Starting an Online Business All-in-one for Dummies (For Dummies)

Turn your business dreams into profitable reality with this straightforward guide to setting up and running an online business. It walks you step-by step through the entire process, from researching the market and designing your Web site, to marketing your product online and trading securely. Whether you're starting out or looking to expand an existing business online, this up to- date book provides you with all the support and expert advice you need to successfully build your own online empire. Online Business All-In-One for DUMmIES 1 About the Authors 3 Contents at a Glance 10 Table of Contents 12 Introduction 28 About This Book 28 Conventions Used in This Book 29 Foolish Assumptions 30 How This Book Is Organized 30 Icons Used in This Book 32 Where to Go from Here 32 Book I: E-Business 101 34 Chapter 1: Can You Do the Business? 36 Deciding What You Want from a Business 36 Assessing Yourself 38 Chapter 2: Testing Feasibility 46 Finding Enough Product or People 46 Sizing Up the Market 48 Working Out Whether You Can Make Money 63 Chapter 3: Preparing the Business Plan 68 Finding a Reason to Write a Business Plan 69 Writing Up Your Business Plan 73 Using Business Planning Software 77 Presenting Your Plan 81 Stuff for Other Places? 82 Chapter 4: Setting Off in the Right Direction 84 Why Values Matter 85 Identifying Your Company’s Values 88 Putting Together the Values Statement 94 Creating Your Company’s Vision Statement 96 Chapter 5: Harnessing Creativity in Your Business 100 The Creative Process at a Glance 100 Finding Out What You Need to Change 101 Generating Great Ideas 104 Applying Your Creativity 110 Chapter 6: Opening Your Own Online Business in Ten Easy Steps 114 The Time Is Now 114 Step 1: Identify a Need 115 Step 2: Know What You’re Offering 118 Step 3: Come Up with a Virtual Business Plan 119 Step 4: Get Your Act Together and Set Up Shop 120 Step 5: Get Help 122 Step 6: Construct a Web Site 124 Step 7: Process Your Sales 126 Step 8: Provide Personal Service 128 Step 9: Alert the Media and Everyone Else 131 Step 10: Review, Revise, and Improve 132 Book II: Setting Up Your Web Site 134 Chapter 1: Finding the Money 136 Assessing How Much Money You Need 136 Reviewing Your Financing Options 142 Determining the Best Source of Finance for You 145 Going for Debt 148 Sharing out the Spoils 153 Finding Free Money 158 Chapter 2: Choosing and Equipping Your New E-Business 162 Starting Off on the Right Foot 163 Mapping Out Your Online Business 163 Flavours of Online Businesses You Can Taste Test 166 Marketing One-to-One with Your Customers 172 Easyware ( Not Hardware) for Your Business 180 Getting Online: Connection Options 187 Software Solutions for Online Business 187 Chapter 3: Selecting the Right Web Host and Design Tools 192 Getting the Most from Your Web Host 193 Finding a Web Server to Call Home 194 Fun with Tools: Choosing a Web Page Editor 205 Chapter 4: Giving Your E-Business Site Structure and Style 212 Feng Shui Your Web Site 212 Nip and Tuck: Establishing a Visual Identity 214 Extreme Web Pages: Advanced Layouts 223 Hiring a Professional Web Designer 226 Chapter 5: Building in Security Up Front 228 Practising Safe Business 229 Installing Firewalls and Other Safeguards 233 Using Public Keys to Provide Security 237 Keeping Other Noses Out of Your Business 241 Book III: Getting Known E-asily 246 Chapter 1: Marketing Your Wares 248 Making Up the Marketing Mix 248 Defining Your Product Parameters 249 Using Advertising to Tell Your Story 249 Getting in the News 255 Selling and Salesmanship 257 Pricing for Profit 260 Pondering Place and Distribution 262 Looking at Legal Issues in Marketing 266 Chapter 2: Researching Your Customers, Competitors, and Industry 276 Why Research Matters – And What to Focus On 277 Planning Your Research 281 Carrying Out Primary Research 283 A Dozen Ideas for Low-Cost Research 287 Finding Free Data 291 Chapter 3: Getting Net-Savvy 296 Marketing on the Internet 297 Finding Your Online Market 305 Working in the Online World 306 Chapter 4: Search Engines: What You Need to Know 308 Understanding How Search Engines Find You 308 Going Gaga over Google 312 Leaving a Trail of Crumbs 313 Monitoring Traffic: The Science of Webanalytics 321 Chapter 5: Controlling the Message with Online Advertising 324 Working Out Your Goals 324 Finding the Right Format 326 Clinching the Deal 328 Measure by Measure 333 Chapter 6: Spreading the Word with Internet PR 336 Whom Do You Want to Influence? 