TODAY INDIA

Home Based Business Ideas And Your Online Presence

Many people all over the world have started home based businesses of all kinds. They range from babysitting to online Internet related businesses that depend on the reach of the Internet to be successful. In this short article we will discuss how having an online web site can assist your home based business regardless of the business that you operate.

You may be one of these small business owners who has started a business out of your home, which is doing very well, however you want to take it to the next level. Although you are making sufficient revenue to maintain your business and provide for your family, you are ready to take it up a notch. There is not a business in the country, home business or otherwise that does not need and online presence today.

Even if your online web site only provides basic information about the services and products that you offer, it has become a necessity for any successful home based business to maintain an up to date online presence. Your customers, more and more are demanding to be able to learn about your company, your services, your products and even place orders online.

You might ask what are the features or capabilities that you require for an online web site to ensure that your customers obtain what they are looking for and are even able to find you. The basics include selecting a web site name, URL, that is easy to remember, is catchy and reflects your business persona. Next your web site needs to provide the basic level of information in a professional manner. The information includes a description of your products or services, information about your company, contact information and how to order, whether it is online or by placing a phone call or visiting your business.

Now that you have your web site up and running, the search engines will crawl your site, index your site and display your sites URL to people who are searching for the products and services you offer. Sounds easy, however there is much more to consider if you are truly trying to bring additional revenue to your home based business utilizing the power of the internet.

Internet surfers use a variety of search terms to search for information on the Internet. Search engines will present web sites as part of the search results that contain these search terms. If for example you are selling cell phone boosters, but do not mention that term on your web site anywhere, chances are your web site will never be included in any of the search results.

Home based business owners must also complete a thorough analysis of the appropriate keywords that are applicable to their home based business to ensure that these search terms are used throughout their web site to ensure that they will be indexed by the search engines and included in the search results presented to online surfers.

Brand Your Business on Facebook: How to Easily Add a Username to a Facebook Business Page

When you first create a business page on Facebook, the URL to your gorgeous new page will be something long and unsightly with lots of numbers at the end.

While you can hide the ugly URL by creating linked text in your emails, blog posts, etc it’s easy to create a username for your Facebook page, and there are lots of good reasons to do it:

You can tell people about your Facebook business page in conversation, ie, “facebook dot com slash health coach”
It’s easier for your fans to tell other people about your page
You can link to your Facebook business page without having to memorize or copy/paste the long URL
When posting in places where you can’t add a link, you’ve got an easy URL
Prevents someone else from using your business’ name as their Facebook business page username
Allows people to find you easily on and off Facebook
Makes it simple for you to add your Facebook business page link to your website, other social media accounts and everywhere else

So now that you’re convinced, let me show you how easy it is to do.

Requirements:

You must already have a Facebook page set up for your business (this is different from your default personal profile)
You must have at least 25 “likes” already for your Facebook business page

How to:

Log in to Facebook and navigate to your Facebook business page
Once there, click on Edit Page in the top right corner
Next, in the left-hand column, click Basic Information
On this screen, you’ll see an option to create a Username (if you already have 25 “likes”)
Type in a username of your choice, keeping these points in mind

You will not be able to change the username you choose
Make sure that it’s very easy to remember, ie, no unusual spellings, weird abbreviations, etc
Try your best to have it match the name of the page
If the name you want is unavailable, consider adding -, or _, or even better, include your personal name along with the business page name

Bonus tip (this is a very good idea, but you can only make this change if you have 100 or less “likes”): Add your name to your Facebook business page.

Instead of, for instance, naming your page “Health Coaching” you would instead name it “Health Coaching with Jane Smith”, or “The Super Moms Health Coach – Jane Smith”.

This way it’s clear who’s behind the page, personalizes it, which is important for solopreneurs like us, and allows my page to show up anytime someone searches for me by name. You can make this change on the same page as the username change.

It’s all about building community on your Facebook business page so you can share what you know and create relationships with people who will become new clients and customers, and these tips will help you do just that.

To your awesome biz,

Heather

How to Start a Candy Bouquet Business Online

If you are looking for a do-it-yourself type of business and you have an artistic flare, you might consider starting a business with creating gift arrangements of candy bouquets. Candy bouquets are becoming very popular and are the perfect unique gift for all occasions. Everyone loves candy and everyone loves these sweet delights.

Getting started in a candy bouquet gift store is simpler than it seems and getting started online is much easier then opening a full service retail store. In getting started online, there are 10 general steps I used which I will identify below:

Step 1: Choose your form of business organization. You may choose between sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability partnership, corporation and etc.

