It does take some time, understanding and work to get an online business going. However, it will pay off in spades if run correctly. In fact, it could be a profitable venture in a shorter time than trying to build an “offline” business. One way to fund your online business, if you’ve suddenly found yourself unemployed, is to use unemployment benefits to bridge your income shortfall. Of course, consider searching for a “traditional” job in parallel. Craft your strategy correctly, just like you would
if developing any business plan in the traditional world.

There are literally tens / hundreds of thousands of online business. So, it’s clear that you must think outside the box. If you’ve been an account in the past, consider offering online bookkeeping services or consulting with clients for on how to structure their accounting systems. What if you were an application developer in the past, perhaps you can offer your help through online bidding services such as Guru.com or RentACoder.com. These services are great for giving you a baseline of potentially unlimited short-term engagements.

Many people would just brush off building a business online as “too hard.” This is especially true if they’ve never done this before. But, the real question to ask yourself is “what do I have to lose, except time?” Let’s dissect a few of the components. Buy a domain name, build a website or use an existing site / blogging service such as WordPress, and start advertising. You should spend a few hours every night writing about what you enjoy most. Explain to your audience about certain techniques, what actions work best, where to get more information, etc. Once you start, you’ll find it amazing how much knowledge you really do have about the subject.

Of course, you have to realize that regardless of how small your business there will be competition on the Internet. The Internet has something approaching 400 million websites, give or take. But, the beauty of this is that you have the opportunity to check out your competition. You can figure out what they are doing right or wrong and create your own unique products and services.

On the flip side of the coin, if you are not a proficient web designer, you might hire one of these people off of the services listed above: Guru.com or RentACoder.com. These services provide ratings on the coders within their portfolio. It makes it much easier to pick a competent web developer.

Again, just like any business, be sure you know your objectives. The Internet should be a “one-action “model. Don’t confuse the issue with creating too many “personas” or themes about you or your offering. You will end up confusing the audience / paralyzing their thought process and they will end up not buying. Make sure you have quality content on your site, as well.

Marketing will be a key component to a successful launch of your business. I like to say that you can build a website, but if no one knows that it’s there, does it really exist? Remember you ARE competing with millions of other websites. At a minimum, you are competing with thousands of business in your category. How will you stand out? What are your unique selling points? Are you relevant?

Marketing your website is probably the most difficult aspect of starting a small business online. By the time you’re ready to launch your site, you need to be prepared to invest some bucks in bringing your small business to the attention of the world.

In the end; however, this small investment could be the biggest you’ve made to be in control of your own future. This is probably the best time to invest in your tomorrow’s future by developing your own business.

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