What DO You Need to Build a Successful Internet-based Home Business?

By Lynne Homewood

About the Author Lynne Homewood is changing the way business is done online with the unique vision of her latest Home-Biz venture.
Website URL http://www.globalepro.com



What DO you need to build a successful Internet-based Home Business?

I am asked that question almost every day. Obviously, MANY people would love to make some money with their computer, but they have no idea HOW! What's worse, they often try and just end up losing money due to
either their own lack of experience or the fact that there are just so many scams out there built to make 'The Company' money not YOU!

The most important part of an Internet-based business is your website. It is your salesman, your image builder, the first, and possibly ONLY, contact you will have with your potential customers and clients.

Therefore, you want a very professional-looking site and that means no misspelled words, no bad grammar, no clashing colors, and an easy-to-read layout. You also want to make sure you have a webpage that loads quickly (too slow and many visitors will leave before they even see it) and that usually means go easy on the graphics.

If you've been on the Internet/Home Business scene for any length of time at all, you've no doubt heard that "the money is in the list", you MUST have your OWN mailing list to succeed. In order to build your own list you need a lead-capture system.

The best lead-capture systems generally employ a relatively short webpage, offering something free, in return for a visitor's name and email address, while the visitor agrees to receive email from the webpage owner. If this system is tied into an autoresponder, all the better: statistics tell us that most people view an ad or are exposed to a product at least 7 times before they decide to buy. An autoresponder allows you to send a series of messages, providing that repeat exposure automatically.

A great advertising plan is also essential to a successful business, online or off. We are extremely fortunate that there are quite a number of cheap (and even free) Internet-based advertising systems and strategies that
actually work. The trick online, even more than in the 'real' world, is VOLUME. Great copy-writing is also crucial: an ad (especially a headline) that stands out can bring an incredible click-thru ratio. Pair that with riveting web-copy and you've got a winner!

Since most people start a Home Business in their spare time, and work a 'regular' job as well, automation is also key to a successful business. A home business that requires you to spend hours on the phone, selling, recruiting, training, conferencing, etc. can be difficult, even impossible, for the average person. Further, most people do not enjoy this type of work, and it can be a real drain on your time, as well as your emotions, dealing with the dreaded 'rejection factor'.

People who start an Internet-based business, or who want to "make money with their computer", expect to use their computer to do a lot
of the work for them, and rightly so. An Internet-based business, especially, should be as automated as possible. Automation is really the ONLY way a person can build a SUCCESSFUL business in a reasonably short amount of time.

Money. It's kind of what it all comes down to in the end, isn't it? Starting and building ANY real business costs money. And most people start a home business because they NEED money. The ultimate solution to this problem is a business that requires a very small amount of 'front' money
and monthly overhead that pretty much anyone can afford.

Combine this with immediate income to help you balance the budget that caused you to look for another income source in the first place. Oh, and a nice, steadily-growing residual income for the future would be nice too. Accomplishing this delicate balance generally requires multiple streams of
income.

So, then, let's review what you need to build a successful Internet Business:

- a great, professional-looking, fast-loading, well-written
website
- a lead-capture system
- an autoresponder to tie into the lead-capture system
- something you can give away free (preferably something
very valuable that your customer can't get anywhere else)
- advertising sources and systems that WORK and that you
can AFFORD
- great ad copy/emails/ecourse/newsletter,etc.
- automation system(s)
- multiple streams of income

That may sound like an awful lot, but you can find some help 'out there' capable of shortening the learning curve considerably. And, when you do, you'll LOVE it when the plan comes together!