Starts That Won’t Stop You

When you start a home based business on the Internet – or anywhere else for that matter – there are commonplace mistakes to avoid. Here are some of these mistakes.

The first tip on what not to do when you start a home based business on the Internet is to concentrate not only on the product or service you are delivering but the business management aspects of your business as well. If, for example, you worked for someone else as a Web site designer, did a great job of designing a number of laudable sites and so decided to go out on your own and start a home based graphic design on the Internet you must know more than how to design the sites. You must know also how to choose your business name, write the content for the site or hire someone else to do it, advertise your service, set up and manage your accounting functions, perhaps even hire employees some day.

You must know how to set up your home office and how to manage the customer service and vendor contacts including payments and complaints. None of these things have anything to do with designing a great Web site but they all are crucial to starting a home based business on the Internet.

Many people make the mistake when they start a home based business on the Internet of taking on the wrong business partner either to gain additional finances or to increase and round out the firm’s business expertise. Some of these business partners are friends, former colleagues or family members. Most of the time these partnerships crash and burn, bringing about the additional disadvantage of ruined personal relationships as well. Before bringing in a partner to help start a home based business on the Internet consider other financial resources and the use of consultants.

Sometimes starting a home based business on the Internet doesn’t have to mean starting from scratch, and sometimes it shouldn’t mean that. If you haven’t done your market research you may not realize that the market won’t support your product. The product may not be workable, may not have a large enough market, or the market might be saturated. There are times when the best start is buying into a proven franchise or buying out someone else who has made a success and for some sound reason such as retirement or illness, wants to sell their proven and lucrative firm.

Some entrepreneurs start a home based Internet business but dream small dreams. They stop at the point where they are making a decent wage instead of aiming for the entrepreneur stars.

Many start a home based Internet business by undercutting those that are already out on the Web with similar products. While that may be a sound way to start it can’t generally continue or you’ll always be fighting a battle to make a living wage and may be forced to cut quality corners, or reduce advertising and marketing tactics in order to turn some sort of meager profit. One of the best ways to compete on the Web is to offer great customer service, to go beyond anonymity to warm relationships with your customers. If you start a home based business on the Internet treating your customer as if she or he is the only one that counts, you’ll have repeat business and well on your way to netpreneurial success.