Step 2: Choose a name for your business. You will want to keep three things in mind here. First, choose a name that is fitting for your product and if possible have your product name in the business name. Second, keep it simple and make it something a customer may remember. For example: If someone was selling widgets, they may pick a business name “Widgets by Sam” or maybe “Cool Widgets for Websites.” Third, not only should your name be fitting it needs its own brand or its own identity to set yourself apart from your competitors.

Step 3: Obtain business licenses and permits. Each state has their own requirements so contact your state business licensing department. In my state of Minnesota, you fill out a form and pay a business licensing fee, and you list it in a newspaper as a new business. Others states may require additional steps.

Step 4: Create and write up a business plan. You can find many templates to help you create and write up a business plan online. They will identify all the areas you need to consider such as products you sell, market, demographics, financing options, goals, etc. This document is critical in pulling together a plan of what you are going to do and how you are going to achieve it. You will also need a business plan should you need financing. If you choose to go the route of an online candy bouquet store, there is a minimal investment up front. Your up front investment would generally be for inventory and office equipment or supplies to get started.

Step 5: Determine funding and financing needed. Take the business plan you created to a bank or look for investors if you have determined you need financing. Each investor will want a copy of your business plan to take a look at all the details of your business. If you have determined it is a minimal investment which you have funding for then you will not need to go to a bank or seek investors.

Step 6: Determine insurance requirements. Contact a local insurance agent to get quotes and determine what you feel is best for your business needs. They will work with you and keep you informed of your options.

Step 7: Set up a business checking account with your personal bank. Since you already do banking with them, you should be able to set up an account rather easily and at minimal cost.

Step 8: Purchase your startup inventory. Your business plan should have identified the products you will be selling, suppliers, and costs associated. Determine and order your startup inventory needs.

Step 9: Create business products. You will need to create your candy bouquet arrangements, brochures, business cards, etc. You may want to start small and as you expand add products to your business.

Step 10: Setup your online website or hire someone to do that.

Advertise your business. You may choose to advertise locally through newspaper or radio. You may advertise through internet marketing. All ways of advertising should be considered.

In conclusion, these 10 steps should help get you started in starting your own venture into a candy bouquet business. Here I cut it down into 10 smaller more manageable tasks. These steps are a guide to help you as you begin and get started.

Corporate Business Gifts – Gift-Giving in Harsh Economic Times

In our day and age pretty much any business transaction can be done online. Whether you are purchasing a service or a product, the Internet has allowed us more choices and better deals. This is exactly what you get when you buy your corporate business gifts online.

The gesture of giving corporate business gifts is a classic tradition and a renowned way of saying thank you. With a corporate business gift you could be saying thank you to your customers, staff or boss and thanks to the boom in online business there is now more choice than ever when it comes to gaining corporate business gifts. Almost any gift that you can think of can be found on the Internet; even unique gifts. All of the gifts that are available can be customized to present your business name and logo as well as an original image that you have the option of supplying.

Below are examples of some of the most popular corporate business gifts that are available for you today:

· Pens

· Mugs

· Umbrellas

· Bags

· USB Products

· Mouse Mats

· Conference Folders

· Key Rings

Depending on who and how many people you are giving corporate business gifts to, you are able to order the above, and many more, in bulk or individual orders. You could want to say thank you to the customers of your business or, on the other hand, you may want to use corporate business gifts to thank your staff for their continued hard work. However, despite who you want to give a corporate business gift to, it is becoming increasing difficult due to the state of the economy.

The credit crunch and threat of recession is all too real and as a result you may find it difficult to afford the corporate business gifts you want to buy but don’t worry help is at hand.

Believe it or not there are companies out there who aren’t out to bleed you dry for your every last penny. Many of the companies who offer you corporate business gifts understand that to make money in these hard times they need to lower prices. Corporate business gifts may not be on the top of a priority list, which is why these companies are offering you some of the best deals around. In these cases you get the corporate business gift that you require and the companies supplying them don’t lose out on business.

To help you beat the credit crunch the companies who supply corporate business gifts have an array of offers that you can’t miss! If you are planning on buying corporate business pens then did you know you can buy a minimum of 500 for as little as 30 cents? How about coffee mugs? Well you can get a minimum quantity of 100 from $2! If Key Rings are more what you are after then how about a minimum of 100 from $3.50 or less. These prices are some of the lowest that you can find on the web, if you search around more, you will probably find much better deals. With a bit of web browsing you will find the corporate business gifts that you require at a price that is hardly going to break the bank.

