Starting an Internet-based Technology Business

Congratulations on deciding to start a foray into the Internet-based technology business! As you embark on your new journey into entrepreneurship, you may have various questions! This hub will help direct you to the many resources available which can help get you started!

Do Some Soul Searching

The first part of beginning your business is to do some soul searching. Ask yourself these few important questions before you dig in to the details of starting your business:

• Why do you want to start an Internet-based Technology business?
  
• What is your idea? How does it differentiate you from other technology companies?
• Does starting a technology business align with your own personal goals and objectives?
• How much time and effort can you invest in starting a Technology business?

Make It Legal:

It is important that you make your business legal in the eyes of the Federal and State governments. In the United States, small businesses are generally started in one of the following forms: a sole proprietorship, limited liability company, or S-Corporation. There is no magic formula to help you determine which type of business you should start, as which legal entity you pick depends on your circumstances and unique situation. If you have questions or need advice, I recommend talking with a lawyer or your local chamber of commerce. Once you decide which type of entity your business will be, you can file appropriate federal and state paperwork inexpensively using services like MyCorporation or BizFilings.

NOTE: Depending on the physical address of your business, you may be required by state and/or local governments to obtain permits. Check with your local chamber of commerce.

Build an Internet Presence for Your Business:

One of the most important parts of starting your Internet-based technology business will be your Internet presence. This is how you will build your brand, engage your potential customers, and present information about your products. Typically, you'll want to create an Internet web site and/or weblog ("blog"), and make use of social media to generate buzz for your soon-to-launch product. This checklist will help get you started:

1. Purchase a Domain Name: You can hunt for your ideal domain name by using the tools provided by registrars such as GoDaddy. As you search for a domain name, make sure you keep in mind these tips on "How to Choose a Domain Name." You can purchase the domain name if you wish, although I would recommend you hold off on purchasing the name directly from a registrar, as you can purchase the domain name (fairly cheap) as part of the next step...
2. Sign up for Google Apps: Google Apps is free (except for the cost of registering your domain - $10) and gives you email, office productivity software, chat, & basic web-sites for up to 50 people. You can also sign up for additional Google services such as Picasa Web Albums, Reader, Adsense, Youtube, etc with your Google Apps account.
3. Claim Your Social Media Accounts: Using your new Google Apps email address, claim accounts for popular social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. These social media accounts will be critical to promotion of your products and brand save to the Internet masses. Much of this is discussed "The New Rules of Marketing & PR," shown below).
4. Choose a Website/Blog Host: Quite honestly, there are infinite ways to setup a web site or weblog for your new Internet-based technology business. If you simply need a basic site (and potentially wish to monetize it), use Google's Blogger service. Blogger is free, easy-to-use, and allows monetizing revenue streams (such as Chitika, Adsense, and Amazon). However, if control and customization are important to you, you may want to use a self-hosted content management system such as Wordpress. Most hosting companies provide one-click installs for popular content management systems, along with a wide variety of other features. Some of the most popular hosting services include FatCow, BlueHost, Hostgator, GoDaddy, & HostPapa. One item to note - If you initially build your site on Blogger, you can always move it to a self-hosted Wordpress install at a later date.
5. Select Your Phone Needs: As you start your Technology Business, you'll need a phone number for potential contacts & customers to call you. If you're starting the business by yourself, I'd highly recommend a Google Voice number. It is free and provides an excellent set of features to help you manage your inbound calls, voicemails, and SMS messages. If you need a more complex set-up (toll-free numbers, VOIP, and/or Internet Fax), look into services such as RingCentral.
6. Generate Your Website/Blog: There's an endless number of tutorials and help sites available on the Internet which will help you get your website and/or blog configured and ready to go. Make sure your site is setup and ready prior to launching your branding/marketing efforts. Also, sign up for Google Analytics so that you can track the source of your traffic and adjust your site as appropriate.

Generate Awareness of Your New Technology Business:

Now that your business is legally created, and your Internet presence is ready to go, start getting the word out about your new Internet-based technology business. Feel free to utilize any number of items or methods at your disposal. The "New Rules of Marketing & PR" book (shown below) will give you a great start. Other ideas are as follows:

• Tell your relatives & friends! This is the quickest and easiest way to building some recognition & getting referrals to your business.
• Run some Facebook or Adwords marketing campaigns to drive traffic to your website/blog.
• Search for blogs about similar topics to your business (or within your same industry), and actively participate/comment in the blogs. This can build your reputation/authority on the subject and also get you the chance to link back to your own website/blog.
• Generate some interesting/whacky YouTube videos and try to get them to go viral.
• Sign up for business directories such as Google Places and MerchantCircle.
• Submit your blog/website to major search engines as shown in "How to Submit Your Site to Search Engines".
• Write up "guest posts" for other blogs within your industry. This will quickly generate some traffic to the website/blog of your new business.

Continue Working Hard!

Now that you've created your Internet presence and generated awareness, it's time to get to work! Focus on the goals and objectives you brainstormed in the "Soul-Searching" section of this article, and make sure you're continually working towards achievement of those goals.

Best of Luck!!