Five Internet Business Start-Up Steps

By: Jason A. Martin
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:23:29
Print this article | Tell a friend | For publisher | Social Bookmarking
Rating:
 

Starting a new business can be very fun. For some, this is the best part of the business' life. The uncertainty and optimism of a brand-new business can be intoxicating. For others, just getting to this stage is a challenge. Today, I will present you with ten steps you need to take to get your small business off the ground right. Just because you are starting up an Internet business doesn't mean you should jump in without thinking first.

Let's get right into the steps.

Step One: Set up a business entity—preferably a corporation or LLC. If you are going to run a business, you should set it up as a corporation or LLC to limit your personal liability.

Step Two: Get a business phone number. Yes, I'm aware that you probably have a phone number already, but you should give your new business its own phone number—even if it's just a virtual number tied to your home phone.

Step Three: Set up a business address. If an office or virtual office is too expensive or just not possible, set up an address at your closest mailbox place (not the post office). Your business needs a place—that's not your home—to receive mail and look a little more professional.

Step Four: If you are in the USA, get an EIN number. You can visit the website for the IRS to do this online. Your EIN number is like a SS# for your business. You will use it for tax purposes.

Step Five: It's time to get a bank account. Take your business entity paperwork, EIN number and other information down to the bank of your choice and setup a business checking account. Your bank will be happy to help, and you shouldn't need much money to open one. Some banks allow as little as $100 for the required first deposit.

After completing these five steps, you will have a legitimate business that's ready for the future. In other articles, I'll talk about where to go from here. Look out for my next article "Five More Internet Business Start-Up Tips," which was released with this one.

Many new business owners are tempted to skip these steps—especially those doing business on the Internet. The purpose of these steps goes beyond limiting personal liability and setting up a proper business. It also puts you in the mindset of a real business. If you were going to build a mansion, you wouldn't buy a piece of land that could only fit a mobile home on it would you? Building a successful business is not just about results, it's about the state of mind that helps produce those results.

Author runs a travel portal at TourismJunction.com. The site also features travel news.

For more business articles, visit Internet Business Entrepreneur at InternetBusinessEntrepreneur.com.

Article source: Expert Articles

Most Recent Articles in Internet Business category

  • Setting up a web site to make money from home - By: James Betchley
    So you've decided to set up a web site to make money from home or supplement your income. It is important when setting up a web site which you intend to make money from that you decide early on what your theme and target audience will be - a top tip is to choose a subject or product that is close to your heart, this will make the whole process a lot less laborious as you will find it easier to keep motivated through the tedious process of search engine optimisation.
  • How to Become Internet Business Success - By: Seema Sharma
    Is your business seeing the kind of returns you should expect from your internet website? If not, then you will be able to get things up to speed in no time through following the steps outlined in this article. Through showing dedicated, and a willingness to invest, you will find that the results can often be lucrative and far more tangible than offline marketing initiatives.
  • Basic Things to Know About Affiliate Marketing - By: varinder singh
    The truth behind affiliate marketing is the fact that 90% of affiliates will actually make less than 100$ a month. Therefore, you shouldn't count on making Full time income unless you can get very good at the following: 1. Building a good web site that converts. 2. Search engine optimization. You'll need a lot of traffic, as maybe 1 out of 200 visitors will buy your products. SEO can help you get your site in the search engines so more people will be able to find you. 3. The trial and error of picking the right merchants and learning the correct ways to promote them. Too many people out there assume that affiliate marketing is actually a get rich quick type of program. These types of people will throw up a couple of banners, and then wonder why they never make a single sale or any money at all.
  • How to promote your business in eBay- rules and regulations. - By: Amit Kumar
    Auctions sites are a great way to promote your websites and sell any affiliate product. For example, EBay, the largest online auction there is, will expose your websites and products to millions of people who use it on a daily basis. People from more than 100 countries use EBay to either buy or sell products. Ever since its inception in 1995, EBay had already hosted billions of different auctions and its rate is growing at an incredible 30% a year.
  • Tips for Effective Sales Letter Writing! - By: Seema Sharma
    The global marketplace is fast becoming a real marketplace: it is growing noisier and even more crowded, with vendors all racing to sell their wares to the nearest customer, and with marketing techniques that can be clever
  • Tips to start Successful Online Auction Business - By: Aman Sharma
    The online business around the world is into billions of dollars. And one of the important part of this online business is Online Auctions
  • Bringing Your Retail Business Online - By: Nazeer Daud
    For business owners that have yet to bring their retail business online, it can be a daunting prospect. You will have to recruit a web developer, or appoint an agency; you will have to fulfil orders going all over the world; and you'll have to ensure that you get enough online customers to cover your costs.
  • EV SSL: A new weapon in combating internet fraud - By: Liam Derbyshire
    SSL was originally developed as a secure communications protocol to protect consumers from fraud in their online business transactions. When it failed in the form of widespread phishing scams, a better method was needed to win back customer confidence. The answer is EV SSL.
  • The Ugly Face of Website Downtime - By: Rob Seolas
    No one wants to be known as the company who lost out on a great amount of money because their website was down. The cold hard truth though is that a company can receive that label rather easily. Many well-known companies cringe when they see their names on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, detailing what went wrong.
  • Wolf Platform As a Service, Complete SaaS Development Platform on the Internet - By: Aditya Tandon
    WOLF is the world's first 100% XML based Business Definition & Designing Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) for business users, knowledge workers & companies to create their own custom Business Applications and Systems without worrying about software or technical development skills.