be sure the company lists a phone number on their main web site, and has 24/7 technical support available, either by phone or live web chat. Because your virtual corporation exists mainly in cyberspace, you will more than likely need technical support at some point—and you don’t want to have
to wait until “the next business day” to find out why your site is suddenly displaying Japanese characters or empty boxes with little red X’s where your images used to be.
• Expandability. As your business expands, your web site should have the ability to grow with it. A good web host will offer the option to upgrade your hosting package to include more storage, bandwidth and features as you need it. If you find that your company has outgrown your current host’s capacity, it can be a nightmare trying to switch your domain name to another providers and transfer all of your files to another server. You can eliminate this potential for disaster by ensuring the web host you choose is flexible and reliable.
• Add-ons and additional services. Would your customers be interested in knowing their local weather and news headlines when they visit your site? How about taking a fun poll and seeing instant results? Or the ability to listen to audio clips? Many web hosting companies offer a variety of fun, free add-ons to make your site a great place to visit. You can get free traffic counters, site-specific search boxes, interactive forms, and even mini-games that display right on your site. Some web hosts also offer additional services such as web tracking (so you can find out how many people visited your site and how they found it), shopping cart services (which automates your purchasing process for you without relying on a third-party payment system) and more.
Micro-Management: Legal Handling of Your Scattered Employees
You may not have any employees at all. However, from time to time you may find it necessary to bring in some extra help. When you do, you have two choices: hire an employee, or enlist a contractor. Both of these methods have different tax concerns—and because they are far less complicated for contractual help, most virtual corporations choose to outsource the services they can’t provide themselves.
Employee Tax Issues: Any business owner knows an employee is an investment. If you’re running a virtual corporation, in the beginning stages it’s almost always better to outsource extra work. However, as you grow you may want to consider
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hiring someone who will work with you on a long-term basis and know your company almost as well as you.
In regards to taxes, as an employer you must pay Social Security, Medicare and unemployment tax for any permanent employee. One concern related to the virtual office is the physical location of your employee. You may choose to hire a telecommuter—someone else who works from home. If your employee(s) live in another state, you must file a W-2 (standard income tax form for employees) with that state. This costs an additional fee, but usually no more than $10 annually.
Regardless of where your employees live, you must provide all regular employees with a W-2 at the end of each tax year.
Contractor Tax Issues: The independent contractor is responsible for all of his or her own taxes. Therefore, most virtual corporations prefer to work with contractors, or as they are often called, freelancers. As a virtual business owner, your only tax responsibility for freelancers is to provide them with a Form 1099 at the end of the tax year, provided you paid them more than $600 in the year. You must keep track of any outsourced work you purchased so you can report it on your own tax forms.
NOTE: If you’re not sure whether a person who has done work for you is an employee or a contractor, the IRS provides a set of 20 questions to help you
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make that determination. Basically, if you directly control the way the work is done (you are in direct supervision of the person working for you), you should treat them as an employee. If you simply assign a task and do not control how it is done, but rather receive a finished piece of work after a specified time period (such as web copy writing, site design, or outside bookkeeping services); the person handling the work is considered a contractor.
Employee Tax Issues: Any business owner knows an employee is an investment. If you’re running a virtual corporation, in the beginning stages it’s almost always better to outsource extra work. However, as you grow you may want to consider
88
hiring someone who will work with you on a long-term basis and know your company almost as well as you.
In regards to taxes, as an employer you must pay Social Security, Medicare and unemployment tax for any permanent employee. One concern related to the virtual office is the physical location of your employee. You may choose to hire a telecommuter—someone else who works from home. If your employee(s) live in another state, you must file a W-2 (standard income tax form for employees) with that state. This costs an additional fee, but usually no more than $10 annually.
Regardless of where your employees live, you must provide all regular employees with a W-2 at the end of each tax year.
Contractor Tax Issues: The independent contractor is responsible for all of his or her own taxes. Therefore, most virtual corporations prefer to work with contractors, or as they are often called, freelancers. As a virtual business owner, your only tax responsibility for freelancers is to provide them with a Form 1099 at the end of the tax year, provided you paid them more than $600 in the year. You must keep track of any outsourced work you purchased so you can report it on your own tax forms.
