Before You Start - Online Only or Hybrid - Know The Difference
There are many types of online business. Just like there are many types of traditional high street, sole trader or office type of businesses.
When people ask me 'what type of business should I start online?', it's a lot like asking 'what type of business should I start on the high street?
The options are of course vast.
In traditional business, it's everything from sandwich delivery to plumbing and heating supplies.
Your choice naturally would be influenced by what knowledge & experience you have within that industry.
Unless of course you opt for a franchise that will teach and train you from zero to franchise owner/manager- eg. Some of the fast food chains such as McDonalds and Subway do just that for their franchisees.
But of course, that all usually mean quite a big outlay up front, risk, and many many hours working the business.
It's like trading 1 job for another in my opinion.
If you'd rather not take the risks, and spend your time at home so you can have more time with your family and children, then a traditional business model is not a great fit.
The online model works so much better - on so many levels.
Here are Just 7 Reasons Why An Online Business Model Should Be Top Of Your List
1. The setup is fast. You can setup in a matter of days or weeks depending on how much time you have.
2. Its cheaper to start - relatively speaking. You can start a blog for free. Websites are not expensive. For less than a rent deposit on a small office, you can be up and running with all of the knowledge and support you need to learn what you need to know and be attracting leads and customers.
3. No staff required. You can do it all yourself & no advanced technical skills needed.
4. You can outsource tasks. The worldwide 'gig economy' means you can find people who will do tasks for you ( eg designing banners for your blog) for a few dollars. So when you grow and need help, you can do it without the hassle of employing people yourself.
5. Work from anywhere. Your truly online business can be operated from anywhere.
6. Flexibility. Work on your business when you want to. Spend time with the kids when you need and want to and work on the business when they're at school or in bed.
7. 24/7 and global reach. Your online business is always online. It's never not able to do business with potential customers. With 2-3 Billion people online at any one time, thats a lot of people!
The benefits are endless.
It's important therefore to understand the many different types of internet based businesses there are out there. You can divide them into 2 broad categories.
1. Those that sell products (physical or information products)
2. Those that sell services ( eg.online courses, consulting, document management, gadgets)
Now many of these so called 'online businesses', have behind them, a physical real world office and warehouse and supply chain and people.
Take an online retailer such as Glasses.com for example - they sell glasses online.
In the background, they have a massive operation. Everything from buying frames, to glazing lenses to taking image of products to returns, customer services, marketing etc etc.
It's an online only retailer - but it's not a a pure Internet/online only business.
Many of these kinds of businesses will have had a huge investment injected to get them off the ground.
The type of online business that most lends itself to the work from home or anywhere with an internet connection is very different. This kind of online business...
1. Requires no office or warehouse space
2. Does not need to have physical products to send out
3. Delivers all of it's services/information to it's customers online
It is THIS type of online business is the kind that should always be considered above all others by entrepreneurs who want to start an online business.
So with the potential benefits on offer, why isn't everyone going into online businesses?
Well, the fact is that most people don't know where to start - (part of the reason for this blog is to help people understand the basics and get them started without wasting time and money trying to find out themselves).
Life is getting in the way for millions of people every day, and they just don't get around to it. Ever!
Before they know it, the kids have left home and theres a measly pension to look forward to.
But, there are 100's of 1000's of people successfully running online businesses - and that number is climbing fast.
Traditional business owners are setting up online arms to their existing businesses at a rate of knots. Retail therapy can be in-store and online !
It's become (almost) standard in many industries to have an online arm to the business. Just look at any supermarket chainstore. Any airline. Even food shops. They're all selling online too.
And, as the Internet expands faster and faster, more and more 'online only' businesses have sprouted.
The last decade has seen an exponential rise in digital businesses, sometimes referred to as 'lifestyle' businesses.
Many are selling a vision of a lifestyle and not a lot else. That's unfortunate - but people are switching on to that, and don't necessarily buy into the 'yacht and private plane lifestyle' hype that plagued the airwaves a few years back.
If you see any of that online, be careful and make sure you do your research.
OK, so that's the first step in the thought process.
Understanding that most businesses that 'appear' to be online businesses are not 'online only'.
If more time at home is a priority, then I always recommend the online only business model for the reasons already given above.
The 'online only' model is the lowest risk with the highest possible return, fastest off the ground and most globally scalable business that you can run from your computer.
Ok, so now we need a business model. More of that in the next post.
Kuki
PS. Grab a copy of my free report. It walks you through the business model and simple 3 step process.
