Setting up a Low Maintenance Internet Business by David Price - HTML preview

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Introduction

So, you have decided that you want to start an on-line business. .....to get to this stage you will need to put in work upfront.

 

Well done, good choice

Or maybe you are just thinking about it...surveying the ground, to see if there is anything in it. Sensible, always wise to do a little homework before committing too much time and effort. You will need to learn new skills and you will need to set up your new venture in a business-like manner. This will take time, but it is achievable and it is not rocket science.

So are you up for it? Are you prepared to learn some new skills and commit some time to this?
Alternatively you may be in a more serious situation, desperate to
escape from an awful job, or more critically be dealing with the
horrible prospect of redundancy.

Either way, you are not wasting your time as the internet offers so much potential to start a business or grow an existing business. Good ....then read on because in this introductory guide I will explain what your internet business can look like, and I will point you in the direction of resources you will need to start growing your business as quickly as possible.

We are still in the early days of the internet’s growth and if you get in now the potential is unlimited.

 

That’s the good news.

 

So what’s the bad news?

Well I am not sure it’s bad news as such. It is more the need to state the obvious, a reality check before we get too carried away. The fact is that while there is great potential in the internet, it is not a ‘magic wand’ that you can wave to earn an instant, easy income.

You can set up a business that will earn you a lot of money, and a business that will earn you money while you sleep or while you are on vacation.

BUT ...... My top five reasons for starting an internet business

If you are still reading, then I hope that means that you are prepared to spend the time and effort required to build an internet business.

Good.........smashing.

 

Let’s look a bit closer at my favourite reasons for starting an internet business.

Reason 1 – You don’t need any significant start-up cash to buy expensive equipment, or make any long term
commitments.

In the off-line world, if you were planning to start a business then in most instances you would need some start-up cash to cover some or all of the following items;

• Shop / workshop lease
• Raw materials
• Stock purchase
• Equipment / tools
• Delivery
• Advertising
• Staff
• Etc.............

Yes, it is possible to start small, say with a stall at your local market. But conservatively I would think you need to invest upwards of $500 to get enough stock to sell and to hire the stall for the day. With an online business this is not the case. The biggest cost item that you need is a computer. Computer ownership rates in the US and Western Europe are reaching saturation point. Hence in most cases the computer is already there in your spare room or study, waiting for you to get started.

The real beauty of the internet is that there are so many free resources available. Whilst I would recommend you spend a little bit of cash to get going, in theory you could set up a website and have started your business for $zero.

Reason 2– You can start in your spare time while you still have the day job.

Given the low start up costs, and the fact that it is not time critical when you work, an online business is tailor made for those who want to get started and earning a regular income before they take the leap and give up the day job.

Put in an hour or so a couple of evenings a week, or set aside a longer slot over the weekend, and you will be amazed by how much you have achieved after a couple of months.

Once you start earning a regular income you can decide if you would like to quit the day job and grow your online business. Alternatively you can keep the day job, but enjoy spending the extra $250, $500, $1,000 or $2,000 a month you are now earning in your spare time.

Reason 3– No more 9 to 5, not more Commute, no more boss...no more JOB!

I must say this reason stuck a specific chord with me. I strongly believe that the concept of the 9 to 5 job is soulless and soon to be redundant. The main reason why so many of us feel stressed or unfulfilled by our day jobs is because they are based on the 1980’s idea of showing commitment by spending long hours in an office building.

It doesn’t matter if you can accomplish more working 4 hours a day from your laptop from home, too many organisations insist on keeping their staff in the old style work routines.

Learn the skills that you need to set up an online business (websites, blogging, automation, social networking....etc...) and you will have the tools you need to take you skills and break out of this old style 1980’s work routine.
You may be one of only a handful of Cake Decorating enthusiasts in your town. But you can bet your final dollar that you will find many thousands of like minded souls on the internet. All of a sudden, when you go on the internet, that cake decorating instruction course you have created has a massive market.

Reason 5– Earn serious cash or earn enough and then go and have fun

 

There is no doubt, if you work hard and get creative you can earn serious cash through an on-line business.

While that is good, what is even better is that you are in control. If money is not you main driver then once you have earned enough to live the life you want, why carry on working 40+ hours a week?

If you want to just keep your business ticking over and reduce your hours. The go have some fun in the time you have created.

Ultimately you can be your own boss, working when you want, hitting the targets that matter to you, and reaping the reward for all your hard work.

Reason 4– Work on a subject you love.....get creative!

