Online Entrepreneur

Once you have completed your business plan, it’s time to review your work. Remember, writing your business plan is a significant step in making your small business concept a reality. Therefore, you should review your plan carefully and ask others who you feel can provide sound advice to also critique your document.

Your business plan should include:

1. All key sections: Executive summary, business overview, sales and marketing, management team, competitive analysis, and financial plan.
2. A table of contents.
3. All key points explained clearly.
4. Concise language, eliminating any extraneous material, hype, or repetitive statements.
5. Substantiated facts, such as current and accurate data and verifiable claims.
6. A clearly defined target market and realistic goals to reach this audience.
7. A clear competitive analysis presented in a manner to show how you will gain a competitive edge.
8. Financial projections that are neither overestimated nor underestimated in a time frame suitable for launching the business. Be conservative with your estimates.
9. Visible contact information on a cover page and at the end of the document.
10. Content that has been thoroughly proofread and checked carefully for spelling and grammar.

While it may be true that there is no place like home, it is also true that running a home business may not be as easy as it looks. Dividing your home in order to create a suitable location for your business — while keeping the remaining space comfortable for those living in the house — will take some careful planning.

1. Trying to fit a round business into a square house. Not all businesses can realistically succeed in a home-based location. Take a look at your needs for equipment, work space, storage, inventory, and employees to determine if it is simply too difficult to run your business from your home. Service-based businesses are typically easier to fit comfortably into a home than retail or manufacturing businesses. Many people learn the hard way by not being realistic upfront.
2. Lack of motivation. It is easy to become distracted. A home business should be run in the same manner as an office-based business. You need to motivate yourself to go to work in the morning and maintain that motivation during the course of the day in order to succeed.
3. No room to grow. If you are fortunate and your home-based business is successful, you may need to expand. This may simply mean purchasing another computer or printer, or making space for an employee. It is important while setting up a home business environment to anticipate growth. How do you know if it is time to expand beyond your home into a real office?
4. Over spending what you are saving on overhead. Too many business owners justify spending money on all sorts of equipment by not paying overhead. In the end they overspend. Watch your budget.
5. Forgetting to promote your company. It is not uncommon for home-based business owners to get a little too comfortable working in a relaxed environment. Too often this means not getting out and promoting the business. Email newsletters are a valuable means of promotion. Conferences, industry events, and even local chamber of commerce gatherings can help you build your customer base.
6. Not having a client-friendly environment. You may need to have clients come to your home. Too many home business owners have had to make excuses for their house, kids, dog, and the lawn sprinklers before sitting down with their clients. Set up the office portion of the house for business only.
7. Technical insufficiencies. Many home-based businesses are not dedicated or up-to-date. Your business computers should not be networked to the home computer where your children are hogging valuable bandwidth downloading games. And your technical equipment should be as state-of-the-art as you need and can afford.
8. Zoning nightmares. You may not know the zoning laws for your neighborhood, but your neighbors may be able to recite them. There are many stories of home business nightmares because of zoning laws. The more discrete your business is, the less likely you will have problems. However, read the zoning laws regardless.
9. Overlapping home and office. One of the advantages of working from a home-based office is that you can spend more time with your family. However, as much you love them, you need to have a separate office space and set some ground rules so you can work while other activities are taking place at home.
10. Lack of a business plan. Just because it is a home-based business does not mean you do not need a business plan. You should be taking your business just as seriously as if you were heading into any other type of business.

If you are thinking about starting your own home-based business, the available options can be overwhelming. However, there are many tried and true home-based businesses that may be just what you are looking for.

