Types of Legitimate Online Businesses
There are several types of online businesses you can choose from to get started. You will want to check out each option and see which one suits your needs before proceeding. Here are some of the more popular online businesses people get into and what each one entails:
Service-Based Businesses
A service -based business is one where you offer some type of service to potential clients. Some of these include:
Writing Web Design Accounting/Bookkeeping Virtual Assistant
Other small business owners have a tough time getting all of their business tasks done by themselves, so they outsource those projects to someone else. They look for people who offer the services they need to be done for them.
If you have experience in some of these areas, you could offer it as a service by starting your own business selling yourself. For example, if you have some writing experience and can write well, you can offer that as a service to others who need writing done for their sites.
What skills are needed?
Depending on the type of service you choose to provide your potential clients, you should have some amount of skill under your belt. It’s not necessary to have educational degrees to perform these services, but clients like to see that you have some kind of experience to complete the tasks they need to be done.
Working online doesn’t provide the face to face contact that brick and mortar companies have when they hire employees. Trust comes a little harder online, so people do like to know the person they’re hiring has skills and knowledge in a particular field.
While it’s not necessary to have 10+ years of experience performing a service, the fact that you have done it before and have some testimonials to back that claim up helps tremendously.
What tools are needed?
The tools you need will depend on the type of services you plan to provide.
The more common ones that most service-based businesses should have are:
Computer Reliable Internet access Phone E-mail program Website
There will probably be some software programs to obtain as well. Each service uses some different ones, but most need a word processing program, excel program, and some use a web designing program.
You should consider an Instant Messaging program for those clients who like to be able to contact you instantly without having to use the phone to call or wait for an e-mail response.
How do you get started?
The first thing you want to do is decide on the type of service you plan to offer your clients. Jot down everything you can think of that shows you have some experience or knowledge in that particular field.
Next, get your website created. Showcase your skills or experience on your site and provide clients with testimonials from other people who have used your skills and were pleased with the results. Place your rates and any other information about how you run your business.
Market your site on various places on the internet to get your online business out there for potential clients to find and check out. When clients contact you to hire you for whatever service they need, reiterate to them how things will go. For example, let them know how they are invoiced for the work done and how much it will cost etc.
It will take a while to build a list of regular clients, so don’t expect to be making tons of money right away. Give it time and keep marketing your service-based business until you get to the point where you’re practically turning away clients because you’re too busy.
Running a service-based business is a perfect option for those who already are performing that service at another job. In most cases, you could make more money offering those services online than you can by working in a brick and mortar position.
This is another popular online business that a lot of people usually start with. E-Bay is a popular online auction website that millions of people use every day to find good deals on items they are looking for.
You can sell anything you have at home as well as sell items using a dropship method. If you search the e-bay site, you will see a whole variety of items that people are selling. They could be used items or brand new items that come from wholesalers. Either way, people will pay good money if you provide them with what they’re looking for.
Some people go so far as to buy items from flea markets and garage sales for the sole purpose of reselling them on e-bay for a profit.
What skills are helpful?
There aren’t a lot of skills you would need to sell items on e-bay. The ability to market your items will be the most important one to have. People can search the site for the items you’re selling, but if you want to make money in this type of business, you will want to market those items elsewhere to get people to find them.
If you’re selling items from your home, you should be able to take a good photo of the item so people can see what shape the item is in.
What tools are needed?
The only tool you will need to start this type of business is an account with e-bay to sell your items. If you plan to use a dropship method, you would have to find a wholesaler that will ship the items direct to the customers.
Access to a computer with reliable internet access will be necessary to keep track of your sales. You will also need an online account like PayPal to receive money from your customers.
How do you get started?
Sign up for an account with E-Bay that allows you to sell from them. Plan to purchase items from the site as well to help build your user ratings, so people will have a little more confidence in buying from you.
Place photos, if possible, of the items that you want to sell. Items that have a photo of items sell much faster than those that don’t. People like to see what it is they’re buying, so provide them with the best quality photo possible.
Review all informational materials as well as the rules on the eBay website, to get tips on making more sales and how the process of selling on the site works. Selling on eBay is an excellent way to start your own online business. This gives you your first taste of an online business without having to have a lot of equipment to get you started. Plus, you get the benefit of getting rid of items that are cluttering up your home while you make a little money on the side.