Advice on Starting an On-line Business

[Zao]

This thread is to collect our experience/advice on starting an on-line business.

Preference for those with actual experience - successful or not - with on-line ventures! Let's keep this clean (at least by our standards!) It might be useful to some.

For what they're worth, here are my comments.

First, on-line ventures have hit their stride. This is a golden time to start one. As the context for a business these days, you have the choice of almost every sector or topic in which you may have a skill; indeed, that will be your first challenge.

Second, as other posters noted, keep your day job. On-line ventures require a minimum 3 years to incubate - probably 7 - before you will see a livable return. Plan for it. Exceptions to this rule do not exist.

Third, on-line ventures are best approached as being like both restaurants and a novel.

Similar to restaurants: high fail rate, fickle customers, numerous alternatives, need for a niche, need for extraordinary marketing, need for regular updating, choice of either "franchise" or "independent" approach, might be tiny or large, require tremendous commitments of your time; anybody can try it

That said: no or low start-up costs, other than your time; easy to experiment; no inventory; no employee theft

Similar to novels: everyone's a "writer", few actually write; require structure and are driven by character, plot, a story line, etc; even if not a commercial success, it might be the most satisfying thing you do in your life; commit to "writing 5 pages a day"; build on a particular skill you already have; need something unique to stand out from an ocean of medocrity; require excellent content, to be sure, but also a good cover; require tremendous commitments of your time

That said: you will be copied; the service you provide will be available elsewhere on the Web for free; you will depend on your "readers" (repeat visitors to your site) for the brand value and continued success of your site. This last point is critical, and often overlooked

Fourth, on-line ventures must address 8 principles of commerciality: traffic, stickiness, repeat visits, monetization, interactivity, community, the freebie effect, client leverage/cross-sell

• How will you drive and continuously increase traffic to your site?
• How will you encourage your visitors to spend more time on your site once they are there?
• How will you increase repeat visits?
• How will you convert your traffic to income?
• How will you match the level of interactivity with the promise of your branding?
• How will you build a community that increases, and does not diminish, the value and reach of your site?
• How will you generate income, even though your service is (or will very soon be) widely available for free elsewhere on the Net?
• What additional/complementary services will you provide to your satisfied clients?

For each of the above, you might consider: how does a supermarket do this? how does a fast-food or coffee chain do this? how might an ambitious night-club do this?

Once you answer these questions, you are very close to having an on-line idea with an above average chance of generating income. After 3+ years incubation. Don't quit your day job.

A Couple Examples

On a previous thread, OP had asked about starting an on-line venture in Thailand. Needless to say, the question really is just "on-line venture". Quality hosting - including free hosting - is available anywhere. LOS' somewhat unreliable and high cost Internet service is a constraint. That said, I have heard that IT has at some point been favored by BOI, but don't know if that is still the case.

There are literally as many possibilities for a money-making on-line venture, as there are ideas for a book or menus for a restaurant. Most of those will fail. Don't let that stop you. Let it sharpen your focus. I can't emphasize this enough: thousands of possible successful ventures exist. Choose an idea. Consider your experience and skills. Build on them. Subject your idea to the principles of commerciality. Choose free hosting to get you started. Build cache for your site.

Nonetheless, OP had originally specified "former-teacher, based in Thailand". So, to possibly spark some people's thinking, here are three examples of on-line success - ie, examples of someone combining personal interest with a structured gameplan to create a money-making venture - that could possibly be the type of service someone with the skills of a teacher could launch in Thailand:

1) The Milan-based Specialty Web Designer: a non-Italian, previously a mediocre banker with no unique IT skill, but some interest in fashion and a strong desire to live in Italy, succeeds as a web designer to some of Italy's top fashion brands. How? He exploits an unmet niche: he notes all the top fashion houses lack an on-line presence; he creates a site-design approach and architecture that fits the high-end sales, marketing, and client base; he delivers with a high-touch, on-the-ground, highly tailored client-service approach.

In Thailand, foreign teachers get paid - perhaps not all great - to use their knowledge, creativity, and English (and patience!). The same can be transferred to speciality web design, where a local presence, creativity, and global outlook, are key: What industries is Thailand promoting for exports? What sectors target non-Thais? Dozens of candidate sectors exist. As just one example, have you ever visited the English website of the well known German brewery? They, and a hundred other F&B outlets, need your help.

