Step 1: The Idea and Start-up Plans

This is the most important step of all!  Without a good concept, a good product, good services or good content, anything else you do is a waste of time.  So what should you look for here?

If you already have a business off the Internet (in the "real world"), this is the logical place to start.  However, we do not recommend that you stop there.  So many businesses launching websites view the Internet as just another place they need to advertise.  

Their websites tend to be little more than what are known in cyberspace as "Brochure Websites."  They simply replicate print advertisements and brochures.  While these sites are not totally worthless, they fail to take advantage of the unparalleled opportunities afforded by the new technologies online.

The Internet is fast becoming the busiest business district the world has ever known. However, having a web site should be more than reproducing existing advertising. It should mean taking full advantage of the Internet's capability of interactive shopping and globally convenient access. Your web site can be the perfect showcase for people to obtain information about your company and products, an efficient way of communicating with your present clients, potential customers and an international marketplace to sell your products and services.

If you do not have an existing business, you should still look for ideas first in areas where you already have some expertise.  If your current expertise does not seem to lend itself to an online business opportunity, your next plan should be to spend some significant time learning about the businesses already operating online.  Once you have an understanding of what is available, look for ways to do the same things in a better way or look for a market niche that has not been serviced well.  Keep in mind that there are almost always ways to improve upon existing services and products.

Worldwide Brands, Inc. has spent months working with their own Research and Programming Teams, and with several highly successful Internet Retailers, to develop The Market Research Wizard. To learn which products are the best ones to sell online and to find out what the competition is doing, Click Here for a Free Trial of the Market Research Wizard.

A good place to go to see the kinds of products that may be available for resale, is Wholesale World (www.wholesale-world.us) where you can find online descriptions or products, resale terms of major wholesalers, and helpful advice for retailers.  After you understand the difference between buying wholesale and drop shipping, you can find lists of manufacturers who are willing to drop-ship.  Drop-shipping generally involves lass risk, but also a lower profit rate per sale.  The risk-return trade off is common in any business, so you should learn to expect that.

If you have an idea you wish to discuss, contact us for advise.  However, as we are not attorneys, we will not be able to give you any legal advice.  If you need to ask a legal question, we recommend that you visit Law Guru where you can ask questions, find an attorney and get helpful legal forms.

If you are really new to all of this and want to understand more, we recommend joining the Newbie Club.  Their motto is "I'm a Newbie, not a Dummy.  Just show me how!"

Your Business Plan: Documenting your business plans and ideas

If you have not yet developed your Business Plan, we strongly recommend you do so before moving on to the next step.  Even if you are starting a very small company with one or two people, you will benefit from going through this exercise.  Business plans are much more than simply a homework assignment for MBA students or a project for large corporations.  They are a critical first step as well as a continuing process for any business, which plans to succeed. We have found very valuable help for businesses needing to develop a business plan on the American Express website in the section for small businesses.  Click here to visit that site. 

If you don't need a comprehensive 30 to 50 page business plan as outlined by the American Express business plan model above, we suggest that you also look at the Mini-Plan offered free by the Wall Street Journal.  Click here to sign up for the online business plan wizard.

Equipment & Software:

Often we are asked about equipment and software requirements for operating an online business.  The list below is recommended for active online businesses:

• Computer with at least 4Gb hard drive, 96Mg RAM, Pentium II processor and 56K modem

• Current browser and email program

• Website design program if you plan to maintain your own website

• Web host with secure server for taking credit card information online

• Merchant account so you can accept credit cards

• Scanner to copy and publish pictures or documents

• Fax machine/copier/printer

• Graphics program if you will be designing your own graphics

• Bookkeeping software to record your transactions

• FTP program to facilitate uploading files to your website

• Web statistics program to monitor your Internet visitors

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Step 2: Licenses and Legal Matters * 

When do you need a lawyer for your new business?  In part, you need for an attorney depends on the type of business you plan to launch online.  Typical business situations when most business, whether or not they are doing business online are the following:

• Incorporation - You may want to consider the legal benefits as well as possible tax implications of incorporating your business.  If you do, you will need to contact one of the Business or Corporate Lawyers in your state.  Another consideration when you are deciding whether or not to incorporate you new business is that, in general, your company will be treated with more seriousness by other businesses, banks and potential investors.  Even if your company is small and even if you are working out of your home, you should look seriously at the tangible and intangible benefits (and costs) of creating a legal entity under which to operate. If you are comfortable with the process of incorporation, you can even incorporate your company online at Biz Filings for as little as $125 plus state licensing fees!
   
• Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights - You might be surprised to learn how often intellectual property issues are related to conducting business on the Internet.  If you have any doubts about how these issues affect your business, you will want to consult with Intellectual Property or Trademark lawyers.
   
• Licenses and Contracts - Before you sign any contract, especially those written by another party, you should read it carefully so that you totally understand what your are signing.  If you have any doubts about the legal or liability implications of any contract, you should ask an attorney to review it before you sign.  If you set up an affiliate or reseller program on your website, lease server space with a hosting company, or hire a contract programmer or website designer, you are entering into contractual relationships, which may dictate your hiring a lawyer.  To find lawyers in your state, see Lawyers-by-City.com.
   
• Internet Law - If you have heard what a great deal it is to buy expired domain names with other company's names and good active links to the domain name and then use it to bring traffic to your own business, then you also might want to visit some Internet lawyers who will be well-versed in the 1999 Anti-Cybersquatting Law.  Even if you do not contact an attorney, you should read through this law carefully before buying domain names that may be legally protected by trademark or other intellectual property rights.  Even an act as seemingly simple as selecting a domain name for your business can easily have trademark infringement implications.  So before you spend money buying a domain name, building a website and promoting your new business, make sure that you will not run into legal issues in the future.  The relatively small cost of seeking legal advice may save you much more money down the road.

* Please note: We are not attorneys and in no way intend for the information presented above to be legal advice.  This information is presented only to help new businesses understand some of the situations that might dictate that lawyers or law firms be consulted.

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