By Bridey M. Orth Re-published by Marketing Basics Never before has there been such a frenzy to start a home- based business. This is in large part due to
growing number of opportunities that are cropping up each day. If you're looking for a way to work from home there's a veritable smorgasbord of businesses to choose from.
But what's hot today are Internet-related businesses. Whether you've already got a business and want to take it online, or if you're looking to make money with some kind of Internet business, you are not alone. People who don't even own computers want to get in on what's being deemed, "The Internet Revolution!"
We've all heard
stories of entrepreneurs going from "rags to riches" because of
Internet. Who wouldn't want to be part of that? The opportunity exists for all of us to make money online, but
problem lies in knowing how to do it.
Michael Fallacara, President of United Publishing Group, recognized
need for direction in
way of online businesses and knew he'd found a niche for his company. "I wanted to give people an all-inclusive way to make money on
Internet," he explains.
Michael is no stranger to
ways of
entrepreneur. Years ago he left a lucrative career as an executive chef in a major hotel chain to start his own business. But, first, he tested
waters with a few ideas while still working full-time.
He'd seen enough infomercials to know
business of selling information had great income potential, so he and his wife found out what was selling and then put together their own version of an instruction manual on how to start a home-based business.
"It took us about six months to create it and by
time we were finished we had a 40-page manual that we sold for $39.95," remembers Michael who saw immediate success. "We placed ads in
paper, then put our money back into new ads and in six months we were advertising in 1,000 newspapers, spending over $10,000 a month on
ads, but making over double that."
This first attempt at his own business was a success and Michael says it's what he needed to give him
courage to try new things, "This experience motivated me to leave my job and create my own products."
He started United Publishing Group (UPG) because he preferred creating products instead of just selling them. "We developed
Business ToolBox, which offers information software programs and eventually we grew to create Internet-related software programs, which we call our Ecommerce ToolBox," says Michael.
"Many people know they want to make money with
Internet; we give them ways to do that," says Michael, explaining who UPG is targeting with their products. "The Ecommerce ToolBox is for anyone who wants to tap into
Ecommerce revolution. They don't have to have a web site, but if they do, they're looking to turn it into an income-generating site."
One of
products found in
Ecommerce ToolBox is
online ad mall, WebAd Wizard. According to Michael, these aren't
same old tools you'll find for Internet entrepreneurs. He prides himself on unique and innovative products that put small and home-based businesses on equal footing with larger companies.
The WebAd Wizard sets up a web site that is likened to
business section of
yellow pages, or in other cases,
classified section of a newspaper. It allows anyone to run a high-profit ad web site. It's ready to use, entirely automated and can be customized for anything. The best part, according to many users of this program, is you don't have to hire anyone for
technical aspects. It's all done via browser, which means
software is set up to instruct you how to create your own ad mall.
In effect, these online ad malls become trading posts for people with products to sell or businesses to promote, depending on how its been customized. For example, Harry Shields, a Florida-based business owner, has three online ad malls:
http://www.leisuresales.net,
http://www.horsessentials.com and
http://www.cattlemallplex.com
On each of these sites, he's determined
focus, which determines who will advertise on it.
On http://www.leisuresales.net, anyone selling recreational vehicles (RVs), campers and equipment can advertise on his site. But it's not just a simple banner ad, like you see all over
Internet. The advertiser pays a fee and gets a full web page ad with room for a 3x4 picture, three web links and contact information. A web address is also established for
advertiser to direct other potential customers to his or her ad. It's all done on a template by following
instructions of a browser.