You may have a passion (in fact I hope you do). In the past unless you lived in one of the big cities, it would have been difficult to find enough people who shared that passion to enable you to make a business out of it.

The internet changes all that. Try doing that in your regular job!

A couple of concerns?

Whilst I am sure at this stage you will see the attractions of an online business, you may have some concerns. Let’s look a bit closer at some of the regular ones that crop up.

Concern 1– You would miss the social side of your current job.

 

If the interaction you have with your work colleagues is important to you then I can see that you might not want to give that up.

That said, it is possible to get a web business going in the evenings and at the weekend. So if you want to earn a little extra every month then there is no reason to necessarily give up the day job.

It is also worth noting that once you get going with your online business you will form links and working relationships with other owners of internet businesses. Communication is good with these people and joint ventures are common. So in time you will get a new set of work colleagues.

Finally, despite the set up work involved, in time you will be able to reduce the level of work you put in to keep your online business profitable, and you will be able to schedule your work to suit your social timetable (rather than comply with your bosses 9-5 requirements). This will allow you to spend more time with your family and non work friends.

Concern 2- It’s risky...I would rather have a steady pay cheque each month.

I can certainly understand this concern. For that reason I never advise anyone to quit their job and jump straight in. Instead just try things in your spare time. Build things up slowly and see how you feel in six months time when you are starting to pull in a decent income in your spare time.

At that point you might not be so concerned about giving up the monthly paycheque.

 

Concern 3– I just don’t have the time.

 

Yes, I will admit that you do need to commit time to this to make it work.

You will need to take regular and steady action to identify what sort of business you will be creating and then to achieve the goal of setting up that business.

The beauty of an internet business is that provided you take action regularly, it doesn’t matter when you do it. Get up a little earlier and put in an hour before you head of to your day job. Give up an hour in front of the TV every night. Take an hour after the kids have gone to bed.

It doesn’t matter when, just that you do!

Whilst I know there are some very busy people out there, I also know that if you want to do something and you prioritise it, then you will be able to find an hour or so 4-5 times a week. If you do that, in a couple of months time you will be amazed at what you have achieved.

Another way of looking at this is to compare it with the alternatives. If you need to earn some extra cash, then I would suggest that a few hours from the comfort of your home each week is a lot easier to achieve than taking a bar job a couple of evenings a week, or working all day Saturday in your local supermarket.

Keeping it simple – 2 types of internet business

In reality there are a thousand different ways you can set up your internet business (that’s part of the fun – you can do it your way).

 

But to start with, let’s keep things simple and look at the two following approaches;

 

1. A normal business ...but on the internet
2. A low maintenance internet business

Now stick with me on this one, because it might sound like I am about to contradict myself. A low maintenance internet business will (as the name suggests) be one where you ultimately don’t have to spend too much time on it. Now I know that I said above that there was no ‘magic wand’ (and that is true) but you do want a business that will be easy and hassle free to run once it is set up.

Let me explain a little further;

The key power of the internet, the key point that will help you achieve all those benefits we have just discussed above, only really comes if your business is structured so that you don’t have to do all the labour intensive, time sensitive work that characterises a normal business.

Think of some of the things you would have to control if you ran an off line business.

Of the top of my head........ you would need to make sure that product is packaged and addressed correctly, that it is delivered to the post office on time, that the quality of the product coming off the production line is up to standard, that the phones are answered, that the deadlines are met........etc...

What this means is that your businesses potential is limited by the amount of time you are prepared to put in every day and the space you have for production and storage.

Of course you can increase this if you hire staff and take on a bigger office / warehouse. But all this means is hassle and overhead cost.

What happens if you want to go on vacation (you worry about quality and orders being fulfilled) what happens if orders dry up but you still have your large overhead (rent and staff salaries for example) to pay each month? What happens if your staff don’t perform. Do you want the management hassle? What if you fire them and then they sue you....

OMG .......

 

Hassle......

 

worry.....

 

weren’t we trying to get away from this?

Absolutely...... I am not setting up my own business just to be faced with those sort of issues. It’s too much like the ‘proper’ job that we wanted to get away from.
A low maintenance internet business removes all these hassles, but still delivers the sort of benefits that we discussed above. garden with your family, and you will have to do nothing.

So what does a low maintenance internet business look like? Cool?..........Yes cool! Basically it uses three of the most powerful features of the internet.

1. Access to a mass market– We touched on this above, but what this means is that your business can focus in on very small areas of need and still find many people who want to buy your product.