NOTE: If you’re not sure whether a person who has done work for you is an employee or a contractor, the IRS provides a set of 20 questions to help you
89
make that determination. Basically, if you directly control the way the work is done (you are in direct supervision of the person working for you), you should treat them as an employee. If you simply assign a task and do not control how it is done, but rather receive a finished piece of work after a specified time period (such as web copy writing, site design, or outside bookkeeping services); the person handling the work is considered a contractor.
Paying with Virtual Money
Like traditional employees, virtual assistants and contractors must be paid. You can opt to mail a paper check to your virtual employees, but this is often just one more hassle in an already complicated home office setup. It also costs extra money in printing and mailing costs.
A better way to pay virtual employees is through the internet. Monetary transactions online are much safer than they used to be, and there are several large companies who deal specifically with electronic funds transfers. The most popular of these is PayPal, which allows any two individuals with (free) PayPal accounts to exchange money online. You can register checking accounts, savings accounts, and even credit cards with PayPal, and most virtual telecommuters and freelancers already have PayPal accounts. Paying them is a simple matter of signing in to your account and allocating funds from your checking account—and PayPal takes care of the rest.
You can also set up online transfers between checking accounts, or direct deposit for permanent employees. Most banks will allow you to do this right from their web site, without ever setting foot in a branch office.
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Hiring a virtual employee or contractor is a great way to expand your virtual corporation, and the process will help you learn more about online business. A good virtual assistant can be invaluable in making your company look bigger, and you won’t have to spend a fortune to get one. The reference section in the back of this book provides several popular online job boards to help you get started in your search.
A better way to pay virtual employees is through the internet. Monetary transactions online are much safer than they used to be, and there are several large companies who deal specifically with electronic funds transfers. The most popular of these is PayPal, which allows any two individuals with (free) PayPal accounts to exchange money online. You can register checking accounts, savings accounts, and even credit cards with PayPal, and most virtual telecommuters and freelancers already have PayPal accounts. Paying them is a simple matter of signing in to your account and allocating funds from your checking account—and PayPal takes care of the rest.
You can also set up online transfers between checking accounts, or direct deposit for permanent employees. Most banks will allow you to do this right from their web site, without ever setting foot in a branch office.
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Hiring a virtual employee or contractor is a great way to expand your virtual corporation, and the process will help you learn more about online business. A good virtual assistant can be invaluable in making your company look bigger, and you won’t have to spend a fortune to get one. The reference section in the back of this book provides several popular online job boards to help you get started in your search.
Wording Your Job Advertisement
Placing an ad for your job opening on an internet job board or classified ad site is a great way to find just the person you’re looking for, whether you need an employee or a contractor. Unlike a newspaper or magazine classified ad, most online job advertisements allow unlimited word space to describe your open position or project. Generally, employers do not pay for internet classified ads, as those who run sites that specialize in job listings charge the users in return for allowing employers to post. In order to ensure you received targeted, qualified responses, there are a few guidelines you should follow in writing your ad.
• It’s not a classified ad, it’s a marketing tool. Approach writing your job advertisement as you would a sales letter for your product. Remember, you are “selling” a position with your company, and it should sound desirable. Be descriptive! You can either tout the benefits of working for you, or try a little humor and reverse psychology: “Open position for a virtual slave to do all my drudge work so I can make money for both of us. If you’re willing to glue a phone to your ear and type your fingers off, apply now.”
• Make your job title headline news. Which position would you rather apply for: “Secretary” or “Virtual Administrative Assistant Working from Your Own Home”? Most online job boards list posts as a series of links
to the full description of the position, named whatever you submit as your job title. By making the title of your advertisement sound like a spectacular employment opportunity, you will have more people clicking your link and more applicants to choose from.