Here are the top 25 home-based business ideas, in no particular order:
1. Personal trainer. If you are fitness-minded, you can start your own career as a personal trainer. Check out the National Federation of Professional Trainers for information about the certification process.
2. Yoga instructor. Begin sharing your expertise with others by teaching yoga classes. There are a number of online resources, depending on the school of yoga that you practice. The Yoga Alliance Web site provides information on yoga schools, certification, insurance, and so on.
3. Tutoring. You can start a business tutoring students by advertising at schools, the local YMCA, and other places frequented by families. If you have children, talk to their teachers and determine the needs of your school district.
4. Business coaching. Have experience with management or some other specialized business skill? Share it with others by becoming a business coach. The International Coach Federation provides certification and a coach referral service for its members.
5. Consulting. If you are an expert in your industry, such as finance, marketing, or mediation, consider beginning your own consulting business.
6. Medical and legal transcription. If you have transcription skills and the necessary equipment, you can easily work from home for a variety of different companies. Check local community colleges or online for transcription training courses.
7. Medical claims billing. This industry is one of the most popular work-from-home businesses — so much so that suspect companies have been popping up on the Internet and in classified advertisements. ELearners.com can help you locate transcription training courses online.
8. Accounting. There are many franchises and opportunities available for certified public accountants. If you are interested in getting certified, take a look at the Web site of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants for information on specific state requirements.
9. Web design. If you can design quality Web sites, consider turning your skills into a home-based business. Although the software and hardware costs can be steep, good Web designers tend to be well-compensated for their efforts.
10. Desktop publishing. Do you have a creative flair for putting together brochures and newsletters? You can offer your own desktop publishing services to other small businesses. Software can be expensive, so make sure to give applications a trial run or take a course before investing in one.
11. Photography. If you are skilled with a camera, you can open your own photography studio in your home. Keep in mind that you will need space to shoot the pictures as well as a light-free space for a darkroom if you decide to process your film and print your photographs yourself.
12. Home inspection. The National Association of Certified Home Inspectors Web site provides information on becoming certified to inspect homes.
13. Remodeling. If you are a gifted carpenter or contractor, you can turn your passion into your own business. The SBA provides loans to experienced contractors looking to renovate homes or businesses in order to sell them.
14. Interior design. If you have a flair for the creative, consider interior design. The American Society of Interior Designers Web site provides resources for aspiring interior designers, including a list of each state’s requirements for licensing.
15. Catering or personal chef. Consider starting your own catering or personal chef business from your own kitchen. You can set yourself apart from competitors by providing specialized services such as low-carb or vegetarian menus.
16. Gift baskets. Gift basket creation is a popular and creative home-based business. Target both individuals and businesses to increase potential sales.
17. Wedding planner. If you are an ace at organizing important events and have a Rolodex full of contacts, consider becoming a wedding planner. There are numerous online certification courses online, including one from Weddings Beautiful.
18. Personal shopper. If you are a great shopper with an eye for people’s personal styles, you can offer your services to those less inclined. In addition, consider providing a gift shopping service for those too busy to shop themselves.
19. Concierge. If you have a lot of energy, a love for the mundane, and the ability to juggle multiple tasks, consider providing a personal concierge to busy business people or parents.
20. Custom jewelry creation. Designing your own custom design jewelry can be a lucrative pastime. Make sure to wear your own creations as a way to drum up business.
21. Computer repair. Are you the person everyone calls when they have a computer problem? Turn this into a business and start getting paid for fixing fatal errors. Check out Geeks on Call America and Rescuecom if you are interested in franchise opportunities.
22. Cleaning service. If you are good at cleaning, consider offering your services to others. One way to go is with a franchise. CleanNet-USA and JaniKing are two of the largest franchisers in the cleaning market.
23. Carpet cleaning service. There are many popular franchises that allow you to start your own carpet cleaning business and receive the equipment and training you need. ServiceMaster Clean and ChemDry are two of the bigger ones.
24. A riding school. If you own your own barn, land, and horses, you can open your own riding school. Equisearch.com offers resources, including some useful articles on liability issues.
25. Child-care services. Turn your expertise with children into one of the most popular home-based business opportunities.

Starting an online business in South Africa is not for the faint hearted. You need courage, tenacity, superhuman willpower and above all, a lot of patience.

There are a few steps involved in starting an online business and it is important you follow all.

Here are a few pointers to help you get going:

Web-Site Starter Kit

Domain Names

The first thing you’ll need is a catchy address for your new Web site.

Name That Domain

Creative entrepreneurs use marketing savvy, geography, and a little imagination to get great Web addresses. It is important to choose a domain name that closely resembles that wish you are planning to do. Try not to make use of wild characters in your domain name. The name must be easy to remember.

How Secure Is Your Domain Name?

Security is very, very important and cannot be stressed enough. Make sure that your passwords are kept in a safe place, and never give it out to someone else. Try to change it as frequently as possible.

Get a Life — Buy a Domain Name

Don’t be wooed by free domain names. Seeing as this is going to be your business, you need to buy a domain name. It is registered in your name, and all your e-mail addresses are set up with that domain name. For instance if you business is called startup.co.za, people will find it strange that you e-mails come from startup@lantis.net. It would just look much more professional if it was admin@startup.co.za.

Web Hosting

Don’t trust your new site to just any Web host.

