The 4 Things Your Online Business Needs To Succeed


by Erik Carter - Date: 2007-02-26 - Word Count: 529 Share This!

Business is business, and the Internet didn't change that. Remember the "dot coms" and how they were supposed to change the rules of doing business? That a business didn't need a product or service to survive? That management of an Internet business was fundamentally different from management of any other type of business? That the value of an Internet business was not simply its profit and loss statement?

They were wrong. Horribly wrong. And they crashed and burned, right in front of us.

Business requires customers, who are willing to purchase your products or services, at a mutually agreed to price. That's it. The Internet didn't change that. The Internet has simply made getting your product or service out to a larger audience easier, and has made the purchasing mechanism simpler (for certain purchases), and has made delivery of many products and services inexpensive and almost instantaneous.

But whether you are running a business that is completely web-based, or one that is a bricks-and-mortar business using the Internet to advertise or to simplify customer service, you still need four essential elements to succeed. The Internet has made obtaining and mastering these elements so much easier than in the past.

The four elements are:

1. EDUCATION. You need to educate yourself about your business, your market, your competitors, and marketing and management in general. The Internet can provide you with access to websites and businesses that provide you with free or low-cost educational materials.

2. NETWORKING. The Internet is the most powerful communication tool ever invented, and people have innovatively used it to achieve connections with people that were unimagined just 20 years ago. Forums, social network sites, blogs, and email allow you to connect with experienced marketers and business owners, to discuss how to help your business succeed and grow. What used to take joining professional organizations, attending endless breakfast meetings or out of town conventions, exchanging business card after business card - now takes a search and email, to find the person who can mentor you in your business.

3. CUSTOMERS. Advertising on the Internet can be done for free, or for a fraction of even a small newspaper ad, and reach hundreds of thousands or even millions of potential customers. Downline building programs allow you to capture information about your customers, so you can market to them efficiently and effectively. Your ad or your link can be placed on thousands of highly viewed sites in seconds, for pennies.

4. PRODUCT. You can write and sell your own book for the cost of nothing more than the time it took you to research and write it. Or you can sell someone else's product, and take a percentage of the sale. Often, these people will provide you with the advertising and even websites, so all you do is promote the product. They even package and ship it, and handle returns!

By taking advantage of the tools available on the Internet for each of these areas, you can build businesses that generate revenues for less money than even the great industrialists of the Twentieth Century couldn't imagine. Find the tools to help you use each of these elements in your online business, and you will soon have a successful business.


Related Tags: home based business, affiliate marketing, online business, networking, downline, online marketing, soho

ERIK CARTER has set up "4 Steps To Success" (http://4steps.bravehost.com), where the best FREE programs for each of the 4 elements is featured, and also manages START YOUR LIFE NOW! (http://www.startyourlifenow.com), a website focused on helping you achive EXCELLENCE in ALL areas of your life by helping you to achieve excellence in Business - Family - Fitness - Spirituality - Personal.

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