Starting an Online Business
If you think this is going to be what my wife likes to call a "recipe" for building a successful online building, I hate to disappoint you.
Oh! There certainly are many tools and techniques which should be used by those hoping to create and run an online business, but one of the most important of these cannot be written down!
The "X" factor which is often "the" most important factor of success in any business, online or otherwise, is in the soul of the business owner.
Starting an online business is like going to the gym. All about are pieces of exercise equipment. They all have their places in the scheme of getting fit, losing weight, or whatever the individual goal. However, none of these actually does the work.
It is the effort of the individual which creates success...NOT the tools or techniques available.
Unfortunately, many of the Internet marketing tools I have reviewed are a "one trick pony". They may have worked once in a specific set of circumstances, or in some limited, or limiting, venue.
The product matters, of course. The method matters, of course. The tools matter, of course. However, it is how the individual blends those items, and some piece of luck, as with any business, which determines the ultimate success.
Sadly, many businesses which sell the tools, training, or techniques which are supposed to guarantee success are limited by the fact that they are only selling one piece of the puzzle. They cannot sell the will, the perseverance, and the knowledge which the individual brings to the table.
There are some products which do provide training in Internet marketing and a range of tools which a willing student can put to use in starting an online business.
One such is the "Step-by-Step Guide to Selling Online" offered by the Internet Marketing Center. It is an excellent product and provides for individual growth.
However, no one product is perfect for everyone or provides all the factors an individual may need.
That is why I recommend one more product, Site Build It (SBI). SBI focuses a little less on the teaching side and more on the provision of services. However, they do assume that a certain amount of knowledge is imporant for the Internet business decision maker.
Both the Step-by-Step Guide to Selling Online, and SBI's service do help the would-be entrepreneur develope an idea they may already have, or come up with one if they have not gotten to that point as yet.
I give SBI one extra point, in that they offer free information and ideas which are valuable to both the experienced, and the beginning, Internet business ownter. To see what I mean, check out their introductory page, "The First Day of the Rest of Your Life".
To be fair, I do have to mention that the Internet Marketing Center offers a 90 Day Trial Period of their product and a free newsletter which offers Internet marketing tips. You can take a peak at those two offers here.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Donovan Baldwin is a freelance writer and Internet marketer currently living in the Dallas - Fort Worth, Texas area. He is retired from the U.S. Army after 21 years of service and is a University of West Florida alumnus (BA Accounting 1973). He has been a program accountant for the Florida State Department of Education, a board certified optician, a federal puchasing agent, and restaurant manager. You can learn more about Internet marketing and related topics at his website, http://xtramoney4me.net.
==================
You have permission to reprint this article on your website,
in your ezine, in an email, or in print as long as you use
the article in its entirety, including the ABOUT THE AUTHOR
section.
