7 Must Do’s Before Starting An Online Business

February 7, 2008

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“You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.” Zig Ziglar

Do you want to start an online business? Don’t make the mistake of trying to come up with a great idea first. To build a successful online business, you need to discover what potential customers want first. And here’s a few ways to do this:

1) Make a List Of Your Interests: Your chances of online success are much better if you choose a topic or area you’re passionate about, or interested in learning.

2) Find Others Who Share The Same Interests: Discover where others hang out who share the same passions and join them. You can find them in forums, blogs and social networking groups.

3) Start Your Own Blog Or Discussion Forum: Start your own blog or discussion forum in your area of interest. Then once you’ve identified the needs of your visitors, you’ll already have potential customers for your online business, right on your doorstep.

4) Identify the Needs of The Community: Ask questions and observe the questions asked by others. What problems and needs do they have? Is there already a solution to their problem? Can it be improved on? How?

Internet Map
Image by adactio

5) Make Notes: Write down the problems and needs your community have. What solutions are currently offered by other online businesses? Search for them on the Internet and make notes. Do they offer good solutions? Can they be improved upon? How?

6) Walk and Talk: Don’t just restrict your research to the Internet. Explore your town. What products and services can you find that would be better offered online? Speak to family and friends. Have they felt disappointed by a business they’ve used recently? Why? How could it have been improved.

7) Explore: Research. Once you’ve gathered the information above check to see whether other businesses already offer what you plan to provide online. Make a list of their strengths and weaknesses. What would you do differently?

This is a series of posts inspired by Dawn who asked me if I could write a step by step guide to starting an online business.

Do you have any questions? Or do you have anything to add? What other research could you do before starting an online business?

Further Reading

107 Resources To Unleash The Entrepreneur Within You
Want To Get Rich Quick? 7 Reasons Why It’s Dangerous
Teenager Turns Down Offer of $2.5 Million For Her Business

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Comments

18 Responses to “7 Must Do’s Before Starting An Online Business”

Faye on February 7th, 2008 1:44 pm

I think the steps you’ve outlined are very good starting points for me. I’ve spent the last year or so starting and deleting blogs without a clear vision of why I put them up in the first place. I got caught up in thinking that the blog(s) would be making money and that I would use the money to maintain and sustain my businesses and side projects, and that was a mistake.

I’m not very good at professional blogging like Darren Rowse is so my challenge is to focus on what I’m good at. I think these steps will keep me on track.
Hunter Nuttall on February 7th, 2008 2:49 pm

Some very good advice here about finding out what people need first. Entrepreneurs are fundamentally problem solvers, and you have to identify the problem before you can solve it.

Hunter Nuttall’s last blog post..The Science Of Getting Rich
cathlawson on February 7th, 2008 3:22 pm

Hi Faye - I’m glad you found it useful. I think there’s way too many of these sites out there that encourage to believe they can make money online overnight easily. And most of them don’t encourage people to lay the foundations properly and build a decent business.

Hi Hunter. Thank you. Unfortunately - too many budding entrepreneurs rush in and wind up causing more problems than the customer had to begin with.
John on February 7th, 2008 3:52 pm

Some great points. 1) in particular is so important, yet far too often ignored.

John’s last blog post..Bank Of England Cuts Base Rate To 5.25%
Nicole on February 7th, 2008 3:56 pm

Very good advices again!
Especially the notes.
I need to do those….!
cathlawson on February 7th, 2008 4:34 pm

Hi John - thanks for dropping by.

Hi Nicole - I was tired of making notes and losing them so I got one of those bright pink kids notebooks with the pictures on - it stands out from the rest!
dawn on February 7th, 2008 5:14 pm

See… I knew you were the go-to lady for advice!!!
I NOW KNOW… that I need to slow down and really start at the beginning.
Thanks so much for this post… it’s incredibly helpful!

dawn’s last blog post..I Made The Team …
cathlawson on February 7th, 2008 5:17 pm

Thank you Dawn. I’m glad it’s been useful. And thank you for inspiring me to write it.

I’ve turned it into a series, so it’s easier to follow.
Ian Denny on February 7th, 2008 6:23 pm

Sagely pearls of wisdom as ever.

It’s so important to look before you leap. You need an amazing amount of luck to rush in and succeed without first laying foundations and esablishing the exact nature of the demand for your brilliant idea.

And it’s als important to look at your idea and pose the question:

“It’s great, but compared to what…”

It’s always wise to do something better than the rest right from the start.

Ian Denny’s last blog post..Customer Gets Lost In Jungle Of Chaos
Nez on February 7th, 2008 6:53 pm

Hi Catherine,

I would also add that it’s not as easy as the low barrier to entry (e.g. getting a blog up) makes it out to be.

Having an online business become successful also requires at least a modicum of business sense — skills that can be acquired via a local community college class or spending scads of time scouring websites.

You have a great list here, and I do agree, #1 is crucial.

Nez’s last blog post..A Most Precious Possession
Barbara on February 7th, 2008 7:18 pm

Hello Catherine,

Yes to #1. There’s no sense starting a business if you don’t even have an interest in the product/service. Passion not only drives us, but opens our eyes to greater possibilities.

Also, as you have mentioned in several earlier posts, during this process, try to avoid negativity from others. Constructive criticism is one thing, but if others are telling you “it;s not possible”, you could easily start doubting your own abilities.

Another great post Catherine. You’re the bomb!
Barbara’s last blog post..WP Tutorials - Where Were They When..
cathlawson on February 7th, 2008 7:56 pm

Hi - Thank you Ian. That is so true and it’s important to gain a competitive advantage and keep an eye on what competitors are doing.

I was just explaining to Barbara that my first online venture began before affiliate programs were around. I charged for information, then later on, other sites came along and began giving the same info away for free while monetising their sites with affiliate programs.

Now, I didn’t stay in that business long enough to find out what would have happened - I was unable to for reasons to long to explain.

But, I was very naive - I was turning down offers from these new affiliate companies through principal, not realising how it would affect me when others began taking up their offers. Drastic changes would have been required to make it work.

Also - it was so easy to get traffic back then - you just had to be there and people turned up!

Hi Nez - definitely you need to acquire plenty of business knowledge. As I explained in my reply to Ian, I just didn’t acquire the necessary knowledge back then. I was obsessed with customer service and meeting the needs of customers, but beyond that, I knew very little.

Thank you Barbara - that is an excellent point. Other people will not always be able to see the possibilities you can see and you really have to shut your ears off to them. The idea of starting any sort of business just sounds risky to so many people.
Mrs. Micah on February 7th, 2008 9:36 pm

Um. Tee hee hee.

That is all.
cathlawson on February 7th, 2008 9:50 pm

Hi Mrs M - sorry didn’t you like the post? Which bit didn’t you like? Or does this have something to do with the new project you’re working on?

cathlawson’s last blog post..7 Must Do’s Before Starting An Online Business
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