Reasons to Start and Not to Start your own online business - Part 2

I have written the part 1 post of Reasons to Start your own online business. In this post, I'll discuss the reasons why you should think twice.

While it is easy to set up your online store, it is not for the impatient. It is not a Get-Rich-Quick-Scam if you really want to make money. Ask yourself if your business is ready for the following.


It's a tough competition out there
Don't think that once you put up your website and you’re done. You aren't! Though you have increased your market to global, thus your competition. Billions of websites are out there and probably one of them offers the same product as yours. Online world is the same in the area of marketing, you need to get the word out and get traffic, traffic and more traffic. You have to be visible. Marketing online is called SEO or search engine optimizations. Know this and you know your way up.

It's is not an overnight success
Just like any other business venture, it takes time. You need to have focus, strategize, set milestones, contingency plans, budget and what else in there. To quote someone, "When you start an e business you will put forth a lot of initial effort to get the ball rolling. Stick with it until you experience success. Once you have some success you will be inspired to do more."

You have to be open to new ideas and new ways and open to learn new things
I started in this business 3 years ago and I have never stopped learning. IT rapidly changes overtime and you need to catch up. Your strategy today might not work tomorrow. Or tomorrow, a new application has been introduced which could double your earnings.

It’s ok if you are not well versed in IT terms and ways but it is important to have the patience to learn them unless you have experts to do the job for you. Even if you have someone else working, it is still beneficial as the owner or manager of your website to learn what are happening in and out of the business because it might save you a lot of money and time.

Know your budget
I might have implied that most things are free online. While it is true, your time or your employee who is managing the system might be worth hundreds per hour. Or you probably transferred to a paid server for a more reliable service. Know how much you will need to run and operate your business, how much time before income will start to accrue, but do not be fixed on this date. Many small business fail due to not planning out unexpected costs, make sure you have a budget for this.

It is not for everybody
You’ve seen the numbers in the previous post. Most Philippine consumers are not yet tech savvy. Know your target market and product/service before diving in and ask if these people will use your site. If the majority is not, you might just opt for an information page rather than a full bloom online store. Even just an information page is equally important compared to a complete online store. It doesn't mean you can't sell your products online you do not have use of the web. Learn how to utilize it to your advantage.

Last say
If you are thinking about it, weigh the pros and cons of putting your business online. If you think majority of your customers would not, it still a good idea on putting up a information page about your company. There are a lot of free services that are available online. I'll discuss these options someday.

I still hope though that one of these days I’ll see more Filipinos doing more business with us. There are more benefits of doing business online compared from the cons.