Getting Started: Creating a Business Plan

By Vincent Murphy



You're excited. You have a great idea for a profitable

online business. Maybe it is an original idea that has

not been marketed online before. Maybe you have come

up with a new spin on the ordinary. Whatever it is

that has influenced you to start your online business,

be sure that you have a plan before you begin. This is

not the time to “pick it up as you go”. These are some

basic things that should be included in your business

plan.




The business summary should give a brief description

of the entire business and is an integral part of the

overall business plan. After you have completed the

business summary you should begin to list the

objectives or the goals that you want to accomplish

through the business. Next and perhaps most

importantly, you should develop your marketing plan.

The marketing plan will address all the specifics of

the business. When developing the marketing strategy

you should consider the following:




The target market. The target market is the customers

that you expect to see visiting your site. For example

will your product be more appealing to college

students or those who are in retirement?



Consider the competition for your product when

determining the marketing strategy. Choose a product

that will be seen as unique and useful. Visit sites

that are offering the same or similar products. Find

out the cost, and how they are marketing their

product. Finds out the pros and cons of their business

and try to improve your product based on their flaws.




Research the various methods for advertising online.

You should become educated about search engines and

how they work since each one is different. Also be

sure that you know how to submit your site to search

engines. You should be prepared to spend a small

amount of money on advertising, but the profits that

you will gain from the advertisements will prove to be

money well spent.



Think about pricing. Again, look at the competition

and see what similar products are selling for. Pricing

can play a big role in the success of your product

since selling a product well below the average price

may lead customer to think that there is a problem

with the product or that it is not of the best

quality. However, pricing items too high could also

detour customers.




Determine the shipping method. Be sure that you know

how products will be shipped so that you can have

shipping details clearly posted on your site. If you

are shipping things of great value, you should

consider providing shipping insurance. Also think

about shipping outside the country that you live in.



Think about the different methods of payment that you

will accept. If your business does not accept credit

cards, you should be ready to give up half if not more

of your sales. If you decide to accept credit cards

will you use a merchant account or will you use a

third party credit card processing center? Both will

help you get started and the third party processing

center will handle all of the business so you don’’t

have to. You should decide which you will use and also

if you will accept checks or money orders. It is

essential to have a secure server when taking credit

cards.



These few things will help your online business to

become a great success and also provide you with peace

of mind knowing that you have thoroughly thought about

and planned for the opening of your online business.

Note from the author:

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