Penny-Wise, Site-Foolish

If I could get a rand for each person asking me where they can find the cheapest host, I would have been stinking rich. Get a good hoster, no, get the best. Even if it costs more that the guy at the corner, it will be better.

Four Web-Host Warning Signs

Here are some of the most common indications a Web host is in danger of folding:

• Lack of Support. One of the surest and most easily observed signs of difficulty is a lack of customer support. If your Webhost fails to respond to your calls, if you e-mail your host for support and get no response for several days, or if you’re deluged with auto-responses, you have reason to be suspicious.
  The company might have laid off crucial support staff, which could indicate financial difficulties. This does not bode well for the Web host’s future — or for the future of your Web site, for that matter.
  Try e-mailing your Web host’s customer support department at routine intervals.
  Try telephoning technical or billing support to see how hard it is to reach a human operator, which is often your best means of problem resolution. One school of thought says the better the support, the more stable the Web host.
• Profitability. Ifyour Web host is a public company, find out if it’s turning a profit. If not, be prepared to change Web hosts.
  In the case of private hosting companies, it can be harder to determine whether the company is profitable. Generally, if your Web host offers hosting for what seems to be an exceedingly low price — lower than around R20 per month — you might want to ask yourself how the company can turn a profit with such low rates. Decide if you feel comfortable with the prospective performance of such a company in the long term.
• Media attention. Reading business publications that might mention your Web host is always a good idea. If your Web host is mentioned in apositive way, great. If an article reports layoffs, changes in management, or a company buyout, be aware such changes often– though certainly not always — result in decreased support for the client.
  If your Web host changes hands, this does not necessarily mean you will want to find a new Web host, but be sure to investigate what policy changes might accompany the change in ownership.
• Decreased services. Withdrawal of certain services your host formerly provided might indicate its attempt to reduce recent financial losses. Also research any price increases the company institutes.
  Naturally, businesses must increase prices from time to time, and this is not always cause for alarm. However, if price increases or service decreases are implemented in a way that is less than upfront, the company might be trying to avoid openly disclosing changes that are attempts to salvage an ailing business.

Are You Dedicated to Your Web Site?

Perhaps you’re wondering what a dedicated server is and whether you need one. Here are some guidelines to help you decide.

Security

Shared hosting is not as secure as dedicated hosting. If the security of another site on the server is breached, your site could be affected.

A dedicated server can provide a firewall for which you control all password access. If you store highly sensitive information on your server, this increased security will be a high priority.

Shared hosting gives you a chance to test the waters when you’re just starting out. But as your business grows and your site evolves to include more complicated features, such as e-commerce functions, a dedicated host makes more sense.

Site Design

Attract users with a simple, straightforward site that doesn’t keep them guessing.

Hiring a Web Designer:

If you don’t have the knowledge of webdesigning, put your idea on a piece of paper and pay someone to do the hard work. Just make sure they know exactly what you want. Keep on top off everything so that you can make changes as they go along. Ask to see a portfolio of work that they have done and referrals.

The Price of Ignorance

There is no golden rule about how much you would or should pay. In South Africa prices are between R500 - R1000 per page. It depends on complexity.

Duh-sign of the Times

Web design isn’t about flashy graphics and features. The best sites appreciate the value of simplicity.

Design Your Site for Your Users

If you want to maximize the Web’s power to recruit new customers to your business, you’d better have a crackerjack site. Here are some practical pointers for creating one.

A well-designed Web site can ensure the prosperity of your online business. A poorly designed site can put you out of business. It’s like the difference between showing up at an elegant dinner party in plaid Bermuda shorts and arriving in a tuxedo that’s just a little more nicely tailored than everyone else’s.

Web site design is very different from Web page design. Designing a Web page is a lot like creating a page in a publication or a screen for a computer program. Designing a Web site is like simultaneously creating a new storefront, promotions group and computer department.

A complex project such as creating a Web site can benefit from a disciplined, systematic approach. Obviously, this process will vary depending upon your company, your staff, and your goals.

