Recently, a subscriber wrote and asked:

Q: How can I select an online business? What kind of criteria do I use?

A: Well, there are lots of factors -- but let's chat about business opportunities for a moment because I know many moms like to go this route first. If you want to join a business opportunity, don't jump in without thinking. If you want to do business ONLINE, you want to make sure the business opportunity allows you to do that.

• Advertise and promote online. You'd be surprised at how many companies don't allow you to do this.
• Create your own website and promotions. Some companies may allow you to advertise, but won't allow you to create your own website for the company. You need to be in complete control of your marketing plan, so you can have a unique website and target different markets with your products.
• If you aren't able to create your own website or promote online freely, you will be limited to the time-consuming and less effective online promotion methods like online parties & person to person networking.

You also want to make sure the company is:

• Set up for online ordering. Yes, you want to be able to create your own market targeted websites, but ultimately, the company should be able to process all your orders for you in an automated way. You don't want to set up your own shopping carts or process orders manually.

But enough about business opportunities because...

This is the most important thing -- whether you choose a business opportunity or business from scratch:

Let’s back up a second and understand that you are not looking for a PRODUCT to sell, but rather a MARKET to sell to. This is the best advice I ever received on choosing a business and that advice came directly from Frank Kern who is absolutely brilliant when it comes to finding target markets. He says that you need to do the following:

> Forget about products to start with. Don’t start by trying to decide what products you are going to sell online because products don’t buy from you --- people do. So, you need to focus on a target market of people first.

> Make sure that this target market is passionate about this topic and more importantly, that they pay good money to pursue their interest. Don't try to sell people who may be passionate about their interests, but don't spend money on them. Go to where people spend money regularly.

> Check out where this target market hangs out – On message boards, email groups, etc. See what they are talking about. Check out Yahoo Groups, Google Groups or search for "message boards" or "forums". What problems does this target market have? What problem could you solve? Set up a survey to have them ask you questions about their interests.

The fact is...you need to understand the people you are selling to in order to sell the right products to them.

So, if you're thinking about that business opportunity selling toys -- make a plan of who you'll sell them to. Don't just say "parents are my target market" because all parents are different and are motivated to buy for different reasons.

Think how you can provide exemplary service to private daycare centers;  family doctor's offices; parents who homeschool; or public elementary schools. Those are 4 different markets I just mentioned (and they're just examples - I didn't do any market research. You'll need to do your own). Start with one and learn everything you need to know to provide them with the service they need.

The key is -- market research, market research, market research BEFORE you get started. Once you've got your market figured and you're ready to get started, please consult our free How to Start an Internet Business tutorial.
 

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