Image by gaorganizer via Flickr
I want to reiterate the aspects of what I think is a perfect online
business.
* Easy to use and understand. No technical background needed. If you have to be a graduate of
MIT to implement it, how long will you devote your time, which is precious by the way, and it is not free. Remember, time is money. As your frustration level increases, your interest level will decrease.
* Is it something you know about or may be interested in
learning about? I've often seen people say "follow your passion", well what if you're not passionate about anything. But most of us like something or would like to learn about something. Are you willing to learn?
* Would you feel comfortable promoting the business? If it's something that goes against everything you believe, don't do it. You won't succeed anyway because you won't put the necessary amount of work or time into it to be successful.
* Easy to follow and duplicate. Shows step by step instructions. If you can't figure out how to promote it, your interest will fade along with the money you spent.
* No need to recruit friends and family. I hate programs that want you to entice your friends and family as the first step of the business. Is it because these are the only people you will be able to get to buy or join? Is it such a crappy product that the only thing that will give you a resemblance of success is if you get the people who care about you and love you to buy into it. If it is, even friends and family will bail after awhile, then you're back to square one, no profit, no prospects, and zero business. I could talk all day about this one, but I have to move on.
* Creating a
website is optional. When I say website I mean your own stand alone, independent website which will require you to find
webhosting. If you're just starting out and want to get your feet wet, and not exactly sure about the whole developing web
content to put on the site, learning SEO (
Search Engine Optimatization) techniques and other things, then finding an online business that doesn't require you to develop your own website is a decided plus. Once you feel comfortable doing the above things, then we can talk domain name, hosting, content.
* No need to purchase a domain name. Save even more money. Actually I should have combined no need to create a website and this one together.
Domain names are important and you need to really think about the name you are going to be paying for and how it ties into your business. Doing it on the spur of the moment while you'll up at 2:00am in the morning is not a good idea. (I know what I'm talking about -
sleep deprivation makes you think crazy things)
* No need to create your promotional tools. Why should you have to, the business should already have the tools available for you to use. Your job is to get the traffic to the site using their promotional tools which should be effective. It's their job to sell the product.
* Spend a minimal amount of time to promote the business. Actually this is up to you, always is up to you. But my proviso is if you have to work harder working part-time and spend more time than you do on your regular day job, something is wrong. Unless, and I say unless, you are achieving great results. If you're working eight (8) hours a day working your online business and seeing no results, something is wrong.
* No hidden costs, no hidden promotions. I hate hidden costs. I hate when I've really gotten interested in something which is supposed to be free, but then I'm told that I need to spend $XXXX amount of money to make it profitable. Don't tell me it's free and then hit me with a cost. I'll admit it, I'm cheap.
* Great support. Responsive and helpful to customer questions and complaints. You are never alone. Think about it, if you can't get help, what makes you think your referrals will?
* Realistic income. Can you really believe the hype? Can you really make $10,000 within a month or two months, with no experience, no knowledge of web tools, resources?
I've been doing this for over 3 years now and I've probably joined some of the worst online businesses around when I first started. But it's been a learning experience for me, in some cases quite costly in time and money. So I've learned to know a good thing when I see it.
I've found several good examples of what a perfect online business should be. Easy to understand and implement, easy to follow and responsive to their customers. Remember they are your referrals, but they are customers for the business you are promoting. You are recommending/endorsing a product to someone. If it's crappy, poor, or mediocre, guess what they will think about you.
I recommend if you're just starting out, to pick something easy that will allow you to make some money while you're learning. Won't run your
credit card through the roof and easy to follow and implement. I've been with this business about a year and a half and it's my most consistent earner
My Instant Biz See for yourself if this meets the criteria above for a perfect online business. You can fill in the opt-in box and I'll send you the free report. Also, you get 30-days to "kick the tires" to see if you like it. No credit card required. If you like it and wish to continue then provide your payment information. If after 30-days you decide you don't like it, just walk away, and no harm done, no remembering to cancel, but I don't think you will.
Comments are always welcome.