Well, you have a computer, the desire, and the time. And you definitely could use the extra income. But how do you take that desire and drive and turn it into a successful home-based ecommerce business?
That's where BayJen e-Services comes in.
We would like to partner with you and help achieve your goals, no matter how small or ambitious they are. We've been in your shoes and know the challenges of starting and growing a small business. Let us help you help yourself. If you are still in the research phase, it is our hope that some of the following information will be helpful...
Ready to go? Then head over to the BayJen Web Builder. It is an innovative, creative, remarkably easy and affordable web site building solution.
Still thinking? Then the following three sections of information are just for you.
The first section 'Starting a Business' discusses things you will want to keep in mind when formally establishing your company.
The second section "Lessons Learned' summarizes some of the "lessons learned" we've picked up along our own journey.
The third section '3rd Party Resources' highlights some of the companies whose services we used and found very helpful.
Form a company to protect your personal resources from creditors, lawyers, and ex-spouses. For our type and size of business we felt an LLC was best. We used the following site to do much of our initial research and legal paperwork. They got us our federal tax number as well. We were actually quite pleased with their service and delivered documents, and the cost was reasonable. Give thought to your new company name. A good name helps people remember you and can even help in getting page rank and links.
Don’t forget to get a state tax number as well.
To make money on the internet you probably will need multiple income streams (at least eventually). That may mean selling different products on several sites, selling information, associate programs where you get paid for referrals, reseller programs where you sell other companies stuff (as if it was your own), advertising space on your site, stores on Yahoo and eBay, etc.
Get your accounting software and get it set up. We chose QuickBooks. It ranks as the small business market leader.
You will need a merchant account to accept payments. Two places to begin looking are PayPal and Authorize.net. These accounts can be set up without the usual setup fees when you use the BayJen Web Builder
You need to have your business account separate from your private funds! I’m told the IRS really looks for businesses that are sloppy in this area and that mixing the funds casually may cause your personal property to not be deemed untouchable if you get sued.
You will need domain names for your company and your selling website. If you alreay have one, you can transfer it to your new website once it is activated. If you need one, we can order one and set it up for you.
You will need to work out your relations with your suppliers. Backorders, non-delivered orders, bad return policies, etc. can kill a small business. There is a lot of risk here if you don’t do your homework. If you have to sign some contracts, you had best get your lawyer to review them.
You will need your site to be built and hosted. There is usually a fee to get a site built and set up, and then some kind of monthly fee to pay for the hosting.
Some web design companies charge a large fee initially and make custom changes included in the initial price. Others charge a smaller setup fee and but charge for every change and upgrade. Some companies don't even give you a shopping cart capability until you pay them $50/month (or more) in hosting fees. Ask if you can make your own changes without knowing how to code HTML and how to FTP your files to some server. Some companies even charge for each help desk assistance! We chage a small fee for the initial account setup and a very reasonable monthly fee. With BayJen Web everything is already included -- shopping cart, easy editors, extensive documentation and help files, helpdesk assistance, etc.
Although you can get a BayJen Web site up in just minutes, the world isn't likely to beat a path to your site until you spend some time and energy. Sorry, there still isn't any such thing as a free lunch. Once the shell is built, you will need to populate it with pictures, descriptions, information, search engine optimization things, etc. Don't worry, we'll help you.
It takes longer than you think it will to get things going, but that’s OK.
People actually making money from their site(s) aren’t just putting up a site and leaving it to run on auto-pilot. How long would a new, startup retail store last without advertising, promotions, and a fresh, well kept appearance?
By the time you are finished with the start-up paperwork, you will see why more people don’t go into business for themselves. Although, the process does tend to weed out people who aren’t willing to work for something that is important to them.
You probably won’t get rich quick (although some do). If you do things smartly, you will get more, sooner.
There are a ton of people making money on web sites. There’s room for a ton more.
A lot of people have hobby sites, and that is OK. But, if you are serious about having a business, then study, learn, and act.
Get yourself a good accountant and maybe even a lawyer familiar with small business issues.
It is important to have information on your site. Free stuff, informative stuff, a reason to go there and to return. Good information, freely given, builds trust and return visits. If you see a site listing that says it can sell you a good thingy versus one that can sell you the same thingy and can also tell you why it is important and how it works – which one would you choose?
You don’t sell features, you sell benefits. That tends to be a difficult principle for techies. If you are the techie in the company there are most certainly more savvy shoppers around you. Ask for their opinion and LISTEN TO THEM!
To form our company, we used LegalZoom. As mentioned above, we were quite pleased with their service and end-product. They also help with obtaining a federal tax ID number.
If you don't already have a domain name, you can get one when you activate your web site through the BayJen Web Builder. We will do the work of getting it pointed to your site and submitted to the DNS servers.
For merchant accounts to accept credit cards online, we recommend PayPal, PayPalPro, or Authorize.net. If you don't already have a merchant account, we can get the setup fees waived when you activate your site and use us to set up your account. You can change which service you use later on if you desire.
One of the best information companies we have come across is Worldwide Brands, Inc. They have everything from free Home Ebiz Newsletters to free Web Broadcast Downloads where you can listen and learn from key people in the industry. If you are interested in dropshipping (explained more at our Dropshipping page), you should understand that they have one of the few credible Directories of "Real" Wholesalers. We use the directory ourselves and find it invaluable.
Chris Malta, Product Souring Editor of 'The eBay Radio Show', has written dozens of ebooks on various topics dealing with selling products online. They are featured on the Worldwide Brands website. Many of them are free downloads, and we found that they were well written and quite helpful.
