Three Major Mistakes By New Online Business Entrants

By Rami Doleh

People who are starting their journey to establish their own online business, usually commit fatal mistakes that will result in the usual disappointments that we often see in this marketplace.

In this article we will list the usual mistakes committed by new entrants into the online business marketplace hoping that we will be able to help them avoid such mistakes from the very beginning.

Mistake No. 1: New entrants, or as the market calls them "newbies," usually start with excessive energy and the first thing they do is to search for online opportunities. This is the first huge mistake.

Mistake No. 2: A huge percentage of the opportunities that will come out of the search conducted in Mistake No. 1 are affiliate opportunities. A newbie would become more excited here after reading the hyped up sales letters that he/she is getting. Eventually the newbie will do the inevitable and take out the credit card to join one of those opportunities that promise income in no time. Even if the idea was legit and in many cases it will be, the prospect still does not know anything about online business, let alone affiliate marketing.

Mistake No. 3: After few days the newbie will discover that the opportunity that he/she joined is not making any money, so now its time to quit and search for something else. The newbie does
not know that the problem is not really in the affiliate opportunity. Actually the newbie most probably still does not know that he/she is involved in affiliate marketing. After few trials with different affiliate opportunities the newbie realizes that this online business thing is crap and waste of time and money.

The above three mistakes can very easily be joined into one. The huge mistake that is conducted here is getting into online business head first without knowing anything about it.

The first step in anything in life is learning. Before thinking of establishing an online business, a newbie needs to know the following:

1 - What is online business and its different models?
2 - What is online marketing and how does it differ from one model to another?
3 - What are the different tools of online marketing?

These three questions are not easy to answer and online gurus have written a lost of e-books and articles trying to answer one or more of those questions. A newbie needs to search and read as much as possible about the above three issues so that he/she can create a personal opinion and then a decision.

The main resources a newbie should concentrate on to gather such information are the free Resources. Don't go on buying e-books at the beginning, there is a lot of free information on the net. After you have exhausted this aspect you will have better knowledge to be able to decide which material to buy and which to avoid.

What are those free resources?:

1 - Articles Directories
2 - Blogs
3 - Forums

After getting the appropriate knowledge a newbie is able to do take the following decisions consciously:

1-Which online business model he/she going to adopt.
2-Which marketing strategy and tools he/she is going to use.

This means if the newbie is going to search for affiliate opportunities, he/she is going to do it consciously knowing exactly what to look for.

In this article we have followed the steps approach, which means get the knowledge first and then have the business. We admit that there is another approach which is learning by doing. This means getting involved in a business and then applying what you learn to that business. This is a good approach only if you know which online business model you want to adopt.

Affiliate opportunities have started creating training resources and courses to enable their affiliates do a better job marketing their products and services.

The problem that I find here is that only a few affiliate opportunities have constructed a structured training that would train affiliates with zero background on the ins and outs of
affiliate marketing. The majority have opted on collecting e-books and other resources and put them in one place for their members to read.

About The Author:

Rami Doleh has dedicated all available resources to put people on the right track and help them establish their affiliate business. For More Information and to find how to contact Rami for any questions visit http://www.BusinessFountains.com/affiliate-Opportunities

Virtual Assistants Globally Taking Us To New Frontiers - The International Connection

By Diana Ennen

A Virtual Assistant, like many of their clients, is a highly skilled professional working as an independent contractor from their own home. Virtual Assistants use leading edge technology to communicate work assignments via the Internet, e-mail or disk transfer. Traditional methods
such as regular mail and overnight shipping are also used. While most virtual assistants will never meet their clients, it is not unusual to find a VA providing pickup and delivery service in their local area. Many have found success in a combination of the two, local and virtual clients. And what is even more impressive, is that most VA's now realize the amazing power of the Internet and their client base spans globally.

The ultimate goal of virtual assistants is to partner with their clients. By partnering the VA learns all they can about their clients' business to become a trusted and valued member of the team and an extension of their organization. At the same time, the VA only charges for time on tasks so it ultimately saves the client in overhead expenses while affording them the necessary time to take care of more business.