Corporate business companies who offer prices such as the above will allow you to buy the perfect corporate business gift for your clients or staff; in fact at prices like those you could afford to buy all of your clients and staff corporate business gifts and still feel financially good about it.

An Introduction – Web Hosting & Domain Name

Web hosting is a kind of a company which gives you a space in a server for your website, and you’re connected to the entire world. You can find lots of hosting companies out there so to make sure that you are getting the best deals and services, you should look and opt for some of the top web hosting providers.

Before you choose a company, some points should be kept in mind. First of all you should check company’s reputation and collect some information about that company. Do some research about a few company’s and their services and evaluate them according to your necessities, collect information about support and backup of that company, check companies creditability and customer services. Check how many features company gives you, how many space it provides, what is the bandwidth size, you should collect all the above information before joining any companiy’s services.

Basically Hosting is a business of storing and manage Web Pages of your website. A web server holds thousands of websites, runs 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week. So web hosting is a method to earn money online.

You should take unlimited bandwidth facilities to your hosting company, so your visitors open many pages and you can load video in your site.

There are many kinds of Web hosting companies like Free web hosting companies, Reseller web hosting, VPS (Virtual Private Server) etc.

Domain Name

Domain Name is an address of a site on internet like http://www.example.com. It is an addressing scheme assigns names and numbers to identify the computers on the Internet.

A good Domain Name is that which clarify your business or your work, for example a website which gives you information about Tennis that Domain Name must relate to Tennis like www. Tennisedu.com, www. Tennissport.com Domain Name is difficult to remember so Domain Name should be short and easy.

Some Domains are

.gov = Government agencies

.edu = Educational institutes

.org = Organizations (Non Profit)

.mil = Military

.com = Commercials Business

.net = Network Organizations

.ca = Canada

.uk = United Kingdom

.in = India

Incorporate Your Online Business – Correcting Myths About Incorporating Your Website

Below are five common myths about incorporating a website. I base this list on feedback I have received from feedback from hundreds of thousands of visitor to my website about forming limited liability companies.

1. You have to form a separate limited liability company (LLC) or corporation for each domain name.

This is entirely untrue. You absolutely do not have to form separate entities for each and every domain name your business operates under.

A business entity serves two purposes. One is to limit, or contain, all liability within the entity and prevent liability from “spilling” out to affect your personal assets or the assets of other businesses you own. The second is to create separate accounting.

2. A corporation or LLC can’t own a domain name.

Of course a corporation or LLC can own a domain name. In fact, it’s probably a good idea to have your corporation or LLC own your domain names, as it protects you from personal liability in case the domain name is misused.

For example, you might innocently register a domain name that infringes on a company’s trademark. If the company is particularly nasty, it might accuse you of cyber-squatting and sue you. By having the domain registered in the name of an LLC or corporation, the only assets this vindictive plaintiff could go after would be the LLC’s or corporation’s, and not your personal house, car, bank account, etc.

3. I have to form my corporation/LLC in the same state in which my website is hosted.

Not at all. Your LLC should be formed in the state in which you do business. For a home-based internet business, that means forming your company in your home state.

The location of your website’s server is basically irrelevant.

4. If I ship goods as part of my internet business, I have to form a corporation/LLC or register to do business in every state where I ship product.

No no no. You only have to register as a foreign corporation/LLC (by “foreign”, they mean formed in another state, not corporations from outside the US) in states where you transact business. Transaction of business is a technical, legal term, and it does not include mere advertisement or shipping of goods into the state.

5. I won’t be able to sell my domain name or business if it is owned by a corporation or LLC.

Many people purchase domain names and start internet businesses with the intent to sell them at a profit on website marketplaces like Sitepoint.com or Digitalpoint.

I have been asked before if it’s true that a corporation (or LLC) that owns a domain can’t sell that domain. That’s absolutely not so.

A corporation or LLC can sell any asset, just like an individual can. A domain name is an asset. So is the content contained on that domain, along with customer lists, software, etc. Any and all of those assets can be sold by an LLC or corporation.

I hope this list has been helpful.

How to Advertise Your Business Online Cost Effectively: Advertising Ideas for Your Small Business

Learning how to advertise your business online without losing your shirt can be mind-boggling with all the internet hype you see online these days.

Quite obviously, if you’re a small business owner, you can’t afford to dish out thousands of dollars to purchase your own website, and Google pay-per-click will gobble up your money in no time!

Pay-per-click is especially dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Everyone who has been successful with paid advertising has admitted that you just have to be willing to “waste” a lot of money in the beginning until you figure out how to track your success and tweak your ad…

… The idea behind pay-per-click is that you need a strong capture page to attract attention… but that’s not enough!