Assemble a good team
First, get a representative from each of the functional areas of your business - sales, marketing, production, operations, etc. (obviously, if you are a one-person shop, this is easy). Then assess whether your existing staff can fill any or all of the following site development roles:

• The producer articulates the vision of the site and oversees itsimplementation. This person often also serves as the site’s information architect - making sure that the site organization, interface design,navigation tools, interactive components and other big-picture design elements all work together.
• The project manager coordinates the team effort - tracking schedules, budgets, etc., and generally doing what it takes to keep the project on track.
• The graphic designer makes the site look good with nicely laid-out pages and appealing (but low-bandwidth) images. He or she may also do the actual production of the HTML pages.
• The programmer makes the functionality of the site happen - writing HTML, Java Script, CGI scripts, etc., and possibly designing and administering databases. Many small businesses use off-the-shelf software for their storefronts,discussion forums, and other functions, but even they may need programming help to integrate the site’s various programs.
• Writers, editors, graphic artists and other creative talent fill up the site with the words and pictures (and possibly sound, animations, etc.) that inform your customers of what you have to sell and why you are so worthy of their business.

Especially for a small-business site, these roles may overlap. The producer might also create the content, and the programmer might also do the page layout and graphics.

Depending upon your line of work, you may also end up with staff from functional areas filling some (or all) of the site creation roles. If this is the case, make sure that the needs of other functional groups aren’t overlooked.

Five Home-Page Essentials

Make your home page do what you intended it to do — earn money, build community, and disseminate information.

We’ve noticed a disturbing trend in home page design: information overload.

Web designers and developers seem to have resolved the ” to click or toscroll?” controversy in favor of loading everything onto the home page.

” More and more and more is better,” they seem to be saying.

But to our mind, home page overload creates more problems than it solves.

When there’s too much information on the home page, users can’t process it.It’s similar to driving down the highway — the real one, not the informationone — and being inundated by so many billboards that you miss the one signyou’re looking for.

Are Your Visitors Clicked Off?

We understand how home page overload happens. An e-commerce developer wantsto use the home page to announce every product the company sells. Or duelingdepartments within a company fight for home page real estate. Andadvertisements need space, because they produce revenue.

It’s often easier to put everything on the home page than to make tougheditorial choices.

Overloading the home page might quiet your colleagues, but it’s a disserviceto your site visitors. They have the frustrating task of sorting through andprocessing the information. And, as we all know, frustrated site visitors don’tstick around to figure things out; they simply click off overloaded home pages.

To make your home page do what you intended it to do — earn money, buildcommunity and disseminate information — be sure it answers these five,essential questions.

Who Are You?

First, tell visitors who you are. If you’re a household name, such asCoca-Cola, your logo might be all you need. If not, you need a headline or astatement that says what you’re about.

As you write this important identifying statement, keep your visitors inmind. Don’t post your mission statement: ” Our goal is to optimize ourrelationships with customers … ”

Instead, write a concise, user-focused phrase. For example: Driving traffic to your website.

How Is Information Organized?

The home page should indicate how you’ve organized or structured your site.And the site structure should be obvious and logical.

Is the site ordered by product or by service? By department or by region?Users must be able to use the home page to predict where to find answers totheir questions. If their first attempt doesn’t yield pay dirt, they might nottry again.

Think of a home page as the table of contents in a magazine — organized,annotated and enticing. Magazine content is organized by departments: featurearticles, short tidbits, columns and letters. A short blurb describes each itemand provides a hook, a reason for the reader to turn pages.

A home page has a similar function. Its purpose is to provide a logicalstructure for the information the site contains, preview the information, andgive the user a reason to click or scroll for more.

What’s New, Hot or Timely?

The site for the Alzheimer’s Association provides an easy and logical structure. Its uncluttered home page structuresinformation by user groups, for example, people with Alzheimer’s, caregivers,physicians, researchers.

The home page is the right place to tell users about sales, new products orWeb site updates. Time-sensitive information — contests or product offers andbreaking news — deserve space on the home page. You want visitors to come backfrequently, so the home page should tell them what’s changed since their lastvisit.

What Can Visitors Do at Your Site?

Remember that Web sites promote interaction.

Your home page should give users a way to interact: signing up for anewsletter, entering a contest, or participating in a poll, quiz or chat.

Even better, some home pages allow users to personalize the interaction. Areturn visitor to Amazon.com can click on a personalized list of recommendedbooks. At the CNN site, you can personalize your home page so local weatherreports, movie listings and stock quotes for your portfolio are available eachtime you sign on.

How Can Visitors Get Help?

Don’t make users go on a scavenger hunt to find out how to contact you.

Place contact information or a button that leads to complete contactinformation on the home page. Complete information includes e-mail, telephone,fax, street address and the name of a person who will answer questions.

The Web is about customer service. If you don’t want to hear from users or answer their questions fully and promptly, don’t put up a Web site.

Next we will be looking at promotion of your site.