Starting a web business, as opposed to just building a web site, requires planning, preparation and a strong commitment to what will be an ongoing work in progress. Here are some basic steps that will get you going in the right direction.

You’ll be tempted to skip some of these steps, or slack on a few, but we don’t advise it.

Develop your mindset NOW so that you do things in an orderly way, and set goals for yourself. Jill Koenig and Greg Reid speak to this topic in our Web Business Ownership Series. It’s important to understand that a web business, although it sounds easy, is as much, or more, work than a brick and mortar establishment. Your state of mind and ability to focus on details will be key to your success. Most empires aren’t built overnight, and we want to see you gain all you can from your diligent efforts.

I. Establish Your Business

Many small business owners opt to establish themselves as a business using only their social security number. While this is a quick and easy way to get your business going, starting off this way holds risks that may be better addressed by a corporate setting. We encourage you to incorporate your business and determine the best entity. To learn more about incorporation and what you need to do, listen to Brett Melson in the Web Business Ownership Series. You can even learn how to get money from the government, and how to easily establish business credit without using your personal credit from Tom Reid and April Mason.

You’ll also need to get your business systems and your administrative backend in order. How will you send bills or collect payments? William R. Patterson and Chuck Stewart both speak to these topics specifically as they relate to web business owners. You don’t have to “go it alone”. We’re here to help.

II. Plan and Develop Your Web Site

Your web site will be the most important vehicle you own to market and promote your business. Make sure that you engage a great web developer who is able to communicate your concepts into visual representation and choose a business class web hosting service. To get some ideas, visit our Web Business Resources section and listen to Veronique Topping-Knight and Jennifer Phillips in the listening area. You’ll need to consider your logo and branding, pictures and layout, as well as the best web programming tools for the job.

III. Market and Promote Your Web Site

After you’ve developed your awesome web site, you’ll need to market and promote your products and services. Strategic search engine optimization tactics and strong targeting for a niche market, will help to narrow the playing field. Ron Capps, the Niche Professor himself, gives a very detailed account of how it all works. It’s not as bad as it sounds. We promise.

Michel Fortin, The Copy Doctor, gave us some tips on how to make sure we communicate our sales message and value with the best choice of words.

IV. Measure Your Web Business Successes and Failures

Just when you think the fun is over, you’ll need to check your web statistics, usually available from within your web hosting panel, on a regular basis to determine what is working and what isn’t working so well. Your web statistics will show you specific details such as how many people visited your site, what areas of your site were visited the most, and how people are finding you.

Use the web site statistics to also tweak your search engine optimization tactics. By adding a keyword or subtracting a few, you may attract an audience that is altogether too happy to have found you.

V. Review Your Progress and Evaluate Your Web Statistics

Armed with the information from your web site statistics you’ll need to make some decisions about your findings. In addition to your web site statistics, your customer’s response - or lack thereof, will also give you some ideas about things you need to address on your site. By addressing something as simple as a changing a paragraph, swapping a color, or even fixing a spelling error, you may see a major improvement in your customer responses.

So there you have it - in a nutshell - How to get going in web business. It’s not as complex as it may sound, and you’ll find that most of the things you need to become a successful web business owners are well within the realm of common sense.

How WBO Can Help

Our Web Business Ownership Series gives you an in-depth look at how successful people are doing business online, and using the web to get ahead. We hope you’ll listen intently, take lots of notes, and apply the information you’ll receive so you can join the ranks of hundreds of profitable web business entrepreneurs!

The Web Business Ownership BMG Team can help you with several kinds of web business services.
Click Here to get started.

• Web Design and Programming
• Web Hosting Services
• Imagery and Branding
• Internet Marketing, Web Site Promotion and Online Advertising
• One-on-One Business Coaching Services
• Free Web Site Critiques

Good Luck!