In the first part of this article we covered Education, Right
Attitude, effective Time Management, Planning and Research. Here
we continue with the next five important points.

6) Right Tools

Autoresponders, domains, web hosting, payment processors are some
of the basic but vital resources, building blocks or business
infrastructure that you need in order to make a serious presence
in cyberspace.

Finding the right service providers for your internet business is
akin to finding the right materials to build a house. Get the
wrong ones and everything will come crumbling down right before
your eyes.

Exercise some due diligence here and take some time to do your
research on the net or participate in internet marketing forums
and ask around for recommendations. Most of the time, you'll find
quite a number of people more than willing to give helpful
recommendations and advice based on their own experience.

7) Innovation

This is another pitfall to look out for. If you're serious about
your internet business, complacency is not an option. I repeat,
complacency is not an option.

When this happens, your business will remain stagnant, move on a
plateau and eventually fade away into the abyss.

Konica Minolta, a leading company in the photo imaging industry
sent shockwaves worldwide when it announced its withdrawal from
the camera and photo business last year, citing difficulties in
providing timely competitive products in today's era of digital
camera revolution.


You're playing a very risky game if you think that whatever
that's happening elsewhere doesn't concern you or your internet
business. Stay up to date to the developments around you by
subscribing to newsletters from authority sites such as
Clickz.com and MarketingSherpa.com

Ensure that your internet business remains relevant by being
innovative. Pay attention to emerging opportunities, rapidly
evolving market and technology trends and use that information to
your advantage to plan not one, but three steps ahead.

In other words, innovate or disintegrate.

8) Customer/Prospect Relationship Management

This is no secret. You can have the best product out there on the
market, but if you do not put in any effort to build a
relationship with your customers/prospects, your business will
end up being a one-time wonder at best.

Most seasoned internet entrepreneurs would agree that it is much
harder to generate new customers as compared to servicing current
ones. There are several ways you can connect and develop a long
term, mutually beneficial relationship online with your
customers/prospects.

One way is to keep in constant contact via emails through
newsletters, follow-ups, special promotions, customer birthday
tracking and pre or post sales/service surveys & feedbacks. In
addition, you may want to consider setting up a forum and
interact regularly with them.

Establish customer loyalty and you'll discover that they have the
potential to significantly contribute to the longevity of your
business, be it through repeat sales or referrals.

9) Integrity

I'll keep this simple and to the point. It is of utmost
importance that you maintain a positive reputation in the
internet realm. Word spreads extremely fast in cyberspace and
before you know it, the damage has been done.

Aim to resolve outstanding issues with your customers or critics
in a timely and tactful manner. Look at it as an opportunity for
your professionalism to shine through and further enhance your
credibility and trust in the community.

And another thing - Keep and deliver your promises promptly, over
deliver whenever possible. Customers love it when you exceed
their expectations.

10) Website Promotion

Last but definitely not least, you need to let the world know
that you're in business, otherwise all that hard work would count
for nothing.

Drive traffic to your website and you increase the chances of
making sales which in turn bring in the profits. Again, there are
a number of ways to achieve this but the more popular methods
are:

1) Write quality articles and submit them to article submission
sites;
2) Write press releases and submit them to press release sites;
3) Contribute and participate actively in forums;
4) Advertise in online classifieds;
5) Setup a blog and actively contribute to the blogging
community.

So there you have it folks. But I'm not going to stop here. I
simply love to under promise and over deliver and thought that I
should include one more very important factor. So here you go.

Budget/ Cashflow Management

I've seen so many people from enthusiastic newbies to budding
entrepreneurs with great ideas fall from grace as a result of
poor budget and cashflow management. This happens when your
expenses are higher than your generated income or revenue.

There are many causes for this such as investing money in shoddy
products, services or schemes that did not bring in any returns.
Another cause could simply be poor accounting practices. While
some of us just hate dealing with numbers, proactive steps should
be taken to prevent a financial meltdown.

If you think that you are weak in this area but you're more into
micro managing, a hands on person and prefers to have more
control, there are many software and resources available such as
www.businessitonline.com and www.cashplan.com that will be able
to help you keep those migraines at bay.

Hire an accountant if you can afford one. It's a worthwhile thing
to do. Whichever way you choose, you will without a doubt, have
more time to concentrate on other aspects of your internet
business

Now if you've read this far without breaking a sweat, half the
battle has been won. The next step is to make things happen. The
reason you're reading this article is because you desire change
so stop procrastinating and start doing something productive that
will make a positive change in your life.

My personal advice would be to gradually build your internet
business while keeping your day job until you've reached the
stage where you can afford to fully commit yourself to your
internet business. Many successful internet entrepreneurs chose
this path to be where there are today.

Remember, the only thing that stands between you and success is -
you.

Author: Fwahmi Avessel resides in Singapore and is currently
an independent researcher on Internet entrepreneurship,
integrated marketing communications,new media
technology,innovation & development.

Recommended resource: Wondering where to start looking
for the vital resources to help you start and run your internet
business? Renowned internet marketer Mike Filsaime's free copy
of The Resource Report will help you save valuable time and
point you in the right direction.