Product Description

So you want to own your own business, be your own boss, set your own hours, and make real money. If you’re comfortable with computers and have a marketable idea, service, or product, this guide will help you become an ontrepreneur (online entrepreneur). It covers everything you need to know to set up shop in cyberspace. You’ll find out about using established storefronts as a shortcut (sort of like setting up shop in a huge, established cybermall) or building your own Web site from scratch. You’ll explore:

• Doing research, defining your niche and target market, and putting it together in a practical business plan
• Getting the hardware and software you’ll need to get going
• Creating your own Web site with good organization, useful content, and eye-catching design, including ten must-have features and info on clip art and photos
• Selecting a Web hosting service (with info on free Web site homesteading)
• Setting up for handling business online, including building in security, accepting charge cards, creating shopping carts, and more
• Managing your goods and services, including sourcing goods, handling returns, adding shipping fees, and maintaining inventory
• Taking advantage of successful online business models, including storefronts such as Amazon.com, Yahoo!, CafePress, PayPal, or Microsoft that already have all the tools and systems, plus great traffic  
• Running a business on eBay
• Marketing your business and the secrets to search engine success
• Keeping good business records and staying on the right side of the law, including everything from trademarks , copyrights, and licensing to taxes, with info on accounting tools and software

Written by e-biz whiz Greg Holden, Starting an Online Business For Dummies, Fourth Edition has all kinds of case studies of successful cyber businesses, including a woman who sells her own insect repellent, a mapmaker, a housewife who sells sweetener and coffee on eBay, a sculptor and painter, and more. Packed with inspiration and information, it includes:

• Lots of Web sites that will give you good ideas
• A companion Web site that includes an online directory of Internet business resources
• A list of legal and business requirements

Get going, and build a booming business right at home. The only people you’ll have to take orders from are customers, and those are the kind of orders you’ll like!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #349001 in Books
• Published on: 2005-03-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 408 pages

From the Back Cover
Begin and build a booming business right at home!

Establish your online presence, make money on eBay, and find the secrets to search engine success

How'd you like your morning commute to be a short walk in your bedroom slippers? The market for online businesses is better than ever, and here's the place to start. Identify your market, choose a Web hosting service, lock down security, promote your business, stay on the right side of the law, run a business on eBay, work wth affiliates and middlemen — and love what you're doing!

Discover how to

• Draw up a cyberbusiness plan
• Select and acquire equipment and inventory
• Accept credit card payment
• Improve your search engine ranking
• Set up Amazon, Yahoo!, and other storefronts

About the Author
Greg Holden is the founder of Stylus Media, which creates Web pages for small businesses. An eBay PowerUser, he has authored more than 25 books and numerous magazine articles.

Customer Reviews

Basic information, but not hands-on enough
This book offers a good introduction to what you need to start your own online business. All aspects of starting such a business is covered, and after I read the book I could proudly say I knew the how's (as well as what's), and I was on my way starting a business.

But there are two major flaws to this book: first, it's not very readable, and second, it doesn't give you enough hands-on information. There are superfluous step-by-step instructions on how to use FrontPage Express, but the author doesn't tell you much about building store fronts or how to accept credit cards online, two of the more pressing topics for someone wishing to start a e-business.

The CD is a big disappointment. Just a collection of demoware and shareware. It is an environmental waste and makes the book a little pricier than it should be.

Offers the Right Stuff to Get Online & Noticed!
Starting an Online Business for Dummies offers readers the right stuff they need to get online, to get noticed, and to remain competitive in today's highly competitive online business world. Readers will pick up on a number of important business development concepts, Website design considerations, and marketing strategies. They will also learn that the Internet is a cost-effective way to let others know about the products and services they have to offer!

Website design considerations featured in the book includes developing content, establishing a graphic identity, offering features like guestbooks and discussion groups, setting up sites to handle secure sales, providing various payment and shipping options, providing customer service, and becoming a resource for customers. Greg Holden points out that business people can attract prospective customers to their sites by offering important information, products, services, and features free of charge that will not only enhance the appearance and functionality of a Website but may also end up enhancing one's bottomline!

When it comes to marketing, Holden provides realistic and easy to use marketing strategies and advice developed to draw attention. Readers will learn about starting their own newsletters, using newsgroups and mailing lists, holding contests, establishing business partnerships, exchanging links, placing banner ads, and using meta tags to attract the attention of search engines!

Other important online business considerations covered in the book includes Website security, legal matters, trademarks, copyrighting, taxes, and record keeping. Holden offers instruction and advice on these and other matters and directs his readers to Websites where they can find further information. A 32-page "yellow pages" Internet directory is included in the book to give readers a jump-start on finding good online resources!

The CD that accompanies the book is loaded with the latest trialware editions of popular programs such as Paint Shop Pro, HotDog Pro, Norton Utilities 2000, Internet Explorer, Netscape Communicator, and the Adobe Acrobat Reader. A bunch of business programs are included as well to help businesses get up and running quickly!

Starting an Online Business for Dummies offers readers an excellent introduction to the art and science of setting up an online business. Every major aspect of starting a business is covered in adequate detail to help someone get started. Get a copy of this book and experience the thrill of operating your own online business - it can be very rewarding for you!

A great book to get started with.
The title of this book reads "Starting an Online Business for Dummies" and the book offers the novice Online business person an easy way to begin understanding the concepts behind much of today's Online business without overwhelming the reader. In many other books I've read, terms like, "Meta-tags","Banner Exchange","Keywords" and many other terms are used without the author of the book ever considering the fact that the reader may not be familiar with these terms, or bothering to explain them clearly. "Online Business for Dummies" takes the time to explain each new term which is introduced, and offers many clever anecdotes which not only keeps the reading enjoyable, but also helps the reader to remember and understand the concepts.

In our own Online business we used "Online Business for Dummies" to draw out a mind map which helped our tech oriented support staff to gain a better perspective on the typical support needs of novice Online business people.

If you are just starting out I couldn't recommend a better book to get started with. Learning the in's and out's of Online business is not a one step process, and I think that "Online business for Dummies" does a fairly good job of laying a foundation you can build on.