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This area of business as recently attracted a large amount of
attention for good reasons, well millions of reasons, and bad reasons
for failures like boo.com.
"It is wrong to think of e-business as any different from normal business."
E-businesses can be started from very small beginnings and grown like any other business from your garden shed or spare bedroom.
The only difference is in how information is delivered and the speed at which it is delivered.
The
change in speed and response of delivery is as dramatic as the change
from sailing across the atlantic to flying across it. It isn't that it
isn't possible by other methods but that things happen hundreds of
times faster ( 2 week to 2 hour crossing).
Like any growth area e-business has generated a large number
of catchphrases, indeed I am sure the list below doesn't include them
all.
 e-commerce
http://www.amazon.co.uk
e-tailing
e-procurement
B2B (Business to business)
http://www.Altooffice.com
B2C (Business to customer)
e- . . . . . . . .
Pick
up any internet or business magazine or indeed any other magazine and
you will see a good proportion of e-businesses advertising their wares.
NB
if you want some good ideas about what to do and not to do look at how
other people, especially your competitors, are doing e-business.
How far do you want to go?
Like any business just as you can be a one man or a
multinational plc. So with e-business you can use basic things like
e-mail as an integral part of your business plan or go all the way to
developing an e-commerce web site.
If
you are running your own business it can take time to set up a web
site, so the same as you would get a specialist for other services it
is also worthwhile getting a web site designed for you.
How do I?
The
above are links to a variety of sites that will help you there are
several more in the pages of links. I will add to these as I see more
or more are suggested. Seen anything you find useful send me an e-mail.
Internet magazines and e-business
Magazines
are one of the best information sources for e-business but be careful
many of them look glossy but don't have much relevant content. Some of
the more general internet magazines have more interesting pieces about
e-business than some of the business ones.
Some which may be useful are:
There
is also a range of information in most public libraries and in the
local newspapers regular business sections about forthcoming events.
For example in Derbyshire the Creative Industries Network (CIN) http://www.creative-cin.co.uk/
Yes, it is the model/wallpaper/chocolate bar/ pencil case of the character taken from the film of the book.
Merchandising
has never been more popular look at any stationery shop or up and down
any high street at people advertising for companies they buy from,
including their web sites.
If you have a memorable name and a great product there is no reason why you can't follow suit with your web site!
Where there is a "Chicken Run" there is money.
Also don't forget that companies that sell cards, art, photographs although they may be producers they may also be into buying artwork to make into cards.
Getting your own domain name
The message seems to be the sooner the better before your name is grabbed by some one else.
You
don't have to use your business name though that would obviously help.
It does need to be something memorable. You may even have to change
your business name to get a suitable domain name.
Your
domain name is like an address which tells the computer how to locate
the server with your web site on. The exact location of the server is
held electronically so rather than a strange number like
123.342.332.978 you have an interesting name.
Add dom.png converted to flash
Most people should be able to work out your domain name just by knowing what your company is called!
Normal business practice
The truth is that e-business is no different from any other
business except the golden opportunity for a plethora of authors to
write books on the subject. Businesses are designed to make money and
financial controls and needs are the same as for any other business.
A
good example of this is in the area of marketing. We will do a wide
variety of things to advertise our business and make it known the same
is true for an e-business.
- Advertise your e-mail address on everything from cards to letterheads
- Advertise your web address on everything from mouse mats to plastic carrier bags
- Make sure your web site works
- Make sure you respond promptly to e-mails
"It is like any other business but you do some of your business or all of it via the internet."
If you work in a specialist area it might be that there is
already a organisation or company providing a web site service giving
you one page or a series of pages for an annual or monthly fee.
Some
of these also provide e-tailing facilities and make their money out of
selling your work for which they get a cut. The is similar to how many
galleries (20% cut) and photographic libraries (50-60% cut) work.
These can provide a range of services:
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