Starting an E-Business on a Shoestring
Fifth Anniversary Issue
Issue 92, November 7, 2000

by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, E-Commerce Consultant
Web Marketing Today, November 7, 2000

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Starting an E-Business on a Shoestring

shoe·string n. 1. shoelace. 2. a small sum of money; capital inadequate or barely adequate to the needs of a transaction. boot·strap n. a looped strap sewed at the side or rear top of a boot to help in pulling it on. vt. to promote or develop by initiative and effort with little or no assistance. Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Tenth Edition (1993)

Why do the two chief metaphors for starting a business from scratch both relate to footwear? Shoestrings. Bootstraps. Perhaps because you feel pretty small and struggling when you hunch over to tie your shoes or pull on your boots. It's a ground-level achievement. There's nothing fancy, no glory, little recognition.

But in spite tales of glory and bankruptcy about high-flying dot-coms, there is a great opportunity to make a good living developing a small, healthy online business -- if you go about it right. We hear that dot-coms just aren't making any profits. Heavily-funded start-ups must either make a big splash or go bust. But there are tens of thousands of small, very profitable e-businesses that thrive all over the world. You'll need some money -- every businesses does unless you possess all the necessary skills in-house, but you may be surprised at how little money may be necessary to succeed.

In this series we'll be examining how to begin a successful e-business or fix a struggling one. In some cases, you'll realize that your stillborn e-business needs a funeral -- nothing will revive it. But in other cases you'll be able to discover the missing pieces, and this time find success.

This series isn't for the get-rich-quick dreamers who are always looking for the next magic bullet. They'll always be disappointed and disappoint others. This is for serious individuals and small companies who are willing to learn rapidly, teach themselves new skills, master new disciplines, and do all it takes to become successful. Here are the steps we will consider together.

1. Define a Unique E-Business Niche
2. Devise an Adequate Revenue Plan
3. Name Your E-Business
4. Gather Your Resources
5. Obtain Professional Website Design
6. Build the Trust Necessary for Success
7. Plan Low-Cost Marketing Techniques
8. Determine How to Receive Payments
9. Deliver Products and Services Efficiently
10. Provide Excellence Service to Your Customers

-- all on a shoestring.

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Step 1. Define a Unique E-Business Niche

The first article in this series is essential to provide the right direction for an small, online e-business. Get this right, and the rest will flow from it. Read the Article

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Product Brief: Metamend

Here's a product that offers significant traffic generation help to the smallest online businesses for a small monthly fee. Read the Product Brief