BEING YOUR OWN BOSS: A GUIDE TO ECOMMERCE AND SMALL BUSINESS

Ecommerce and small business fit together like hand in glove and that has made it a fast growing field with great rewards for those who dare to take the etail plunge. The internet has brought us faster communication with and access into very specific market niches using email, putting business resources at our finger tips, and giving us a wide source of knowledge and education, thus creating a fertile environment for ecommerce and small business. As a result, we see customers buying shoes online, buying stock online, buying prescription drugs online, and even clothes shopping online!

Beginning With The Basics
Ecommerce is a service that is conducted solely online by individuals or companies. Through this matching of ecommerce and small business you can get or offer a number of merchandising services which can be provided through selling over the internet such as online auto sales, internet real estate sales, and even a custom ecommerce business, such as an eboutique. This type of ecommerce storefront comprises the most common use for online business. You can also offer related services, such as the new downloadable internet music sales and online auctions

It is fairly easy to set up and get started should you choose to be independent and join the ranks of the many ecommerce companies; perhaps you’ll even find an internet business for sale! Through ecommerce and small business facilities, anyone lacking a huge amount of capital can now realize their dream of becoming an entrepreneur from his/her own house.

Newcomer Tips
Here are a few tips for the ecommerce “newbie”:

• To start web ecommerce or any sales on the internet you must have a computer with access to a fast internet service provider who may also offer you an ecommerce hosting solution.
• Study in depth the market in which you are planning to launch yourself; ecommerce statistics can be very useful for this.
• Create a well-designed ecommerce web site in order to show the professionalism of your business. An eye-catching, attractive internet storefront will catch the attention of your would-be customers. Much like an appealing shop window, if the initial visual aspect of their online shopping experience is satisfying, customers will stop to look, want to go in to do some buying online, and will probably make a purchase.
• If you don’t know much about ecommerce web design, it is suggested that you hire a professional to build your website or if you don’t want to spend a lot, get a web hosting company that will help and walk you through each step, even up to obtaining a turnkey ecommerce package. Remember, this is a very critical point as the site will represent you and your business and be critical to the success of your ecommerce store.
• Internet merchants need to be able to receive payments. There are two ways to do that. One is PayPal. through which all major cards are accepted, and the other is to get an online merchants account using a Payment Provider so you can accept credit card payments yourself for online sales to those who don’t have a Pay pal account.

Careful Planning: The Real Bottom Line
A well-structured Ecommerce and small business plan at the start is by far the easiest way to begin creating your own business, and for this you should use the readily available resources mentioned above. However, do not confuse this with it always being easy to maintain your online internet sales, grow them, and become successful. Ecommerce and small business online ventures need as much if not more work than real life businesses, because here you have to convince your customers to buy online without having them meet you, and touch or feel your product.

Making your ecommerce business a success is solely up to you and how much time and effort you are willing to invest into it; this is the real bottom line.