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
2012-02-27 14:02:09
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? Are there 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 main pros and cons of an online retail business. This month we will talk about the different elements of success and why top online retailers or “eTailers” are successful. While the regular format of this publication is not use pronouns like “I,” “we,” “ours,” or “us,” since most of this article is going to talk about my experiences and the experiences of others in a non-commercial fashion, I have been given permission to use these. The thing that sets most successful (personally and financially) eBusiness owners apart from the ones that have limited to no success is the characteristics that are developed and perfected along the way by individual entrepreneurs. These characteristics allow them to become innovative thinkers and managers in today’s fast paced, technology driven society. You may already posses some or all of the elements discussed in this article, but just don’t realize it yet because they come naturally to you. Remember to always reflect on your own values and personal attitudes so you can properly and fairly assess where you stand when determining which elements you should cultivate. Desire: When I first started out on the Internet and got into eCommerce for the first time, it became my number one priority, which I wanted more than anything in the world. It became my obsession and all my thoughts revolved around making the venture the best I could with the knowledge I had. Setting up the business and Online store consumed my mind twenty-four hours a day. It wasn’t enough to have the ideas floating around in my head I also had to take action and follow through, so I attempted to act on as many of my ideas as possible. After about six months of acting on my desire to be successful I sat back and assessed where those actions had landed me. After my assessment it was obvious to me that spending all that time and effort reflecting and acting on my desire paid off big time. I had turned a dream of mine into reality. Most people simply dream about what they hope to accomplish and never get around to doing accomplishing much. The true test of desire is turning the idea into physical reality. Drive: In the face of adversity, that driving force inside you will help you get through moments of uncertainty. Human drive takes away ambiguity and replaces it with the energy to see things through. When I first decided to learn search engine optimization and marketing I knew that I needed to learn everything there is about traditional advertising, sales, search engines, marketing, site design and business in order to accomplish all that I wanted. Part of what drove me was the need to get my ideas, brand and products out in front of the customers I wanted to attract. Another key aspect to drive is patience. It’s best to understand that making a profit doesn’t happen overnight and most eTailers don’t get rich the first time. I can’t count the times I have heard of an eBusiness owner giving up on their idea before it has even had a chance to turn a profit. A friend of mine sold his online store for pennies because it wasn’t making him much profit. The person who purchased the store from him now makes over $500,000.00 per year in sales just by continuing where my friend left off and not giving up. The most successful eBusiness owners have enough drive to solve their problems instead of simply giving up because things don’t go as planned. Dedication: When the day comes that you finally decide to dedicate yourself to running an Online business, it will require your attention, time and lots of energy. Try to reflect on your past and current work ethic. How well did you perform your last job? Have you had a good work ethic your whole life, or is it something you should work on developing? It’s far easier to be dedicated to something when things seem to be going well, but true dedication is personal work ethic plus perseverance. Dedicating yourself to your eBusiness means that you may have to sacrifice things and activities you have been used to doing in the past. Make sure that you are fully prepared for this. Make sure that your family, peers and loved ones are prepared for this. It’s important that those closest to you understand that your eBusiness is now a main priority in your life. When I first started consulting and running my own stores, it took nearly all of my free and personal time. My decisions to continue building my businesses meant I would have to forgo the personal time I had. It was only through practicing dedication that I was able to build many successful eCommerce businesses and I have seen others do the same. Awareness: Recognizing opportunities when they present themselves is one of the most important aspects of becoming a successful eBusiness owner or entrepreneur. Once you have made the choice to start a business online, you must become a keen spectator of your surroundings and practice predicting where your business will be in the future. You never know when or where your next big ideas will come from. You might be offered an unbeatable price or get insider knowledge about a new product supplier. Many times these ideas will come to you unexpectedly and you will need to be aware when they do. You do not always have to wait for opportunity to present itself to you. Many eBusiness owners become successful by creating their own opportunities and being proactive. Knowing what’s going on in your marketplace is important. Conduct research online to find out more, take a business class or one that relates to the product you sell, read trade publications and journals related to retail sales and about your product. Always be aware of future trends and always be aware of what competitors are doing to be successful. Innovation: Many eCommerce professionals try to think of different ways to accomplish things. Some of these individuals are also inventors who want to market and sell their own product or service. Others have found a product niche and have devised a savvy marketing strategy. Innovators are constantly looking for creative ways to solve new and existing problems in setting up and running an online business by thinking outside the box and by analyzing the problem in ways that have never been done before. Try to reflect on experiences you have had in the past and assess how you might have come up with a creative way to solve a difficult problem. Being innovative is about seeing ALL the possibilities and spotting solutions that others don’t readily see. You should be able to use innovative plans and solutions to make your eBusiness different from and better that your competition. A great way to set yourself apart from the competition is to study what they do right, and then attempt to do it better. Motivation: Motivation is a source of inspiration that helps you to act on plans, goals and following-up. Your dream to become an internet retail success and to make more money can be good sources of motivation. Motivation helps you to get out of bed in the morning. I remember certain days where I really just didn’t want to get out of bed and it was my extreme motivation that forced me to get up and continue working on my computer and phone. Without motivation, you will have a much harder time accomplishing your goals and following through on your ideas, which may result in a slower success rate or eTail failure. Next month we will talk more about why top online eTailers are successful.
 
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