2. The ability to automate sales and product delivery– As you already know, computers and the internet allow us to automate many formerly mundane tasks. When your business is set up and you come to sell your product you will really start to harness this power.

When someone (possibly on the other side of the world) clicks the ‘buy’ button on your website, you will have set things up so that they will automatically be sent to your online merchant account (i.e. Paypal) where they will make payment. Then when payment is received your customer will be redirected to where they can download the product they have just purchased.

Alternatively, if you are selling a physical product, an order will be sent to a dispatch company who will put your customers order on their next delivery run. This will more than likely happen while you are sleeping or sitting in the

3. The ability to outsource small jobs at a low price to skilled people with no long term commitment– Now and again you will come across problems or bits of work that you can’t deal with yourself. This is not a problem, simply outsource it. Online sites like www.elance.com and www.fiverr.com are full of skilled people offering quick, cheap and hassle free services to help you out.

What all this means is that if you deal predominately in information products that can be delivered by email or download, or sell physical products that are manufactured and delivered by others, then you can set up a business that will pretty much run itself.

Now that is what we want.

Much as that thought is a wonderful one, let’s have a quick reality check. You still need to work hard to produce your product and set up your systems in the first instance (see I told you I wasn’t contradicting myself).

But once you have done that you don’t have to deal with all the day to day hassles of a normal business. You will, of course, need to keep an eye on things and keep your product range fresh and relevant. But that could be done in a couple of hours a week for a while if you wanted to take a bit of a break.

Alternatively you can start working on another product, and then

Alternatively you can start working on another product, and then 10 businesses online each bringing you in money while you sleep. This can all be done from your own home, without the need for a huge amount of cash being put at risk.

What better way can there be for the average guy or girl to build their own business!

 

A low maintenance internet business – How it’s done.

In this section I want to give you a brief overview of the sort of products that are best to sell, how you find them or create them and how you go about marketing them.

In this Ebook I will only be skimming the surface of what is possible. But it will save you months if you have a good overview at an early stage.

Visit my website (www.thegetonlineguide.com) and you can access some great free resources that will give you even more detail.

 

I would say there are 7 steps to building a low maintenance internet business

 

1. Find a Niche

 

So what is a Niche?

 

The dictionary definition is;

 

‘a specialized but profitable segment of the market’.

Given the mass market that the internet can connect us with, if you can unearth such a market, that is currently under supplied, then you will be able to make sales. You will not have to spread yourself across a range of related markets to make a living (as you might have to with a conventional retail store, for example).

On the contrary with you internet business you should be looking for reasonably tightly defined Niche’s. That way you can target your marketing, and know that most people who visit your website will be interested in your product and therefore likely to purchase your product.

In terms of your low maintenance internet business, you want to identify a Niche that has the following three characteristics; 1. There is a significant interest in the subject

 

2. You can offer information or a product that will meet a need people have related to that subject.

 

3. It is clear that people are prepared to spend money to meet that need.

To help explain let me give you two examples, one positive interest people want to know more about, and one of a problem where people are looking for solutions.

Surfing – Many people love to surf. Beginners are looking for instruction manuals, improvers what targeted solutions to technique problems, experienced surfers will be interested in latest developments, best beaches and other special offers.

Back pain – This is clearly a growing problem across the nation. If you suffer you will be desperate for a solution and will be prepared to pay for quality advice that you can access immediately on the internet.

Now these are merely two examples to illustrate Niches.

I am sure if you stop and think for a while you will be able to think of a subject that you either already know a lot about, or that you are very interested in, that could be the niche for your first internet business.

A couple of final thought on Niches.

First, the Niche you focus on should not be too broad. Best results come from focusing on a specific area and providing targeted and specialist information on that subject. If you Niche is too wide (i.e. Health, rather than back pain) your solutions will be too superficial and general to be of any value.

Secondly don’t think that you have to come up with a totally original Niche. In fact I would say that the opposite is true. You want to work in a niche where it has been shown that people are prepared to spend money. For example, don’t feel that if there is already a website in the surfing niche that it is too late for you to get involved. The market is huge. It is not like a surf shop at a beach.

If you have an English Language website then your market includes all of the USA, Canada, Britain, Australia and many more countries beside. Hundreds of millions of potential clients. There is room in most profitable niches if you want to join in.

2. Get organised

I guess if you are anything like me you will already have a ton of ideas about things that interest you and that you like to work on. If so great, grab a notebook and start jotting ideas down about the information products you could create, or the physical products you could promote. I don’t recommend jumping in creating products straight away. However starting to make notes, and researching resources and competition online is a good idea.

