You need to actually care about your customer and care about making sure they are satisfied with you and your service and/or product. Do not just think of customer as another sale.

If you get eternally nasty customer who will not be consoled no matter what you do, do not lose control or sink to their level. Remain calm but firm. The customer is not always right no matter how much they think they are. Be courteous and polite.

Since I have been online, I have only encountered about three customers of eternally nasty type. ;-) I did my best, but to no avail. So I had no choice but to send them on their way. I stood up for myself and for MOE and did not insult them in any way. But as we know, there is just no pleasing some people.

I would say that 99% of people I have encountered online have been absolutely wonderful! They make it easy to treat them with respect and courtesy. I, who has been painfully shy most of my life, love working with people and enjoy interacting with them online and offline. I think all (well, almost all) people are good in one way or another and deserve to be treated as such.

This is why I do business by motto: Treat others as you would like to be treated and Be true to yourself and your customers!

************* Terri Seymour and her husband Terry of www.seymourproducts.com offer a no cost, home business opportunity. Apply online. Resources and more for your home business available at www.myownezine.com Free ecourse business-building-ecourse@getresponse.com

As a small business, focus on a promising niche market and work hard to offer them products and services they need. If you do this well you'll become known as an expert in this area and you'll be able to generate new business from your reputation alone.

5. Be careful of "hot" industries that are already overcrowded. Although you have to be first person into a market, you have to be careful of markets that are already over crowded.

One of keys to success in business is differentiating yourself from your competitors. If your customers can't see value in doing business with you over someone else you'll never be able to attract business you need to succeed. If there are already so many businesses doing what you're considering that you can't figure out how to make yourself stand out then choose another business idea.

6. Think about what works online. There are some products and services that work well online, and others that don't. Consider following rules when choosing your business idea:

a. The product or service offered can’t be readily available offline – or there must be an advantage to ordering from you such as price, bundling with other products, etc.

b. It has to appeal to masses – Internet is a global medium. That said, there are local opportunities but you need to explore them carefully.

c. It must be easily shipped around world.

d. You can't charge for something if it's already available online for free.

Before you decide what business you'd like to start, be sure to research it carefully. Knowing upfront how big market is, who your competitors are and what your competitors are offering will help you avoid costly mistakes.