Develop Your Business Plan

A plan that defines your online business can help you on your path to entrepreneurial success.

Are you looking to start an online business? Before you roll out your first web site, take time to plan. Here are five tips to help improve the process and speed of developing a plan for success.

Sketch out your web site. You’ll likely use a Yahoo! template or professional designer for the actual site, but you should consider what kind of image you want to project, whether you’ll include an electronic catalog, and which product categories will best organize your offerings.

Think about how you’ll market your web site. Identify target customers and study their numbers, online behavior, and the best ways to reach them. Plan to integrate with the marketing of your existing business by including web addresses on signs and print advertisements, as well as promoting your offline business on your web site, email marketing, banner ads, and blogs. Now is the time to select and reserve domain names, think about keywords, and decide how you’ll work with search engines.

If you have an offline business, make sure going online is consistent with your current plan. Can the mission statements for both operations coexist? At best, your new online business will actually complement what you are already doing. You should evaluate and study how to minimize any potential conflicts. For instance, selling online may enable you to reach new customers and markets. But how will your existing distributors react if you seem to be going around them?

Plan for the necessary information infrastructure. Figure out whether you’ll need to upgrade your Internet connection or find a new service provider. Evaluate site-hosting solutions and determine whether you will host your own site, use a shopping site, or employ some combination.

Last but perhaps most important, think about how you’ll pay for all this. Retained earnings from your existing business, asset sales, bank loans, and equity investments are possibilities. No matter where you go for financing, having a well-thought-out plan for going online and how it will help investors, lenders, and partners support your online goals.

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