On great tip is to start a project folder and a swipe file. Create a new folder on your computer desktop and save all your ideas in this folder. Every time you see something on the web that might be useful, or is relevant to your niche, open up a notebook and cut & paste in the info. This is your swipe file.

See a great blog post on your subject...swipe it

 

See a great product that you might want to promote.....swipe it

 

See some great ideas in a forum discussion.......swipe it.

I think you get the picture. When the time comes all this information will be so useful as you create your website and information product. We are not saying you are going to copy it word for word. It will be the inspiration that you will use to create your own site and products.

3. Create / Find a product to sell

You may already have loads of ideas about how you could write an ebook about your favourite hobby, or an aspect of your current job. If so the option of creating a product will probably be the best option for you.

If nothing springs to mind straight away, then don’t worry. I can show you how to research and indentify profitable niches. Furthermore I can show how to find a ton of free information that you can use to create your own eBook or video course to satisfy a niche within your chosen niche.
Ah...now some of you won’t fancy either of those options. The thought of creating an eBook or product of your own will be simply too much.

Now I understand that. I think that in reality if you gave it a go you would be surprised at how much you could achieve, but I won’t push the point if you don’t fancy it.

But don’t worry. You see plenty of people make a good living with internet businesses that promoting other peoples products. Working as an affiliate for someone who has created an information product in your chosen subject you can typically earn 50% (sometimes more) of the price of that product if you introduce a sale.

A low maintenance internet business has the same potential if you act as an affiliate and sell other peoples products, as it does if you create your own products to sell.

4. Build a Website

For many people this is the difficult bit. If you are like me the ‘techie’ – web stuff can be so hard to understand. It is like it is being explained in Martian, rather than English!

I won’t try and go through this in detail in this eBook, but you will find below a link to a FREE step by step book and video guide that takes you through the process in a real simple understandable way. So simple in fact that it helped me set my website up in a matter of days after six months of frustration trying to work it out myself.

5. Build a List and build a relationship with your list

Your website must be more than just a selling machine. Yes you want to make sales, but before you can do that you need to build a relationship with your customers.

There are two main ways to do this. First, you can create great content that will engage and entertain visitors to your site. Typically this is done through a blog, where you post regular articles about aspects of your niche. If you make those articles amusing, entertaining or full of useful practical advice, then you will start to build up a large list of regular visitors who will want to return to read the latest additions to your site. At that stage you can start to market products to your visitors. Because of the relationship you now have with them they are likely to purchase your products.

The second approach is to give away something of value at your website. If your visitor enters their email address, you will send them a free report or product. You can them legitimately email them information on other products later. Because you gave them a product of value initially they are more likely to look on the products you are marketing to them in a positive light.

In both instances your customers are more likely to buy the product you are promoting to them because you built a relationship with them first.

As you build your relationship with visitors to your site, you will be able to collect their contact details, and their permission to send them emails with information related to your niche.

This is your list..... and it is from this list that you will make most of your sales.

 

6. Promote your product to your list

 

Because you have build a relationship with your list, when your emails arrive in their in box they will generally be read.

Because you have built a relationship with your list you will understand what products they require. If you create or identify products that meet these needs then you will have a good chance of making many sales when you email your list.

7. Rest....or....Do it all again

 

You have done most of the hard work.

You should continue to keep your products relevant and up to date. You should also keep the relationship going with your list. But the time intensive work is done on that particular niche.

If you want too you can rest. Or...you can work on the next niche that interests you.

Let’s get started - Technical basics

So what do you think?

 

I have covered this subject in overview only, but hopefully you can see the potential of a low maintenance internet business.

 

Fancy giving it a go?

 

Good...the place you need to start is to spend some time with the

 

technical basics.

Now don’t panic if the thought of learning something technical fills
you with horror. I was the same when I first started, but I now have
a number of websites and blogs up and running that I created and
update myself.

Honestly it is easy, but only if you get it explained simply and from
the beginning. Too many computer / internet manuals assume you
understand their language and hence make no sense at all.

For this reason I have got together some of the simplest step by step
guides available to help you with those first steps. Even better, you
can have them for FREE.

Visit my websitewww.thegetonlineguide.com and you can access

 

these FREE resources.

 

If you have any comments on this eBook, or any questions for me

 

then please drop me at e-mail.

 

David Price

 

david@thegetonlineguide.com