Home-Based Entrepreneurs

Will I have to devote all of my time and leave my job to start a home-based business? 

No.  With the resources we have made available to you, it will be possible to begin your business part-time around what you are presently doing.  Everything is readily available at your fingertips.  Once your business is running, we suggest you learn about completely automating your business.  For this step, we suggest the Internet Marketing Course, by Corey Rudl.

What is the basic equipment I will need to set up my home office?

Basic equipment includes a computer (preferably 300Mhz or higher) with faxing capabilities (if your computer does not have fax capabilities, check out free faxing resources on our Business Tools page), 2 telephone lines (one for the Internet and one for communicating with clients), voice mail, and a printer.

If I choose to run my business part-time, how can I keep it going while I am working my regular job?

This should not be a problem if you have voice mail and fax capabilities.  Also, there is a lot of software available with automated performance capabilities, while you are at work

I am currently choosing a domain name for my business.  What is the difference between .com, .net, .org, .gov, .mil, or .edu and which one is appropriate to use?  

A commercial site assumes the name of ".com or .net."  Organizations assume the name of  ".org."  Goverment agencies use ".gov."  and military sites use ".mil."  All educational instituions use ".edu."  The most appropriate for an online establishment would be "yourname.com" or "yourname.net"  

I receive many offers to buy compact disks containing millions of e mail addresses.  Is this a wise investment for my business?

No.  Many of these distributors are out after a "quick buck" and try to profit from people's lack of knowledge in Internet  marketing because it is such a new concept.  Most of the time, these disks contain a mixed bag of e mail  addresses and some are old.  Additionally, the majority of people you will reach with this disk did not ask for your information and therefore, you will quickly give a bad name to a great business you are trying to start or expand.  Sending unsolicited mail will only anger the recipient and undoudtedly they will report you to your ISP (Internet Service Provider) and you will lose your account.

Ever since I started marketing my business on the Internet, I receive all kinds of e mail I did not request.  How do they get my address?

There exists a type of software that will actually go through web pages, classifieds, newsgroups, chat rooms, etc., and gather all of the e mails and store them in a list of literally millions.  Using these lists to send your advertisement is the equivalent to sending information people did not request and you will receive the same results as explained in the above question. This is also how an e mail address of a regular surfer is acquired even if you are not involved in Internet commerce.

I receive many offers for bulk mailing services which are targeted and will reach millions.  Will this service be helpful to my business?

Opt-In or targeted e mail  is a great way to go when it is done properly. However, be sure you are dealing with a reputable list company such as Post Master Direct.  Many scammers claim the bulk mail is targeted when in fact, it really is not.  They are after the "quick buck" and will make your business look really bad if the e mail recipients did not request  the information.

Is it okay to place my company on a free website service?

Not really, due to the fact that this does not create any credibility for your business.  When your customers see a free website as your address they will be less likely to trust in what you offer or what you have to say.  You are better off making the investment in establishing your own domain. Your business will be off to a much better beginning.  Owning your own domain is like owning a piece of real estate in cyberspace and is considered not only reputable but acceptable.

What marketing strategies should I be implementing for a business start-up phase?

This would mostly depend upon your marketing budget.  Starting up an online business is actually more cost effective than say, buying or renting a building as a storefront for your business or franchise.  Acquiring a domain and server space is a high priority followed by quality search engine submission.  After that, the sky is the limit.  To get plenty of ideas for marketing we highly recommend The Internet Marketing Center Course by Corey Rudl.  This is a fabulous tool for not only starting your business, but also expanding it once you are up and running.

I submitted my website to over 100 search engines and received "0" response. What's wrong? 

It is likely you submitted your site with a low quality piece of software that will perform the submission within minutes which sounds good but what happens is the software ignores the individual submission criteria for each engine thereby resulting in a low listing.  Also, once you submit your site it can take some time until your page is officially in the search engine.

Is it okay to use free e mail to operate my business?

This is okay to start, however, if you invested in a domain and server space you can operate on as many e mail aliases as you wish and they will all include your own domain name.  In the long run, this is the much better solution.

I received an offer from a service which will submit my website to over 500 search engines for $100.00. Should I use this service?

No.  Chances are the people offering these services are using an inferior piece of software that maybe cost them a one-time expense of around $35.00 and then they are turning around and charging $100.00 a pop, and the chances of your website being found in the search engine are slim to nothing.

I am thinking about getting involved with network marketing for my new business but aren't  most of them "pyramid schemes?"

This all depends upon your definition of a "pyramid scheme."  Thare are quite a few great programs out there with well-established, financially stable companies.  In our opinion, a "pyramid scheme" exists in the everyday corporate environment where you have just a handful of people at the top making tons of money, then the middlemen doing the work for the executives at the top, and thousands of workers at the bottom working really hard and getting nowhere with little opportunity for advancement.  We know of three really solid network marketing programs which we have tested and still use.  Feel free to email us for more information.

What are the benefits of well-established large corporations expanding their business to the Internet?

Many benefits.  Although these entities have become tremendously successful offline, it is very important in business to keep up with the new trends in marketing and methods of conducting commerce.  The Internet combined with the new concept of WebTV is the "wave of the future."  Many people are already doing their shopping via Internet and WebTV without ever having to leave the house.  The numbers are continually increasing with all of the new people setting up online as we approach the age of the home office concept.  Internet commerce is exploding and this is only the beginning.