How do I start my own internet business?

March 1, 2010 by admin · 2 Comments
Filed under: Small Business 
business
Marie T asked:

I am completely new at starting my own business. I want to start selling items off the internet. What is some good information that can help me start my own business? Do I need the go to business course in college or get a license?

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2 Responses to “How do I start my own internet business?”
  1. Kristah56 says:
    March 3, 2010 at 1:37 pm

    No you don’t need to go to college. You can start your own business when you work with a legit BBB accredited company like the one below. Have a great day! Hope this helps! Kristah56

  2. Chelsey says:
    March 5, 2010 at 7:29 am

    You don’t NEED to take business classes, but if you want to begin a business, I really recommend taking at least one business class at the local community college. That way, you can know the negatives and positives of business and get some background on the process of owning a business.

    To have a legitimate business, you need AT LEAST these 4 things.
    1. DBA (doing business as) or FBN (fictitious business name)- so that you don’t need to do business under your name. Then you will need to get it printed in the local newspaper for 4 consecutive weeks.
    2. EIN (employee id number)- so that you do not need to use your own social security number.
    3. Seller’s Permit/ Tax ID- so that you can purchase wholesale and your state can collect their tax.
    4. Business license
    (all in that order).

    Get your domain (www.yourname.com). You can get this from godaddy.com for $10 a year.

    Getting the actual website will be the hardest part. You have three options.
    1. Make it yourself.
    2. Use a premade template.
    3. Hire a designer.

    I highly suggest hiring a designer. This is why:
    1. Unless you know html coding, it will be nearly impossible to create your own website.
    2. Templates are not very customizable.
    3. Templates may end up looking unprofessional.
    Those are the reasons I can think of off the top of my head. I’m sure there are many other reasons.
    Hiring a designer has its positives.
    For one, you will be working with a professional! This person will hopefully work with you until the site is up to your standards. A designer will give the site a more professional and unique feel, etc.
    Finding a designer is a very difficult process.
    If you aren’t any good with codes, make sure that the designer offers an admin spot where you can easily update the site with out coding knowledge.
    Its always great when the shopping cart is included in the one time fee. Most shopping carts are about $30 a month and increase as you add more products to your site.
    It ends up getting ridiculous!! Some designers offer you a one time fee for the use of their shopping cart.
    Then, you will need a web host. Some designers will recommend a site for you to use. In any case, you should always check with the designer before choosing a host, because some hosting services do not work well with the shopping cart your designer provides.

    You will also need a merchant account to accept payment from customers.
    You can use a place such as authorize.net or Paypal (which no longers requires that customers make an account and accepts credit cards).

    Of course, you will need to think of what products you will be selling.
    Where will you get them?
    Who is your target market?
    What is your price range?
    etc.

    Good Luck!!! Chelsey

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