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Today's
economy isn't doing anyone any favors, and if you're one of the unfortunate
folks to have been served a layoff notice, you might be facing a long haul when
it comes to searching for another job. Is now the right moment to put your
long-lingering business idea into practice? While times may be tight for many
larger enterprises, in many cases smaller, more-nimble companies are better
able to withstand market uncertainty and weather downturns.
The best
way to stick it to The Man? Start working for yourself by founding your own
company. Working for yourself has some serious and obvious advantages over job
hunting. Not only do you determine your own hours and decide where you set up
your office, but you keep all the profits too.
Starting
your own business doesn't have to mean spending thousands of dollars on setup
costs before you ever open your doors. Don't get suckered into spending loads
of money on services that you don't need or that have far cheaper alternatives.
Seriously: With $100, you can obtain everything you require to start just about
any business online, with only minimal need to get up from your desk. Here's
how to do it.
Find an
Affordable Web Host
The Web
site for your new business has to reside somewhere. How do you pick a Web host
that won't leave you high and dry?
Most
hosting plans for small companies offer similar features: basically unlimited
storage space, support for common databases and publishing systems, and
anywhere from a few gigabytes to 2 terabytes of data transfer per month. Expect
to pay between $5 and $15 a month for the service, with a one- or two-year
up-front contract.
How to pick
one from the dozens out there? Look for reviews from recent users, with a
particular focus on how quickly the host resolves problems and how often the
service goes down. If you expect sudden, big influxes of traffic due to
promotions or Digg-like flooding, you'll want to ensure that the host can
handle it. Ask about these issues if the company doesn't have written policies.
If your
business is blog-centric, you can get started for free with a hosted service
such as one from WordPress. You can always move to your own Web host later when
you outgrow it or are ready for more.
Get Logos
and Design Work
Numerous
Web sites, such as Logo Ease and LogoMaker, will design a free logo for you
based on options you set via a Web interface. The quality varies, but generally
you can get the logo for free for online use. The services make money if you
want to download the logo in EPS format, which is more suitable for printing on
T-shirts and coffee mugs. A Web search for "free logo" will turn up
dozens of additional alternatives.
Another,
possibly better, approach is to seek out an independent designer to work on
your logo. If you don't need anything fancy, you can find someone to do the job
for $50 or less through a simple Craigslist ad. The advantage is that you get
to work with a live person (with genuine artistic skills) to create something
unique for you rather than a cold, computer-generated logo.
As for Web
design, you're unlikely to encounter someone who can create an original site
for you for a fee within our $100 budget range. If you can't afford a real
designer from the start, begin with a simple layout and customize it as you
go--but try to avoid making incremental changes every day or week. When it's
time to redesign, do all the work at once to avoid confusing and alienating
your readers for a protracted time.
Build an
E-Commerce Site on the Cheap
If you're
planning to sell a lot of physical goods, you'll need a service that can handle
e-commerce transactions, process credit cards, and provide security for both.
Setting all of this up on your own server is an expensive, time-consuming task
laden with security risks. It's best to outsource the functions to a hosted
service targeted at merchants. Such services can be surprisingly affordable.
Yahoo's popular Merchant Solutions start at $40 a month. E-commerce sites at
Netfirms start at a mere $15 a month. You can customize both extensively to
match your desired look and feel.
Find a Big
Sales Partner
Thousands
of merchants use Amazon to promote their goods, giving Amazon a cut when items
sell. The big advantage: You don't need a Web site at all to sell there. You
can sell just about anything that Amazon stocks by registering as a merchant,
finding the product page for the item you're selling, and clicking Sell yours
here. Merchants must pay $40 a month, plus a sliding scale of closing fees (6
to 20 percent). Individual sellers can sign up to sell with no monthly fees but
must pay an extra 99 cent closing fee.
You'll find
similar services (though less of a selection) at Half.com (part of eBay), and
of course you can always try your hand at dealing on eBay itself, which is
still a popular venue for selling new and used merchandise, though one drowning
in noise.
Think SEO,
All the Time
Don't
underestimate the value of optimizing your Web site for Google. But you don't
need to pay an expert thousands of dollars to optimize your site for you: Check
out the expert advice from SEOmoz and other search engine optimization writers
to learn the basics of SEO, and instill your site with good SEO habits from day
one. It takes time for the engines to get to know your site, so be patient.
(Just make sure you've submitted your URL to all of them!)
Get Bonus
Income With Google AdSense
Unless
you're selling physical merchandise, try adding Google AdSense ads to your
site. You might pull in only a few dollars a month while your site is small,
but that's more than nothing--plus, it opens the door for bigger ad
opportunities down the road.
Constantly
Promote Your Business
How do
one-person businesses get big? They're always promoting themselves--always. Add
your URL to your e-mail signature. Create a Facebook group for your business.
Write a humorous blog about your product or industry (check out Chris
Lindland's Cordarounds blog for ideas). Submit your gems to Digg, Reddit, and
StumbleUpon. Comment on online stories in your field and cast yourself as an
expert. Meet and greet at trade shows. Make T-shirts, stickers, and business
cards. Give away products to charity events in exchange for an ad. Hold
contests for freebies and make people work for the prizes. Above all: Don't let
anyone forget about your new enterprise.
File for a
Fictitious Business Name
Unless you
intend to receive all incoming payments under your real, legal name (as, say,
with a personal consultancy) you need a fictitious business name for your
company, also known as a DBA ("doing business as"). You need one
because of your bank's policies: If you receive a check for Acme Widgets, you
won't be able to cash it unless you can prove that Acme is really you.
To make
that connection, get a DBA. This is one of the few actions described in this
article that you often can't do on the Web. The specifics of obtaining a
fictitious business name vary from city to city and county to county, so you'll
need to check with your municipality. In my city, you must make filings in
person at the city hall (after you've ensured that no other businesses have the
same name), and you must place a notice in a paper of record indicating that
you've opened up shop. In some cities--Little Rock, Arkansas, for example--you
can do the whole thing online. Some regions require county filings, too.
Check with
your official city and county Web sites for specific instructions. Fees will
range from nothing to about $50 to have any DBA and relevant licensing (see
below) taken care of. Just make certain you go directly to the municipality to
do the task: Intermediaries claiming to file forms on your behalf are often
expensive scams.
What About
Additional Licenses?
Again, this
is a locale-specific issue. Some cities make you file for a special license if
you're going to be working from home (the city doesn't want you snarling
traffic if you open a cookie shop in your kitchen, for example). Others require
certain types of businesses to file additional paperwork to get a license.
Again, the rules vary dramatically from place to place, but usually you can
take care of it all while you're filing for a DBA (and, in fact, usually the
city won't give you a DBA unless you've handled any other relevant licensing
issues already).
Also, if
you're selling physical goods, you'll have to collect sales taxes if your state
requires it (as most do). Check your state's Web site to learn about collection
and filing procedures. Usually you won't have to pay any up-front fee.
Contact IVA to
start an online business T. +7981 130
8385
