The popularity of the internet has made it possible to establish and operate an online business with little to no expense. What this means is that now, anyone and everyone has the option of starting their own business. That doesn't mean that everyone will succeed with their own business. Do not look for opportunities to get rich quick, they are not realistic. If it were as easy as many on the internet would have you believe, everyone would have done it already. I am co-owner of a business consulting firm. Allow me to share with you some of what my clients pay $120.00 an hour for.
The more you have to invest in your business, the faster you'll see profitable results. Expenses such as your own domain name registration and marketing can add up over time, however an internet based business can be started for free. You'll just have to be willing to work at your business and have patience. First you'll have to decide which type of internet based business is best for you. Try out a few different options, and see what is working for you. Regardless of what you are told, you can earn an income from affiliate programs, but it's not likely you'll earn enough to survive on. If you're looking for an additional income, consider affiliate programs such as the one you'll find at www.access-co.us
Access-Co offers the opportunity for you to provide communications products and services to business and residential customers, and earn a commission each month. These services include local and long distance telephone service, Wireless and cell phone service, prepaid cell phone, calling cards, satellite tv service, voip, internet access, and dsl (high speed internet access) and many more products and services. Programs such as these not only offer the opportunity for you to earn a commission on sales to your customers, they also provide you with the opportunity to save money each month on services you already use, and earn a commission when paying your own bills each month by becoming your own customer. Another great affiliate program is the one you'll find at www.myfreesatellite.us
This one offers the opportunity to receive $50.00 for each satellite TV System that you give away for free, online or offline. These are just 2 examples of what you can do with a good affiliate program to earn online. If you would rather have your own branded online business, you can have that too.
There are popular places to set up your store or sell at an online auction that won't cost you anything. I do not recommend eBay (commonly referred to as feebay) for online selling. Their most popular days are most likely behind them. It is geting more and more expensive to sell your items there, that is why so many eBay users are finding other options everyday. A couple of great places to start selling online would be Livedeal.
Both Livedeal and http://www.vstore.ca are both great places to sell items online, without paying expensive listing fees or final value fees, for selling your items. I recommend selling on as many different sites as you can to get additional exposure, and there are other good free sites out there as well. Now that you have a place to sell your items, you need merchandise to sell. A good place to start is The Wholesale Outlet http://wholesaleoutlet.vstore.ca
The Wholesale Outlet will drop ship to your customers, allowing you to sell your items, collect your money from your sales, then place your order and have the items shipped directly to your customers. You can find legitimate companies that will drop ship, but they are not always easy to find. Most searches will return a multitude of companies wanting to sell you lists or memberships to drop ship sites. Don't pay for memberships, this is an unneccessary expense. Why pay someone else for the priviledge of selling their items for them? Beside the site listed above, there are other sources for items to sell online that will not require an investment. There are also many free resources for advertising and marketing available to everyone. Once you have your new business established, tell your family, friends, and everyone you come into contact with where to find you, and begin building a network. The more relationships you can establish with other business owners, the more traffic and customers you will see from their referrals also.
I hope this article was useful and made you think about what you can offer and a few of the options available to you. The most important thing is to be creative. Don't mislead customers or clients, but be creative enough to offer something they are not likely to find somewhere else.
This information was provided by David Edwards, co-owner and managing partner of MCE Consulting.
David Edwards, Co-owner and managing partner of MCE consulting, has over 14 years of business consulting experience.