• Be Specific. The more detail you use in describing your job opening or freelance project, the more likely you will be to receive replies from qualified applicants. Spell out exactly what you expect from the person you will hire, how the work will be performed, whether there are any benefits or bonuses, and if further opportunities for freelancers will arise in the future. However, too much detail can also harm your results; long posts may seem intimidating or daunting to online job seekers. A good rule of thumb is to keep job listings under 500 words. Remember to include your contact information—if they can’t find you, they can’t apply for the job!
• It’s not a classified ad, it’s a marketing tool. Approach writing your job advertisement as you would a sales letter for your product. Remember, you are “selling” a position with your company, and it should sound desirable. Be descriptive! You can either tout the benefits of working for you, or try a little humor and reverse psychology: “Open position for a virtual slave to do all my drudge work so I can make money for both of us. If you’re willing to glue a phone to your ear and type your fingers off, apply now.”
• Make your job title headline news. Which position would you rather apply for: “Secretary” or “Virtual Administrative Assistant Working from Your Own Home”? Most online job boards list posts as a series of links
to the full description of the position, named whatever you submit as your job title. By making the title of your advertisement sound like a spectacular employment opportunity, you will have more people clicking your link and more applicants to choose from.
• Be Specific. The more detail you use in describing your job opening or freelance project, the more likely you will be to receive replies from qualified applicants. Spell out exactly what you expect from the person you will hire, how the work will be performed, whether there are any benefits or bonuses, and if further opportunities for freelancers will arise in the future. However, too much detail can also harm your results; long posts may seem intimidating or daunting to online job seekers. A good rule of thumb is to keep job listings under 500 words. Remember to include your contact information—if they can’t find you, they can’t apply for the job!
BUILDING A SMALL OFFICE
The Wave of the Future: Why Go Virtual?
Since the inception and spread of the internet, our world has changed. Boundaries once thought un-crossable have not only been crossed, they have been erased by the expansion of cyberspace. These days, you can hop online and instantly connect with someone on the other side of the world. It’s incredible when you stop to think about it.
Perhaps the biggest impact of the internet has been in the world of business, where the term “global market” has taken on a whole new meaning. The ability to connect with nearly all of civilization with a simple click of the mouse has enabled large companies to grow even larger; and small companies that would never have otherwise succeeded to flourish. Target markets can be identified, reached and serviced with the same level of professionalism whether a company consists of several thousand employees and twenty levels of management, or a couple of guys working out of a garage—and believe it or not, online consumer giant Amazon.com started out as exactly that. How about search engine behemoth Google? A couple of guys working from their basement.
Behold the power of the internet.
With the dot-com busts of the eighties gone but not forgotten, businesses have learned their lessons and become more online-savvy than ever. The marketing waters have been tested, and it’s possible—and even likely—for a small business owner or venture start-up to craft an enormous web presence that makes them appear as big as Pepsi. This book will explain how to craft your virtual corporation and give your business or start-up the boost it needs to thrive in the global market—without spending or investing thousands of dollars as you would in a typical brick-and-mortar business venture.
Since the inception and spread of the internet, our world has changed. Boundaries once thought un-crossable have not only been crossed, they have been erased by the expansion of cyberspace. These days, you can hop online and instantly connect with someone on the other side of the world. It’s incredible when you stop to think about it.
Perhaps the biggest impact of the internet has been in the world of business, where the term “global market” has taken on a whole new meaning. The ability to connect with nearly all of civilization with a simple click of the mouse has enabled large companies to grow even larger; and small companies that would never have otherwise succeeded to flourish. Target markets can be identified, reached and serviced with the same level of professionalism whether a company consists of several thousand employees and twenty levels of management, or a couple of guys working out of a garage—and believe it or not, online consumer giant Amazon.com started out as exactly that. How about search engine behemoth Google? A couple of guys working from their basement.
Behold the power of the internet.
With the dot-com busts of the eighties gone but not forgotten, businesses have learned their lessons and become more online-savvy than ever. The marketing waters have been tested, and it’s possible—and even likely—for a small business owner or venture start-up to craft an enormous web presence that makes them appear as big as Pepsi. This book will explain how to craft your virtual corporation and give your business or start-up the boost it needs to thrive in the global market—without spending or investing thousands of dollars as you would in a typical brick-and-mortar business venture.
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