Possible add-on/complementary services: Annual Report writing/IR/PR; menu design; promotional event design and execution; frequent-customer programme design and execution, etc.

2) The Paid Blogger: a number of well known on-line ventures generate most of their income by providing content to and for others. The Net supports how many websites - 400 million? And that's not counting the Dark Web! There is a huge demand for content. Those with strong writing skills can get paid for content-writing and PR services. Lower paid projects might start at around £1 per 100 words. Quality projects might reach £2.50-10 per 100 words.

Possible add-on/complementary services: travel writer; paid product reviewer (freebie products!), free-lance article writer; paid F&B outlet reviewer; PR firm; PPT presentation/public speech writer/coach

3) The Small-Time eCommerce Shopkeeper: you don't have to be a Tony Hsieh - or, let's be accurate, a Nick Swinmurn, yet another under-recognized and under-compensated British Net pioneer - to make a nice little nest egg from eCommerce. Though it helps, if your endgame is Jeff Bezos. What? You've not heard of Nick and his firm? That just shows how big the Net really is and how much room there is for your own little Thai-based venture. Nowadays you can get a catchy, easy to use, fully functional ecommerce shop up and running for as little as £500. Fulfillment from LOS may be surprisingly cheap, particularly within the region, with a possible focus on niche products and the region's monied. Hint: for a small venture, a key is originating your own products and brands.

Possible add-on/complementary services: product developer/originator; customized/corporate bulk sales; "virtual" products and services; high-end and one-of-a-kind designs/products for hotels, etc

[Zao]

Here are some other examples of (occasionally!) successful on-line business models:

1. Annual Report Writing and Production
2. Resume/Cover Letter Writing
3. Master's/PhD Dissertation Editing
4. eBook Author/Knowledge Product Originator (self-publish eBooks, audio, on-line courses)
5. Testing and Test Prep Services

1. Investor Relations/Public Relations
2. Socially Responsible PR Services/CSR Coaching
3. Manage Social Media Profiles/ Social media consultant
4. Crowd Funding Consultant
5. Local Marketing/Multicultural Marketing Expert

1. Health/Nutrition Coach
2. App Development (pretty large up-front costs these days)
3. Paid Research
4. Medical Transcription
5. Virtual Staff/Outsource Staff

1. Domain Hosting
2. You Tube Video Producer
3. Selling Your Sports Photo's, Travel Photo's and Photo Bank
4. Blogging (w/ AdSns add-in, when you have the traffic)
5. Affiliate Marketing

1. Disaster Preparedness Consulting for Corporations
2. Cloud-testing services for clients. Apps, websites, e-commerce
3. Currency/Stock Trading from Home
4. HR Services for Corporations
5. Employee Coaching/Staff Development Plans/Career Coaching

[SheungWan]

Here we go. Its get rich quick time again. That time of day.

[Soutpeel]

Here we go. Its get rich quick time again. That time of day.

open postions for "English teachers" must be reducing...

[Soutpeel]

Here are some other examples of (occasionally!) successful on-line business models:

1. Annual Report Writing and Production
2. Resume/Cover Letter Writing
3. Master's/PhD Dissertation Editing
4. eBook Author/Knowledge Product Originator (self-publish eBooks, audio, on-line courses)
5. Testing and Test Prep Services

1. Investor Relations/Public Relations
2. Socially Responsible PR Services/CSR Coaching
3. Manage Social Media Profiles/ Social media consultant
4. Crowd Funding Consultant
5. Local Marketing/Multicultural Marketing Expert

1. Health/Nutrition Coach
2. App Development (pretty large up-front costs these days)
3. Paid Research
4. Medical Transcription
5. Virtual Staff/Outsource Staff

1. Domain Hosting
2. You Tube Video Producer
3. Selling Your Sports Photo's, Travel Photo's and Photo Bank
4. Blogging (w/ AdSns add-in, when you have the traffic)
5. Affiliate Marketing

1. Disaster Preparedness Consulting for Corporations
2. Cloud-testing services for clients. Apps, websites, e-commerce
3. Currency/Stock Trading from Home
4. HR Services for Corporations
5. Employee Coaching/Staff Development Plans/Career Coaching

if one is resident in Thailand how does one address the work permit requirements for any of this work in Thailand ?