Build A Business, Not Just A Practice

Written by Peggy Champlin


So, you're an independent professional and you either have or are working toward a successful practice. What would you say if I told you that you could build a business, not just a practice? That you could develop multiple streams of income - some of them passive?

Well, you can!

I've created a 5-step system that will teach you how to go from square one allrepparttar way to more profits and more spare time.

Step 1: Design Your Business

Step one isrepparttar 108899 most important part ofrepparttar 108900 system - andrepparttar 108901 one where many people get stuck. Or worse yet, skip over. You need to take some time to design your business.

You need to get very clear about what it is that you have to offer that others value and understand your target market. Many of my clients and prospective clients think they know this until we hone it even sharper. Take some time with this so you're very, very clear. Everything else will be much harder, if not impossible, if you're not crystal clear on what value you offer and to whom.

You need to select initial products and services to create and put together packages and pricing. A little research will help you pick affiliate programs and partners to fill out your portfolio.

By laying out your business plan in detail and with great clarity, you will have taken a huge leap forward and have a wonderful advantage in creating a successful business.

Step 2: Develop Your Website

Your next step is to create a website for your business. It will be all about your business theme that you clarified in step one. You will lay outrepparttar 108902 navigation of pages, fashion a signature look and feel for your site, and writerepparttar 108903 text, or copy, that will attractrepparttar 108904 target market you identified in step one. Of course, you will have your products and services available for sale on your site!

Whether you build your site yourself or hire someone to do it for you, make sure that you focus on allrepparttar 108905 following areas:

- The overall look and feel ofrepparttar 108906 site. Make sure it reflects your business. - Ease of navigation. You want your visitors to be able to find what they're looking for. Also, you want to lead them through your site. Tell them what page to look at next! - Marketing orientation. Remember that your visitors first arrive wanting to know what's in it for them to even read more than you home page! Make sure you're laying outrepparttar 108907 benefits of working with you or buying your product on every page. Too many site start talking aboutrepparttar 108908 business itself orrepparttar 108909 process it provides and not enough aboutrepparttar 108910 benefits torepparttar 108911 customer. - Maintainability. Make sure yoursite is designed so that changes are as easy as possible and so that you can make simple changes yourself.

Step 3: Publish Your Ezine

Now that you have things to sell and a place for people to buy, you need to draw people to your site after building a relationship with them so they understand and trustrepparttar 108912 value you offer. So step three is to start publishing your own ezine, or email newsletter. By giving your subscribers valuable content in each issue, they will get to know you and what your business can do for them.

IDEAS – a framework for e-business Success

Written by Charles Warnock


Please feel free to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long asrepparttar bylines and contact information are included. A notification or courtesy copy of your publication is appreciated.

IDEAS – a framework for e-business Success

At its core, e-business is a simple proposition. Businesses interact with customers through various channels such as retail stores, phone, print, television, instant messaging and ATMs. Leveraging interactive channels likerepparttar 108898 Web can drive down costs, expand markets and create new revenue opportunities. For businesses that have masteredrepparttar 108899 interactive channel, there is plenty of good news. The Web is faster and more economical than traditional business channels, and offers new ways to interact with customers. The Web also isrepparttar 108900 most measurable medium ever, enabling savvy businesses to improve products, build customer relationships and identify new revenue opportunities. Byrepparttar 108901 numbers,repparttar 108902 e-business future looks especially promising:

 According to research firm eMarketer, business-to-consumer (B2C) spending, a rare bright spot inrepparttar 108903 current economic doldrums, is expected to top $126 billion by 2004.  A B2C record of sorts was set duringrepparttar 108904 2002 holiday season when shoppers spent more than $2 billion online in a single week.

 B2C numbers are encouraging, but represent only a small fraction of business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce. eMarketer estimates that B2B spending will reach $2.4 trillion by 2004.

 The growth of e-business is also expected to drive spending on interactive advertising to $63 billion by 2005, according to Forrester research.

These numbers may seem surprising to those who counted e-business out afterrepparttar 108905 well-publicized dotcom flameout and continuing tech-sector blues. But perhapsrepparttar 108906 most surprising aspect is not how far e-business has come, but how far it may go. Neither B2C nor B2B transactions have reached even five percent of total transactions in their respective markets.

Obviously there’s ample opportunity for organizations who want to expand their businesses from traditional to interactive channels such asrepparttar 108907 Web. In fact, many customers now expect to haverepparttar 108908 option of choosing to transact business viarepparttar 108909 Web or switch between channels as they please. But whilerepparttar 108910 goals of e-commerce are simple, achieving them is not. There’s no magic formula to ensure that businesses can profitably leveragerepparttar 108911 Web to support and enhance other customers channels.

Technology-driven changes

The Web has fundamentally changedrepparttar 108912 way business works. In less than 10 years, leading organizations have reinventedrepparttar 108913 way they communicate, collaborate, buy, sell and create processes to take advantage of powerful and affordable Web technology. Technology also has spread fromrepparttar 108914 back office to every business unit throughoutrepparttar 108915 organization. Companies with more advanced technology strategies have leveraged Web-based tools such as portals and intranets to interact more effectively with customers, vendors and business partners.

And though advances in Internet, PC and network technologies have created unprecedented opportunities to control costs and improve business process, many companies are struggling to find ways to apply technology to business challenges. Though technology clearly will continue to be a key business driver and competitive advantage, many organizations have no strategic plan for its implementation. Surprisingly, many businesses continue to apply technology on a piecemeal basis, implementing various solutions aroundrepparttar 108916 organization as needed. Without a comprehensive technology strategy, many businesses are unsure whether they are spending technology dollars wisely.

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