Once you attract attention, the visitor clicks your link (and you pay) – but then you need a strong sales page to finish the deal – or you’re out some big bucks!

So what do I suggest for how to advertise your business online without paying thousands of dollars on pay-per-click?

Blogging is the new way of how to advertise for free, since the average buyer is looking more to be entertained than to be sold. And there’s no better entertainment and your own personal story-telling or video!

Naturally, for the purpose of making the blog about how to advertise your business online, you’ll want to include links that go to good capture pages and sales funnels.

Even if you learn how to advertise for free using a blogging system, you’ll need to setup a capture page, sales funnel and shopping cart. But your reader is drawn to your product initially by being attracted to your blog.

How to advertise your business online using a blog… (learn what attracts people to your blog)

The fastest action comes from social media, and the long-staying action comes from ranking your blog on Google. Contrary to popular belief, some of the top sites you’ll see on Google are blog sites…

… but it depends on what you’re searching for.

For example, my own personal blog is currently ranking top of Google for “Easy Money Making Blog”.

What makes your blog rank highest?

1. An authority domain

What is that? Anyone can buy a domain (that’s the name of your blog.. most people just use their own name dot com. However, as businesses come and go, so do domains. The ones that Google will pay particular attention to are the ones that have been in operation longest – so domain age is a big factor.

2. Social “likes” & comments

The easiest way to explain this is that you need to build popularity on your blog for it to rank. Social commenting and tweeting will help a lot, so it’s best to syndicate your blog through Facebook, Twitter and other social sites each time you create a post. This will start the ball rolling.

3. Backlinks

When you have a good site, other sites linking to it (“track-back”) will help the popularity of your site. The more popular the site linking to your site, the more popular your site will become.

But when you’re learning how to advertise your business online using a blog, you need to begin with keyword research…

Google’s keyword external tool is actually not as easy to use as it used to be, so I prefer to use keyword research software. This will tell you not only how many people are searching for a particular phrase, but how much completion there is for you to get ranked.

For example, the keyword phrase in this post, “how to advertise your business online” gets over 200 searches monthly, and the keyword phase “free advertising ideas” gets over 1000 searches monthly.

If you’re trying to rank on Google for free, it’s mandatory that you frame your blog post around a keyword phrase that gets very little competition…

Then, simply put that phrase into the “tag” section on your blog. The “long tail” phrase (several words) is notoriously easier to rank.

For how to market a product, the more specific your phrase, the easier it is to rank.

And, your blog visitor will also be more likely to be very interested in your offer. For example, if I’m looking to but a hairspray that works well for curling fine hair, I would be much more interested in reading a post about “hairspray for curling fine hair” or even “best hairspray for fine hair” as opposed to “best hairspray”.

If you’re looking for how to advertise for free, blogging isn’t completely free, as you do have to pay a monthly fee for hosting.

However, if you use the system often enough by blogging daily, you’ll find that blogging is the most cost effective way of how to advertise your business online available today.

Should It Compulsorily Be A .Com Domain Name?

The .com extension for domain name registration is, unarguably, the most popular and sought-after. A lot of people will rather modify their names to fit the extension than go for others. However, with the introduction of more generic top-level domains (gTLDs) by the regulator, ICANN, the domination of .com may soon be over.

In times past, domain name registration is limited to few gTLDs; .com, .net, .biz, .org, .edu, .gov, etc. But now, the story has changed as you can now make use of more interesting gTLDs that were not in existence before. For example, if you have a band and you want to register a domain, the .band extension is now available for you. So, if the name of your band is ‘Soul Food’, you can register a name like ‘soulfood.band’ and anyone seeing that name will easily know that it belongs to a band. Other new extensions of gTLDs are .photography, .actor, .church, .ceo, .boutique, .academy, .business, .agency and so on.

As a result of this, it is not a must to register a.com domain name and many people will even prefer the new extensions due to their uniqueness. For example, churches in times past make use of.org extension when carrying out their domain name registration but will now be using the.church extension and this will boost branding as well as marketing tremendously. The new gTLDs will also reduce the length of domain names and make it easier for people to remember. For instance, the ‘soul food band’ whose example was used above will have to register ‘soulfoodband.com’ instead of ‘soulfood.band’ if the new gTLDs have not been introduced.

Furthermore, it will enable newbies to get choice names since majority of hot names have been taken. Also, the face of online marketing will change because of these new gTLDs. There is the possibility that search engines, especially Google, will change their algorithms in order to accommodate the new top-level domains. Internet marketers will also need to change their strategies since search engines may change their algorithms.

