Home About Writers Categories Recent Issues Subscribe Contact File Transfer





Amal Xavier
Amal Xavier, A techno-marketing professional who thrives on Software Project Management, Business Process Automation; Software Solution Design, Development and Deployment. He is the Owner of Blue Horizon Infotech, headquartered in Cochin, Kerala, India. Blue Horizon Infotech is a company whose primary focus is the building of customized software applications and solutions for businesses throughout the world. Blue Horizon has employees and contracted personnel with more than 65 years combined experience in virtually all software applications, including but not limited to PHP/MySQL, Open Source technologies, Adobe AIR, Adobe Flex, ActionScript 3.0, Flash Media server, JavaScript, Ajax, XHTML/CSS and jQuery. Chart Marketing, Inc. is the marketing arm of Blue Horizon in the United States. You may contact Amal by sending an email to sales@chartmarketing.com.
Custom Software Solution
2011-12-27 09:50:50
Setting up your eBusiness - series
Q: It seems like more and more businesses are not only having an online presence, but they are also having built some most intricate eCommerce mechanisms to take care of their business. I want to do the same with my company, but I have some questions. What are the first things to consider before setting up an eBusiness? What about the legal ramifications? Do I need to consult with an attorney before opening up my eBusiness? Any other things I need to be aware of?
A: Last month, with assistance from www.ecommerceoptizimation.com and other sources, we talked about the need for multi-tasking and what things to expect and not to expect as you set up your online eBusiness presence. This month, we will begin talking about your skills…those you have, those you will need. Owning an eBusiness will make you aware of skills you never thought you had. You will also find that you may have to take on the task of learning new skills you weren’t aware of or didn’t think you needed in order to be a successful online seller. If you are just starting out selling online you will soon find out that the one person who continuously handles decisions or issues as they come up is YOU. When the store needs to be redesigned, you will be editing the files. When it comes time to pay taxes, you will be the one learning Turbo Tax. When you need to get the word out about your products or business brand, you will be learning how to market yourself online. If you are already an established merchant seller, you may already have the skills it takes to launch an eBusiness, but it’s a good idea to explore other useful skills, like management, so you can help the business to grow steadily and begin to oversee employees. The best way to succeed in recognizing the skills you need to be a successful online merchant is to perform a personal evaluation of yourself. During the evaluation be sure to note all of your strengths and weaknesses. Improve upon your weaknesses by learning new skills and expanding your personal strengths. Nurturing Skills: The most successful eCommerce merchants have great nurturing skills. Many of them even treat their Online businesses as if it were their child or a favorite pet. You’ve heard people refer to their car as their “baby.” The same should hold true for an eBusiness, it’s also your “baby.” This attitude is possibly one of the most important skills needed to start, manage and grow an eBusiness. If you do not love what you do, protect your investment and help it evolve you will have a harder time seeing success in the beginning. No one, other than you, will be that guiding force into greatness. It always reminds me of that saying “If you want it done right, do it yourself because no one else is going to do it for you.” Now I am not saying you shouldn’t hire others to help you eventually, it’s just better that you have the attitude that YOU will be the one handling everything. It’s important as it will help you not to feel overwhelmed during the set up and launch process. Your new business venture will need constant nurturing including attention and protection as it gets off the ground, your guidance as it starts to grow and your wisdom to help direct it towards your overall goals. Business Skills: Although having some understanding of business and certain business skills can help you get your eBusiness up and running quickly, it’s not absolutely necessary as many of the business skills you will need can be learned as you go or shortly before you begin. Rather than becoming a business guru, it’s more important to become a rational thinker when it comes to managing your eBusiness. Develop a working understanding of all the daily, weekly and monthly tasks or aspects of running the company. The most critical elements of your business will deserve the most attention. Elements including client and customer follow-ups, budgeting, decision making and eCommerce laws including shipping and online payment. Here’s a list of business skills you may need when running an eBusiness: • Basic accounting and bookkeeping skills • Business communication skills (emails, fax, invoices) • Negotiation skills (product sourcing, pricing) • Filing and other office keeping skills • Multitasking and organizational skills • Good record keeping and memorizing skills It can be hard for every eBusiness owner or entrepreneur to take interest in all the details of the business, however you should realize that it is still important to address them whether it’s physically you who does it or someone you trust such as a business partner or associate. There are many other aspects to running the business such as site design, maintenance and marketing. It can be easy to forget about all the other aspects, so be sure you remember to give attention to all the nooks and crannies of your new eBusiness. Management Skills: Being a good manager requires the ability to make good sound decisions about your business. Managing is basically the ability to make reasonable decisions and to execute them in the most efficient way possible to achieve maximum results. Although you may be the only employee at times, as your eBusiness grows you will eventually need some assistance. Some questions you may want to ask yourself about management potential: • How good are you at making decisions? • Can you manage a group of employees? • Can you objectively handle each situation? • Will your co-workers respect you as their manager? It’s important to always act professional and maintain a certain level of credibility and dignity with employees. Not only current and future employees, but also those you encounter during the course of your business. Being a good manager means being a leader. If you have leadership skills you have management skills. At the same time, good management is good leadership and a good leader is a benevolent leader. Although it’s important to maintain a professional attitude and sometimes you may have to discipline, employees who are happy with their boss are typically more productive and loyal workers. Next month we will talk about more of the skills that you will need as they relate to organization, communication and technical.
 
The Q & A Times Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs.Materials will not be returned unless accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Thank you.
 
Wildcard SSL Certificates