A perfect example of a Client/VA partnership is the sole proprietor; let's say a consultant, who charges $400 an hour for his consulting services. The consultant is spending two hours a week generating mailings, preparing presentations, rummaging through paperwork, and sorting
through the tons of email he gets on a weekly basis. Since the consultant is doing this work himself he is paying $400 an hour for these services when, in reality, it would benefit him to partner with a VA at a rate of $50 an hour and save tons of money a year. Plus, he could be generating more revenue because he would have more time available for doing what he does best - consulting. See how it works? It's not rocket science but it can feel that way when trying to convince clients that they need you. As evidenced in this example they can't afford NOT to have you on their team.

In addition to the financial rewards for the client, the following list reinforces to the client what they get in return for their investment. This list is just a sample and not meant to be all inclusive. You need to customize your benefits and features list for clients to reflect your
service offering, ethics, and level of expertise in addition to your business goals and objectives.

- Personalized attention

- Exceptional service

- Experience in the latest technology

- A colleague to brainstorm ideas with

- No benefits/no equipment/no office space

- Accurate/professional/experienced

- Knowledge of the latest equipment

- Freedom to allow you to grow you business

- Pride in our profession

- An interest in helping them achieve growth in their business

- Specific knowledge of your niche

In closing, it's up to us as Virtual Assistants to get the word out and there's no better time than now. Get active and talk more, blog more, and just do more for this Virtual Industry that we are all so proud of.

About the Author:

Diana Ennen is the author of numerous books including Virtual Assistant: the Series, Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA with Kelly Poelker and Words From Home: Start, Run and Profit from a Home-Based Word Processing Business. http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com .

A Perspective On Starting An Internet Home Business

By Ronald Mills

The Internet is one of the few things that changed everything. For example, not too long ago, public access to high speed communication consisted primarily of the radio, telephone and television. With the exception of the telephone, the communication is in one direction only. But, with the Internet, we can communicate interactively and to a far greater extent than with the telephone. Imagine that!

In just a few short years, the Internet has become a substantial forum for education, entertainment, communication and for conducting business. It facilitates the exchange of a wide variety of products and services. Some examples include books, movies, toys, power tools, music, furniture, appliances, medicine and a ton of information on just about any topic. The consumer is highly selective and the business owner is focused on learning how to form and sustain a mutually beneficial business relationship. Establishing that relationship isn't always easy, but it might not be as difficult as you might image. Why? Because if you have the desire to be successful and the commitment to learn and take the appropriate action, then you can be successful.

The successful business owner is one who: a) has the capacity to offer the right product or service, b) can enter a niche by giving the consumer something competitors have not thought of, heard of, or were unable to obtain, and c) is willing and able to work hard at making their internet home business presence known. The enterprising individual will find that the internet
makes it possible to sell goods and services without having to maintain an inventory, employ a sales force, or even deal with shipping! In addition, there are some home business opportunities where the owner doesn't even have to worry about making or receiving telephone calls.

So, how do you get started? Well, starting an internet home business begins with the development of a business plan. That's very important. You know what they say about not planning, don't you? They say that those who don't develop a plan are actually planning to fail! The business plan outlines what will be sold to whom, and how the business will be advertised to reach the targeted consumer group. The plan also includes specific benchmarks for performance. This allows the entrepreneur to regularly monitor how well the business performs against established objectives. In this way, the plan is continuously improved to ensure the success of the business. This so-called paperwork must not be neglected. If it is, then the business will ultimately suffer. Worse case is that the entrepreneur may go out of business. So, like they say, you need to plan your work and work your plan!

The next step is to set up a website. Maybe you've heard it said that sooner or later one realizes that they need their own web site? It can be set up by the entrepreneur or out-sourced. Some might yield to the temptation to set up their own web site and that's ok if they know exactly what they are doing and how to do it. Otherwise, they should out-source it. Why? Because their web site is the visible presence of their business, just like a building would be. Imagine how few customers would visit a dysfunctional and run-down looking building! Your web site doesn't have to be the slickest thing out there, but it must be in good shape with respect to download speed, ease of use and the presentation of graphics and text. So, whether you set it up yourself or out-source it, make sure your web site is presentable for doing business.

The above addresses only two of the basic start-up steps. While they are certainly important, there are also other important steps required for the start-up, operation and sustained growth of an internet home business.

About The Author:

Ronald Mills is the owner of http://LongTermProfit.biz and believes that the right education
and training increases the odds for long-term profitability. To learn more, sign up for his FREE Home Business Tips Newsletter at http://www.LongTermProfit.biz