I am selling my herbal enhancements on ebay and doing very very well.So much so that I saved up enough money to build my own website and leave ebay for good (too many restrictions and high fees).Money is not the issue here, the real issue is bringing everything together and making my ideas in a reality.Here is a rundown: Im building my business and I need a domain,hosting,shopping cart,a merchant,template,text (content),pictures,company logo,company colors,and last but not least product labels that will go on my bottles.If that doesn’t give you a headache I don’t know what does.No wonder most people stay on ebay or work 9 to 5 jobs.But my question is this.Have any of you guys started a business from scratch? If you did, how did it turn out? Plz let me know.Thanx!
For your logo & business literature, go to http://www.vistaprinte.com. They have services that can help you. They also have web sites, but I’m not sure how the websites work. Good luck.
If you have a plan for your business, I can help you setting up your website, I would like to call it an ecommerce store. Right from Logo design, web template,programming the add to cart and other back end applications, payment processing, domain registration and hosting. Once your website is send live, we will optimize it for better search results. Logon to http://www.b-1st.com and send a quote. We are looking forward to help people like you who is having great business idea.
As a matter of fact 18 days ago I started http://www.givemegreatcredit.com. It has been one of the most fun and profitable things I have done in the last 20 plus years of my life.
I spent 15 years in the Credit and Lending Industry before getting disgusted with the Mortgage company I worked for. I wrote my third book, and decided that I could sell it better than any publisher could. I was RIGHT!!!
The Credit Control Kit is selling like CRAZY!!! I cannot tell you how much fun it is opening my accounts, and seeing just how much people appreciate the work I put into this.
You should be very proud of yourself, you are taking the step that allot of people fear.
I would ask one question why not sell your products from your own website, AND Ebay? Sounded like you had some success there, and the two are not mutually exclusive. As a matter of fact one would help the other.
Can I be so bold as to make a suggestion? Check out Go Daddy for your web hosting. They have been so good to me. Extremely good customer service, and great products to get you started. Just a thought!!
Very good luck to you,
Wayne Altman
http://www.givemegreatcredit.com
domain: use GoDaddy.com as that is the cheapest
hosting: shouldn’t pay more than $100 per yr (if not $50)
shopping cart: can buy a web program for this
template: can buy one online
text (content): you sit and hash this out yourself
pictures: you can do this yourself with just a sheet behind product
company logo: make yourself or find a graphic designer
company colors: you can pick this out
product labels: design these in art program and have kinko’s print them
I have started 3 businesses from total scratch and about to start my 3rd. Being a business owner is not easy and no where does it state that it is easy. But that is the price of running a business. For you need to learn each and every step that makes up a business. Where most 9-5 people only deal with 1 item within it all, as that is the department they work in.
100 people will open their own business, 97 will fail. Out of those 97, only 4 will try again, and only 2 will make it. It takes a certain kind of person and personality to be a business owner. For when you own a business, you are the business 24/7.
Paypal can help you with a shopping cart and taking payments, Godaddy can too AND you can buy your domain from them as well. I agree with the other poster suggesting vistaprint, you can get business cards from them as well. You can hire freelance writers and logo designers for the content and logo. They are used to new business startups so you might not have to give them a whole lot of info. If you are too nervous to research and find your own writer and designer, you can always post the gigs on Elance.