Small Business Information Center. Com

Internet Business: Why go Online? 

Internet Business: Past and Present 

Why would you want an Internet business? Some experts have estimated that by the year 2003 approximately 500 million people worldwide will be on the World Wide Web.  If that is not an absolutely huge market than what is it? 

There are usually two ways in which the Internet is used by business. It can be used to expand and provide advertising for your bricks and mortar business, or you can start a completely online Internet business. Both types of businesses require an enormous amount of time learning how e-commerce works, how to maintain a web site and how to run an Internet business. 

Probably the most amazing aspect of an Internet business is that you can literally do business 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with anyone in the entire world, as long as they are connected to the World Wide Web. Internet service providers link to places around the globe in a matter of seconds allowing business to be just a couple of clicks away.  Therefore, your first Internet business customers in St. Louis, Missouri could be from Sydney, Australia , a place you would never have been able to reach through traditional business marketing operations a decade ago. 

Internet businesses can be considered to somewhat "level the playing field" between large and small businesses. If you put together an excellent, professional web site for your Internet business in your basement, it may have the same appeal as a multimillion dollar website built by a major corporation in New York City.  

So now, what you do to create your own Internet business or utilize the Web to enhance your existing off-line business? The first thing you can do is evaluate other web sites (especially those providing similar services) and see which ones appeal to you.  Look at each one of these Internet business web sites with a critical eye and ask yourself: 

• Do I like the page layout?
• Do the products or services jump out at me, or are the pages cluttered and unprofessional.
• Is the site easy to navigator, or do I have to click again and again to find things?
• Is the content crisp and clear or confusing and poorly written?
• Is the site current or does it appear out of date?
• Is there a way to contact the business owner or customer service?
• How easy is it to buy something from the point of selection all the way through to checkout?

The next thing you will want to do is to plan your Internet business. Please go to next page for some easy guidance on what to do to develop a plan for a thriving, professional web-based business. 

Information from Everything: Start Your Own Business Book by Rich Mintzer 

Web page by Paul Susic M.A. Licensed Psychologist  Ph.D. Candidate  CEO/President Susic Psychological Consulting P.C.