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Internet Business: Let’s get started

Internet Business Overview- Page #1 

Internet businesses are beginning to rival traditional commercial retailers. Many experts have concluded that Internet businesses have probably assisted small business more then inhibited normal retail operations.  While certain products such as books, CDs and toys are showing tremendous results on the Internet, many more people have been found to research products on the Internet, and then walk into “bricks-and-mortar” retail locations to actually see and purchase the products. Selling specialized niche items such as gift items and custom-made products with a very limited amount of overhead has been found to be very successful over the Internet.  The Web is also proving to be a wonderful way to promote and increase sales for established bricks and mortar businesses. Currently, it is probably better to use the Internet to promote your existing business rather than basing your entire revenue source on your Internet business operations. 

Internet business concerns: 

Shoppers have voiced several concerns about the use of Internet businesses for their everyday shopping needs.  One major concern that many people feel, is that when shopping over the Internet, they do not know whom they are buying from, and are not always confident that their privacy is respected and maintained.  Other than dealing with established online companies, many people are reluctant to give their credit card number to an unknown, possibly unsecured source.  While it may be demonstrated that there are probably more breaches of security with traditional credit card methods used in retail stores, customers are still very leery of cyberspace.  Fraud and privacy issues become quickly evidenced by the increase in unwanted spam e-mailings whenever people sign up or put their personal information on certain web sites.  If you're going to go into an Internet business, you need to be sure to make yourself as accessible as possible with a toll-free number, good customer service policies, a business address and so on so forth.  People become quite concerned about the anonymity of many Internet businesses that are only online. 

An Internet business faces another problem quite different from a normal retail location.  Unlike a regular bricks and mortar business in which you hang out a sign and people walk in the front door, an Internet business has to find a way to attract people to their site.  For many entrepreneurs, marketing a web site is proving to be very difficult.  There was a glut of sites that emerged in the late 1990s, which then quickly disappeared.  As a result, it has become increasingly difficult for Web startups to find venture capital.  While this may change sometime in the future, most companies on the World Wide Web start small or use their online operations as an adjunct business (to their bricks-and-mortar business) rather than using their Internet business as their primary revenue source.  However, you can become a success on the web if you learn as much as you can, work hard, and follow the guidance of others who have already had some success with an Internet business. 

See Page #2 Internet Business Overview. 

Some information from Rich Mintzer's The Everything Start Your Own Business Book       

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