Don't forget, that if you want more information, you can also always go to my website at
http://jedeye.com
Understanding How an Internet Business Works
In 1998, four partners and I started a business. Our plan was to
only do business on the internet. We displayed at the first
Internet World Conference at Staples Center in Los Angeles. We
were full of ambition, and everyone … absolutely everyone …
had no idea what they were doing. Whether it was another startup
in the booth next to us named Google, or another startup on the
other side that nobody ever hear of. None of us had any idea what
we were doing. Flash forward to 2010, just twelve years later.
Even though the internet is still very very young, we have
learned so much. We now have an understanding of what the
internet is about, what the possibilities are, and we know how to
make money with an internet based business. With that said, the
internet is still evolving, and what works today may very well
not work tomorrow, so anyone who desires to work on the internet
needs to realize that their business will change, as will their
marketing strategies, on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly
basis. For me, this is the most exciting aspect of running an
internet business.
First, let’s talk about the various ways that you can do
business on the internet. After that, we’ll talk in more detail
on how to sell completely on the internet.
1. Have a brick and mortar business, and advertise on the
internet. You’ll find that this is much like the internet only
option, yet you’ll have the costs of having a storefront or
office, and all of the equipment, leases, inventory (if you’re
a retail business) and overhead of a brick and mortar business.
This kind of business is either a service business (such as a law
firm, massage therapy practice and such) or a retail business
(selling stuff). Either way, the internet can become a venue to
market your business. Much of what we’ll talk about in future
lessons will be pertinent, so don’t tune out.
2. Sell your own stuff on the internet. Under this method, you
don’t have a storefront or office, but you choose to sell your
stuff (including services) on the internet. Once again, the
internet is a method of marketing the selling of your stuff, but
in this case, your showroom or “store” is a website. The
best example of this would be someone who sells via EBay, or who
operates as a virtual assistant.
3. Sell other people’s stuff on the internet. If you have your
own products, the internet is just a wonderful place to market
your products. But very often, people don’t have their own
products. They haven’t written anything, and they don’t have
jewelry they’ve made. Actually, these are the majority of
people, and, quite possibly, could be you. If you are in this
situation, don’t despair! There are literally hundreds of
people out there who have developed some wonderful products, and
not only would they love for you to sell their stuff for them,
they’ll make it easy, and very often will give you over a 50%
commission on the sale of any of their products you market.
Now comes the hard part. How do you get people to notice you,
find your website, or learn about the products and services you
would like to sell? The key word is marketing. In 2005, it was
estimated that there were approximately 80 million websites on
the internet. How do you rise above the 80 million and get people
to notice you? Over the course of the next few lessons, we’ll
talk about exactly that, but the fact is that there are many ways
to get noticed and to get people to buy from you. I’ll give you
a step-by step plan, starting tomorrow.
Until then, let this all settle in, and we’ll talk tomorrow.
Remember, you can always call or email if you have questions,
Mark "Slim" Albertson