336 Planning an Internet PR Campaign 339 Getting Your Release Distributed 341 Tracking Your Release 343 Book IV: Keeping Business Ticking Over 346 Chapter 1: Operating Effectively 348 Taking the Make-or-Buy Decision 348 Choosing a Supplier 352 Minimising Risk and Assessing Liability 356 Dissecting Directors 360 Finding and Choosing Business Advisers 362 Chapter 2: Controlling Your Books, Your Records, and Your Money 368 Putting Controls on Your Business’s Cash 369 Keeping the Right Paperwork 376 Protecting Your Business Against Internal Fraud 379 Insuring Your Cash through Employee Bonding 382 Chapter 3: Counting Your Sales 384 Collecting on Cash Sales 384 Selling on Credit 387 Cashing Up the Cash Register 393 Monitoring Sales Discounts 394 Recording Sales Returns and Allowances 395 Monitoring Accounts Receivable 397 Accepting Your Losses 397 Chapter 4: Monitoring and Improving Your Business 400 Bolstering Your Infrastructure 400 Performing Basic Web Housekeeping 405 Managing Goods and Services 412 Chapter 5: Making It All Legal 416 Thinking about Trade Names and Trademarks 417 Practising Safe Copyright 422 Understanding Legal Basics 426 Your Business in the Eyes of the Law 427 Keeping Out of Legal Trouble 429 Chapter 6: Online Business Accounting Tools 432 ABCs: Accounting Basics for Commerce 432 Accounting Software for Your Business 437 The Taxman Cometh: Concerns for Small Business 441 Book V: Handling Customers and Staff 444 Chapter 1: Employing People 446 Profiling Great Employees 446 Exploring Sources 450 Motivating and Rewarding Employees 453 Compensating Your Employees 460 Staying on the Right Side of the Law 463 Chapter 2: Inspiring Employees to Better Performance 472 The Greatest Management Principle in the World 473 Discovering What Employees Want 475 Deciding What to Reward 479 Starting with the Positive 481 Making a Big Deal about Something Little 482 Money and Motivation 483 Chapter 3: Harnessing the Power of Technology 486 Using Technology to Your Advantage 487 Evaluating the Benefits and Drawbacks of Technology 489 Improving Efficiency and Productivity 491 Getting the Most Out of Information Technology 493 Planning and Implementation 494 Chapter 4: Attracting and Keeping Customers 496 Including Features That Attract Customers 497 Writing Unforgettable Text 510 Inviting Comments from Customers 512 Chapter 5: Accepting Payments 520 Sealing the Deal: The Options 521 Enabling Credit-Card Purchases 522 Exploring Online Payment Systems 525 Fulfilling Your Online Orders 531 Chapter 6: Service with a Virtual Smile 534 The Best Customer Is an Informed Customer 535 Helping Customers Reach You 538 Making Customers Feel That They Belong 548 Book VI: Using eBay.co.uk 556 Chapter 1: Why eBay Is a Great Place to Buy and Sell 558 What Is eBay, and How Does It Work? 559 All About Auctions 561 Buying It Now at eBay 563 So You Want to Sell Stuff 564 So You Want to Buy Stuff? 564 Research for Fun and Profit 564 eBay’s Role in the Action 565 Features and Fun Stuff 565 Extra Gadgets You May Want 566 Chapter 2: Using eBay. co. uk to Launch Your Business 568 Getting Down to Business 568 Deciding What to Sell 572 Getting Ready to Sell 579 Making Your Auctions Run More Smoothly 583 Chapter 3: Running a Business on eBay. co. uk 588 Understanding eBay. co. uk Auctions 589 Building a Good Reputation 590 Preparing Sales Descriptions That Sell 595 Providing Good Customer Service 600 Moving from Auctioneer to eBay. co. uk Businessperson 601 Chapter 4: Opening a Shop, Virtually 604 Online Shops Galore 604 Choosing Your eBay. co. uk Shop Name 606 Setting up Shop 607 Improving Your Offering 612 Marketing Your Wares 618 eBay.co.uk Shops versus Auctions 619 Chapter 5: Jazzing Up Your Auctions 622 Writing Winning Text 622 Setting Up Your eBay. co. uk Photo Studio 623 Taking Good Pictures 631 Using a Scanner 632 Image-Editing Software 633 A Home for Your Images 633 HTML Made Easy 637 Chapter 6: Building an eBay. co. uk Back Office 640 The Warehouse: Organising Your Space 640 Inventory: Keeping Track of What You Have and Where You Keep It 642 The Shipping Department: Packin’ It Up 643 The Post Room: Sendin’ It Out 644 Book VII : Understanding Web 2.0 646 Chapter 1: Profiting from New Business Tools 648 Advantages of Doing Business Online 648 Exploring New Products and Services You Can Sell 653 Adding Online Content and Commentary 656 Building a Community 660 Web 2.0 – What on Earth Does That Mean? 662 Chapter 2: The Emergence of Web 2.0 664 Grasping the Basics of Web 2.0 664 Understanding Blogging 666 Mastering Podcasting 669 Networking with the MySpace Generation 670 Index 674