I’m Still Here

It’s been a while since I’ve made a post on the blog so I thought I’d better check in so you don’t think I’ve left it. I’ve been so busy with other projects that I decided to leave the blog for a while and concentrate on getting these projects off the ground. I’ve been busy putting up some affiliate website to generate more income, along with this I’m creating a monthly newsletter for my arts crafts and hobby customers who are numbering in their thousands now so i intend to direct market to them. And a monthly newsletter is an excellent way to do this.

I’ve spent hours studying web design, photo manipulation, wordpress theme customization, seo to name a few things.Running a business online requires that you learn a whole new skill set. The skills required are not complicated but they are time consuming and demand some concentration. I’m planning a series of video tutorials for the blog to help those new to running an online business. Hopefully I should start putting these on the blog within the next weeks. I’m also looking at implementing some design changes.

The amount of work required to get a business online up and running can look overwhelming to begin with and causes many people to lose heart. This is why you have to move forward in small steps and concentrate on one thing at a time. Tonight I spent time learning how to customize a wordpress theme I’m using for other sites I have running. I’ve plenty of other things to do but I ignored them and concentrated solely on the customization techniques I need to know. I achieved what I set out to do and you will too if you move forward in small steps.

Avoid trying to do everything at once, believe me I know from experience that you will end up doing nothing. Anyway this was just a quick post to let you know I haven’t disappeared. It’s Sunday night and I intend to relax with a beer. Turning off the computer. Until next time. Keep working.

Getting An Ecommerce Shop

There’s no getting away from it if you want to be serious about starting an online business then you are going to need an online store at some time. This is the only way of pushing your business forward and becoming a fully-fledged online entrepreneur. A good quality online store will cost you a few hundred pounds; this is an expense you will have to take on board at some time in your online business adventure.

How you do this is up to you. Personally, I waited until I had made enough profits from trading on eBay to pay a professional to design and code an online store for me.

My own business strategy was an initial investment to purchase stock and then to let the business pay its own way. I took a sum of money, invested it to start the business then used the profits to build the business. This wasn’t done overnight. It took time, but it wasn’t long before I’d built up enough profits to invest in an online store. This moved my business to a new level.

Your store needs to be professional. It doesn’t have to have lots of flashing neon signs, it’s better if it doesn’t. It does however; need to be secure, fast and functional, with a nice easy design to make the shopping experience pleasant for the customer. Having a good online store may seem to be a big step for someone just starting out. Don’t be overwhelmed by the project.

The beauty of an online business is that you can take small steps every week to lead you to your goal.

The cost of starting online is so low that you are not under pressure to pay rents and rates, for example, like you would be with a bricks and mortar business. Build slowly rather than rushing in. If your long-term objective is to have an online store then start by getting the logo done first. You can begin using this straight away in your eBay listings and letterheads.

When your profits start to rise, begin looking around for a good web designer. Don’t go for the cheapest, this is always a mistake. An ecommerce store is more than just appearance. It needs to be able to take payments over the net, it needs to be secure and be easy for you to use. To add products to and make changes to the postage etc. Choose your web designer carefully. Use the internet to learn what a good ecommerce store should have. Only choose a web designer who can show you his work. Live websites running and working.

Choosing a web designer for an online store is one of the most important decisions you will make in your online business career. Your ecommerce is your shop window to the world. It’s where you can compete with the big boys. You may not be able to spend a few million pounds buying a department store to compete with the big boys, but you can get an excellent ecommerce site created that looks just as good if not better than the established big companies can. Even if you are operating out of your bedroom.

In my opinion, the best place to find a designer is on Elance.com. This is a site where freelancers advertise for work. I can strongly recommend this site. I have used it on many occasions for graphics for my sites. People from all over the world advertise on the site.

You can get a professional web designer from India for a fraction of the cost you would pay in the west. And these people are good. You can hire anyone to do anything on Elance. Bookkeeping, design, graphics, you name there’s people on there just waiting to be hired. And they are fast.

I hired a guy from Pakistan to design me a header for one of my sites and he did it within three hours. I asked for a few changes and the whole job was completed within a day. When looking for someone to build you an ecommerce store you need to ensure they are good at design as well as coding. It’s no good having a great coded who can’t design a nice looking store. You could split the contract and hire a separate designer and coder.

In this case, you would hire the designer first. The designer would work with you to design the look of your site. Once you are happy you would then look for a coder to make the design become a live website. Hire the best you can afford.

Your profits, if it is done right, will soon pay for the site. An ecommerce shop is not an area that you can skimp on. If you can’t afford an experience designer then wait until you can. Don’t be tempted to buy a cheaper version. It may look good but there may be problems that won’t manifest until the site is running. These will then cost you more money to put right.