When people ask me 'what type of business should I start online?', it's a lot like asking 'what type of business should I start on the high street?
The options are of course vast.
In traditional business, it's everything from sandwich delivery to plumbing and heating supplies.
Your choice naturally would be influenced by what knowledge & experience you have within that industry.
 |
| Traditional High Street Store |
Unless of course you opt for a franchise that will teach and train you from zero to franchise owner/manager- eg. Some of the fast food chains such as McDonalds and Subway do just that for their franchisees.
But of course, that all usually mean quite a big outlay up front, risk, and many many hours working the business.
It's like trading 1 job for another in my opinion.
If you'd rather not take the risks, and spend your time at home so you can have more time with your family and children, then a traditional business model is not a great fit.
The online model works so much better - on so many levels.
Here are Just 7 Reasons Why An Online Business Model Should Be Top Of Your List
1. The setup is fast. You can setup in a matter of days or weeks depending on how much time you have.
2. Its cheaper to start - relatively speaking. You can start a blog for free. Websites are not expensive. For less than a rent deposit on a small office, you can be up and running with all of the knowledge and support you need to learn what you need to know and be attracting leads and customers.
3. No staff required. You can do it all yourself & no advanced technical skills needed.
4. You can outsource tasks. The worldwide 'gig economy' means you can find people who will do tasks for you ( eg designing banners for your blog) for a few dollars. So when you grow and need help, you can do it without the hassle of employing people yourself.
5. Work from anywhere. Your truly online business can be operated from anywhere.
6. Flexibility. Work on your business when you want to. Spend time with the kids when you need and want to and work on the business when they're at school or in bed.
7. 24/7 and global reach. Your online business is always online. It's never not able to do business with potential customers. With 2-3 Billion people online at any one time, thats a lot of people!
The benefits are endless.
It's important therefore to understand the many different types of internet based businesses there are out there. You can divide them into 2 broad categories.
1. Those that sell products (physical or information products)
2. Those that sell services ( eg.online courses, consulting, document management, gadgets)
Now many of these so called 'online businesses', have behind them, a physical real world office and warehouse and supply chain and people.
Take an online retailer such as Glasses.com for example - they sell glasses online.
In the background, they have a massive operation. Everything from buying frames, to glazing lenses to taking image of products to returns, customer services, marketing etc etc.
It's an online only retailer - but it's not a a pure Internet/online only business.
Many of these kinds of businesses will have had a huge investment injected to get them off the ground.
The type of online business that most lends itself to the work from home or anywhere with an internet connection is very different. This kind of online business...
1. Requires no office or warehouse space
2. Does not need to have physical products to send out
3. Delivers all of it's services/information to it's customers online
It is THIS type of online business is the kind that should always be considered above all others by entrepreneurs who want to start an online business.
So with the potential benefits on offer, why isn't everyone going into online businesses?
Well, the fact is that most people don't know where to start - (part of the reason for this blog is to help people understand the basics and get them started without wasting time and money trying to find out themselves).
Life is getting in the way for millions of people every day, and they just don't get around to it. Ever!
Before they know it, the kids have left home and theres a measly pension to look forward to.
But, there are 100's of 1000's of people successfully running online businesses - and that number is climbing fast.
Traditional business owners are setting up online arms to their existing businesses at a rate of knots. Retail therapy can be in-store and online !
 |
| Retail Therapy - In-store & Online ! |
It's become (almost) standard in many industries to have an online arm to the business. Just look at any supermarket chainstore. Any airline. Even food shops. They're all selling online too.
And, as the Internet expands faster and faster, more and more 'online only' businesses have sprouted.
The last decade has seen an exponential rise in digital businesses, sometimes referred to as 'lifestyle' businesses.
Many are selling a vision of a lifestyle and not a lot else. That's unfortunate - but people are switching on to that, and don't necessarily buy into the 'yacht and private plane lifestyle' hype that plagued the airwaves a few years back.
If you see any of that online, be careful and make sure you do your research.
OK, so that's the first step in the thought process.
Understanding that most businesses that 'appear' to be online businesses are not 'online only'.
If more time at home is a priority, then I always recommend the online only business model for the reasons already given above.
The 'online only' model is the lowest risk with the highest possible return, fastest off the ground and most globally scalable business that you can run from your computer.
Ok, so now we need a business model. More of that in the next post.
Kuki
PS. Grab a copy of my free report. It walks you through the business model and simple 3 step process.
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