 How To Start Your Own Internet BusinessI've done it, started my own internet business. It used to be able to be found over at: shoppingcow.com. Now I'm not saying it was a successfull business, but I did do all of the required things by law, and those are what I'm going to explain to you here. This is the bare minimum you need to do to get an online website going legally.Finding An IdeaFirst you need an idea for your business, sorry you're on your own for this one. But make sure it's somewhat original, not illegal, and there will be a need for it.Register a domain name!Then head over to register.com and find a domain name that isn't taken yet. It's tougher than it sounds! It only costs $35 per year for the name, so just do it now before it gets taken! Studies have shown that the most popular domain names are those that have the best content, not the best name, so don't worry if you can't get yourbusiness.com! At the bottom of this page is a link to register.com, and I would appreciate it if you used it when you decided to buy your domain, since I get a referral fee for it (Shameless plug #1), and it's still the same price for you. The nice thing about register.com is they will run your DNS server for you, so you don't need to worry about it until you get bigger enough to outgrow their services. You can (AND SHOULD!) do this before you get a web hosting account. Go... do it now, and then come back. It's only $35, go for it!Build your websiteIf you aren't technically able to do this, don't try to learn, there are plenty of people out there who are. Just expect this to be your biggest start up expense! Try to build it for a unix platform using PERL with a mySql database, since this will be the easiest and cheapest hosting solution. Whatever you do, don't build it so it relies on a Microsoft web server. Those will cost you twice the amount to get hosted, and can't handle the load of a unix system. If you're just going to have static pages, it's not a big deal what you build them with. (Get ready for shameless plug #2) If you can't find someone to build your site, I do work on commission (and my professional web sites are better than this personal one) contact me, and we'll talk. I'm even willing to sell licenses to the software used to run shoppingcow, so you can get an instant shopping cart application!Register for Federal TaxesIt's easier than you think! First decide what type of business structure you want. If you are alone, become a sole proprietor. If there are a couple of you, become a partnership. Go read up on these. If you want to spend the cash for a lawyer, start a corporation. The main benefit here is you can't be sued individually for stuff the corporation does. After you decide this get an SS-4 form, fill it out, and send it in. If you're in a hurry to get your tax payer ID, there is a phone number on the S3 that you can call.The SS-4 Form can be found here Info about the SS-4 Form is here. Register your business nameHead down to your local town hall. Go to the city clerk and ask for a DBA (Doing Business As) form. This will let you legally call your business by name. It will probably cost around $20. If the name of your business has your full name in it (Such as "Marc Hughes Web Design") you don't need to do this. I'll suggest you pick a different name than your website, this way you can easily open more than one website under the same name in the future. As an example, my site is called shoppingcow.com, but the company name is defiance webworks.Open A Bank AccountYou will need your business certificate (The completed DBA with the town stamp on it) in order to open an account at most banks. You want a standard checking account, and put a couple hundred dollars in it.Get a credit card accountFirst, you need a merchant account to accept credit cards. (YOU NEED ONE, DON'T TRY TO GET AROUND IT) After that you will need a verification company to verify and capture those transactions. There will probably be a $200 or so set up fee, plus around a $40 per month fee, plus a per transaction fee. I used webtranz, http://www.webtranz.com , and they set it all up for me, got me my merchant account, and a verification account with verisign. I get one bill a month, and it's all done through ACF transfers directly to my bank account. In the very beginning, expect this to be one of your larger operating fees.Web HostingNext, find a web host. You need one that your site will run on. If you followed my earlier suggestions of using PERL and mySql, head on over to web2010.com and get a virtual account with them, I did. It will run you about $25 per month, and this will be sufficient until you start getting a steady stream of visitors. This web page runs on a web2010 server.From There...You may need to register with your state government to accept local sales taxes, contact them to find out. You will also need to advertise! This is the one thing lacking in shoppingcow right now, and unfortunatly it's my partner's responsibility, so I have little control over it. Don't expect to start getting huge page hit counts until you advertise. |