Domain name registration will never be the same again as the path to registration has now been made wider with the latest gTLDs. You only need to ensure that you deal with an ICANN accredited registrar so that your registration process will be hitch-free and inexpensive. You should also be wary of trademark infringement when choosing a name for registration. In fact, it is ideal for you to get a trademark for your business name before registering a domain name for it.

Start an Online Business

You can start an online business without much start up cash. With an idea, and a plan, you can start an online business. Yes, you have seen this statement in many pages over the Internet but in using your business sense, your spare time, and a good idea to back you – your online business will succeed. Often times you will find that ideas are being recycled, exploited, and pushed at you with every click of your mouse. What will make the real difference in starting your own online business is using creative, different and new ideas.

There are many reasons why you may choose to start a business online. You need to look at the myths and realities of what you believe in. Think about why you want to start an online business, and then think about the pros and cons of the situation you are faced with. Before purchasing any product or reselling any product for any other business also online, investigate and learn as much as you can about the product. Search the product, the company and the services offered, by that company, so you are sure you have the same morals and ideals as the company you promote, if you choose to go this route.

Online businesses are going to make money no matter what. This is a myth. If you are not dedicated to your online business, if you are not adding, changing and offering more to your customers than someone else, you may not make as much money as you would like. The reality of the online business is this: most businesses that are successful online are successful because of the dedication and the ongoing hard work that is put into the business by the owner. Many online businesses are operating by those who are not working in another capacity and by those who are unable to work for someone else. Don’t get me wrong; we are talking about the small businesses online, not the large retail outlets that are online.

Start an online business based on a hobby, or a topic that you have a real interest in. The small business online that is successful is most often one that specializes in one niche area. Sure you can have more than one niche or hobby, but focus on one business, build it, create the site, generate a flow of traffic, and then change your focus to include a second site or another type of business.

To start an online business you need to write down ten tops ideas, things you want to sell, topics that you know about, and then you can set your focus on what your business could sell, service, offer or how you can generate sales from that point. Starting a business from scratch online could involve manufacturing products, selling products based on a niche (such as pets, crafts, computers, books, clothing, sports etc.).

The basics of a business online is going to create a market awareness of what you have to offer, and this could be anywhere or anyone in the world. Create a business plan, one that will set out in writing what you want to accomplish step by step, and how you will achieve this. You can advertise online and offline the products or services that you offer. The online business you build will require some type of name, branding and logo that will create a buzz about your web page. The online name, and logo is going to create awareness for a buyer. This awareness will lead them back to your site, to purchase from your business again and again, as they learn to trust you.

Search Engine Optimization Helps in Creating a Brand Name

Success and failure of a particular business depends upon the kind of publicity done. This is true in the case of online and other businesses also. There are different methods that can be used for the promotion of any goods or services, but the key lies in identifying the one method which will be able to put your business to the top without too much of an effort. Advertising on the web is the most widely undertaken promotional methods about any product or service. The news about the existence of your business must reach out to a large number of audiences and only then will you be able to attract customers to do business with you.

The method of promotion on the web is known as SEO or search engine optimization. Search engine is not just one method, but is in fact a combination of different methods for promotion. Online business owners undertake search engine optimization so that their sites can rank high in all of the major search engines. Ranking high in all popular and major search engines is one of the surest means to attracting huge traffics to your online site. Search engine optimization, if done in the proper manner, is sure to give immense benefits to your business.

It said that only a professional knows what work he has to do and it is not at all different in the case of search engine optimization also. If you are an online business owner, you will do wonders to your business if you hand over the search engine optimization work to a professional firm. Evaluating the existing competition in the market and finding out the methods that has been used for optimization is a good way of going about doing things related to search engine optimization.

This is your business and you have worked really hard to put this up. So do not just sit back and relax once you hand over the search engine optimization work to a firm that has trained professional. You must keep a constant track of the work which is being done and see if this is bringing results for your business or not. You are best judge to know if your business is benefiting from the search engine marketing strategy or not. If the strategy is not working out for you, sit and talk to the professional and try to find out what is wrong. It may be that the strategies adopted for search engine optimization may not be suitable to your business.

Remember each business is different and so the strategies adopted must also be different. The strategy which has proved to be a huge success for your friend’s business may not at all be suitable for you. So what you must do is hire professionals who really know their very well, not someone how just has fancy degree and is not capable of doing anything of substance. The idea is to make a wise choice from the huge number of professionals who are working in the field of search engine optimization. Search engine optimization is in fact the most innovative means to do promotion about anything.