Archive for the ‘General’ Category
Build a Business Website for less than $500
These days, having a website for your business is not optional. More and more potential customers go to the web to research every decision and purchase they intend to make and your success may very well rely on how customers perceive you online. The online world can be a tremendous stream of opportunity for your company, but it can also be extremely daunting. Costs for professional websites run thousands of dollars and large corporations can often pay in the millions for their sites, but great results can come from very small expenditures.
Your business is on a budget (or should be), so what can you do for the least amount of money and is it worth it? For many small businesses, their website has become the new business card. It tells customers who they are, what they do, and offers a price. This type of website can be done easily for well under $500. Here is a short list of how I would do it:
- Review your competitor’s websites. What functionality do they offer? Do they have an 800 number? Email? Can you buy products on their site?
- Buy a domain name. Often times the domain name is the same as the business name and the domain can be searched and bought through online services like GoDaddy.com for as little at $10 or $12.
- Decide where you will host your site. This is the computer server location where your website information is stored and accessible for viewing on the web. If you are tech savvy, you may decide to host it yourself on a computer you own. If not, there are ample online services that can help. GoDaddy.com can host your domain for as little as $4.99 a month and Hostgator.com lets you host for as little as $6.95 per month.
- Next, decide on a platform that will let you manage the website and the information you put in it. WordPress may be the most popular right now, but others that come to mind are Joomla or Drupal. For most new website owners, any of these will work fine. Costs for these services vary depending on how you use them, but you will find them to be very affordable.
At this point, your expense is still very low…probably less than $100, but the next step may have a more significant cost. Now you need to edit the platform you selected so it looks like you want and add your content. The going rate to have a local web developer do this is usually around $300 to $400. Going that route will easily have you at the $500 price tag I promised, or you can do it yourself…maybe for free. YouTube can be a great source to learn how to do some or all of the work yourself. Additionally, you may be able to learn all you need to know from the platform website. They offer pretty easy to understand guides that may get you through this step. If you have decided to accept payment over your website, consider PayPal. This can be integrated to your site for just a few dollars and may be an acceptable alternative to having a regular merchant account.
While this process never stops, this should get you on your way to developing a web presence you can be proud of and that will drive customers to your business! Good luck!
Thinking about business incorporation or forming an LLC? Let us help!
Business Incorporation 101: Estimating Cost and Profit
For anyone considering starting or buying a business, incorporation (or forming an LLC) can keep you safe from many liabilities, however, underestimating costs or overestimating profits are much more likely to cause your business to fail. This means it is vital for you to take as much time as is needed to consider what must be included in your costs and to carefully (and honestly) review what will be your profit.
There is ample evidence that as much as 90% of businesses fail within the first five years. This number is staggering. It is scary. It may even cause you to question starting a business, and it should. The number one reason for a new business to fail has nothing to do with how good an idea it is or how talented the individual is who may be starting it. The number one reason is underestimating costs and not being prepared for how long it will be for the company to make money. We’ve all heard about the latest .com millionaire who launched his business and immediately had thousands of ‘hits’ and Time Magazine is calling him the next big thing, but the truth is that for every story like this there are thousands or maybe millions of businesses that struggle along for years before they begin to realize success.
Fortunately, there are tools available to help you with this task. Here is a list of some of the more commonly helpful calculators that we have found:
Business Start Up Cost Calculator: http://www.businessknowhow.com/startup/startup.htm
Cash Flow Calculator: http://www.bplans.com/business_calculators/cash_flow_calculator.cfm
Break Even Calculator: http://www.entrepreneur.com/calculators/breakeven.html
Earlier, I said that as much as 90% of new businesses fail within the first 5 years. If you are looking into starting your own business, there is a strong clue in that statement. You should be prepared to the odds, meaning that if you are prepared to weather the storm of the first 5 years, you chance of success goes way up. The largest majority of these failures happen within the first 3 years, so it might stand to reason that if you can’t survive without a paycheck for three years or if your funding source isn’t strong enough to last that long, you may want to consider another option. Too many businesses are started with the owner looking for profitability in months rather than years and the odds are stacked heavily against them.
Also, don’t forget…if you get through this part of the planning, don’t forget that this is only step one. Choosing a business incorporation strategy is step two and shouldn’t be overlooked.
DBA/Fictitous Name Filing is now available online!
Get a DBA or File a Fictitious Name Online
Finally! It took us awhile, but you can now file a DBA or Fictitious Name online using the same easy-to-use format that has always been available to our customers for LLC and Incorporation filings.
Already, we are seeing a tremendous response to the new online format with DBA orders coming in at a remarkable pace. Thank you to all of our customers for the feedback they provided that made this possible and also to the customers who are already taking advantage of this new feature on our website!!
Get a DBA now!
EZonlineFiling.com YouTube Channel is Now Launched!
It’s official! We have launched a YouTube Channel so we can reach even more entreprenuers and provide them with our services. The channel started out with four videos, including:
- How to Create a Powerful Name for Your Business
- How to Get Financing for Your Business
- How to Check the Availability of Your Business Name
- How to Choose Between an LLC and a Corporation for Your Business
The link to our new channel is: http://www.youtube.com/user/EZonlineFiling
Look for more videos on a variety of topics coming soon!
YouTube Channel Launch Coming Soon!
Hi guys! I just thought I would let you in on a secret I learned this morning. Apparently, the marketing group has been hard at work on a series of videos (I think five of them) that will be our first effort on YouTube and other video sharing sites. This is an area where we have been lacking, but not for long. I heard the launch may come as soon as next week and the first videos will only mark the beginning, with many more to follow.
I also heard that we will be offering help on topics that , while related, will not be limited to incorporation and forming LLCs. Instead, the topics will branch out to offer help to businesses that are already in existence or paossibly to people thinking about starting a business. Obviously, there will videos on how to form an LLC or how to incorporate, but you can expect other topics related to writing a business plan, writing a LLC operating agreement, corporate resolutions, affiliate marketing and possibly some links back to new areas of our site where you will be able to get free downloads of tons of business related forms.
Keep an eye out, and I will get the word out as soon as the launch date is finalized!