Many different business ideas

Hello Paul, The answer to your question depends on how important the website is to the success of your business. If the website IS your business then you obviously need to ensure that your friends colleague is going to be around when you need him/her. I would be wary about using someone like this if my income depended on them. What would you do for instance if the day after they got on a plane to Spain the site stopped functioning, they are hardly going to abandon their holiday to come and sort it out. On the other hand, if the site is just another form of advertising my business, I would be less concerned. Within reason, anything you can get for FREE is worth considering, but not always worthwhile, if you see what I mean. Why not share with us some of what you learned from the failure of your previous business. Best of luck. Steve

Hi Paul, I agree with Steve - why did your business fail? I am about to launch my own website and have more than just money banking on it if you know what I mean (hopes and dreams [:I]) Anyway any advice on where the pitfalls are would be gratefully received. Cheers, Catherine. PS Even if it does fail I won't lose heart, and neither should you - even Richard Branson has had the odd business fall flat!
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www.getshirt-e.co.uk
www.realcarsnetwork.com

Thanks for the comments. Why did my business fail? Well I did loads of research (12 months preparing my plan). It boiled down to the downturn in the dotcom boom and money (lack of it). I had business mentors, but one thing I did do when it failed was write down why it failed and what I learned - totally priceless. My research, I thought was spot on. However, once I started I soon realised how firms hate to part with cash!!!! To them I was just another website that would be gone tomorrow, it was hard getting around the fact that I had a great idea (got nominated for Entrepreneur Award). Even now I get business people wondering how it failed, they thought it would be a sure thing, a big hit. If you have specific questions please ask, all I can say is that if it does fail, learn from it and move on. I dwelled for too long. At least you have given it a good go! I am itching to get back into business on my own even though the stress (financial and emotional) and strains of winding up my company last year was unbearable at times. I lost money and my confidence and also self-esteem, for a short while I said I would never do it again, but my mates knew otherwise, they were convinced I would try again. Several months later and I started getting more ideas. My family understand that I want to pursue ideas, but they would much prefer I settled into a career. So you don't think I should get someone to design my websites? They will play a major part in the business, but initially I just thought it was a cost effective way to see if it could do well. Do you suggest I get my sites designed professionally? I will need money for this and I don't have a lot. Also, because of my past experience I don't want to commit too much capital to a site that may not work! Any ideas? Paul.

Paul Attitudes to internet businesses have not changed. The internet is widely regarded as a useful tool for businesses, but it is a data distribution network, nothing more. All businesses should be looking for areas where they can use the internet to improve their systems, processes and methods (as it undoubtedly can) but it is not a viable business proposition in itself. The internet is a great enabler; it has enabled me to talk to you, for Amanda at Truly Ace (www.trulyace.com) to send me a redesign for my logo (and a good one it is too!) in seconds, but these interactions have always happened, just in different ways. The businesses that succeed are the same now as they have always been, the internet has just meant that they do things quicker and often much cheaper. Basically, what I am trying to say is at this stage, it doesn’t matter who does your web site and for how much, what matters is have you got a business model that is robust enough to succeed. Remember, web sites don’t make money, they may facilitate a service or act as a shop window, but that’s all. Finally, don’t worry about failing, we are only aware of the joy of riding a bike because we know how much it hurts to fall off.
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AsMustard

Hi Paul, I have to agree with most of what John has said, where I would disagree is about it not being important who builds your website. If your site is your main point of contact with your customers, as your comments suggest, of course it is important who builds your site and how good it is. I am not saying don`t accept the offer of a free site, I am saying be careful and make sure you have thought through all of the things that can go wrong. Without giving too much away, I would be interested to know why you believe that this idea has a better chance of success than the one that failed. I have to agree with John that a good business model has to be the first and most important requirement. Very few internet only businesses will succeed in the current climate. Steve

Steve I agree with you that 'Internet Only' businesses are hard to find now, especially new start ups. To be honest it is only one of several ideas I am working on. I also have non-specific internet ideas, but like all entrepreneurs its a case of trying to see which one can fill a niche. I have done research on one of my ideas, but with my first venture not working out I am being a bit more cautious and more analytical, plus I have less to lose, so I guess I am trying to take calculated risks. It is really hard deciding what to do as I have many different ideas that could all come to market, but which would succeed? The million dollar question! Also, I am currently in paid employment so I don't want to jeopardise my steady income again. So basing an idea around the internet is more appealing if that makes sense to you. I would say it is another extension of market research, but you are also finding potential customers as well.

Hi, I have just read your comments with some alarm - does everybody feel that this is a 'bad time' to open an internet only business??? If so and if your all right then I am done for. Perhaps I am a bit too optimistic but I think that the internet is the way for future business and that just having an info only web site will change as more people do business online. Perhaps I am the exception - but I started off buying books from Amazon when I lived in a big city (and I read A LOT!) then moved onto cd's, then clothes and more recently baby equipment and food shopping - maybe I'm lazy or just busy but everyone I know is doing the same thing. Doesn't that show a change in attitude?? Catherine.
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www.getshirt-e.co.uk
www.realcarsnetwork.com

Agreed Catherine, perceptions are changing, it's harder now to get investors for an internet only business, but it's much easier to get customers. In the dot com demise, really good businesses went to the wall due to them being "dot coms" (see in60.com - a great business which was on track but required a final investment boost to get to profitability). The problem is that investors see all dot com businesses together and remember all the ones which just drank money with no actual way to make an income. I see no need for a internet only business to have more problems than a regular one, in fact in some cases the internet is a very cheap place to have your premisis.
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Phil Royall
http://www.beardedfrog.com

Catherine Very few businesses are truly internet only. Businesses have been selling books for years; there is nothing new about that, it is a tried and tested business model. What is new is the use of the internet to process orders. By using the internet in this way, Amazon, for instance, were able to dispense with the cost of retail premises, but still had to meet the costs of distribution and holding enormous stocks in order to satisfy demand quickly. It is a trade off, one set of costs for another, and that is the decision. This is what I mean when I say that the business model has to be robust, and then think how the internet can be used to make it better, cheaper or faster. Never start with the internet and work backwards – that way leads to disaster, as many have already found. Think of the internet as a road network. Businesses use this network in many different ways, such as distribution, sales, transport or even repair and maintenance and building new roads. However, the road itself is not the business, merely an instrument to achieve an objective. Even if you have premises at the side of the busiest road, it will not deliver customers to your door, you still have to go and find them. The same is true of the internet. Just to pick up on Steve’s (Estaban) point, what I said was that who is going to design Paul’s web site is not important “at this stage”, but of course, if this is how he chooses to interface with his customers, then the overall design should be the best available, free or not. Good luck with your project, Catherine.
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AsMustard

Phew! Ok - in that case I can relax a teeny bit as to start off with I don't need any investors just customers! But fair point, even payment processors charge around 4-5% per transaction for startup internet companies but they only charge a tiny% to major corps - seems unfair!
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www.getshirt-e.co.uk
www.realcarsnetwork.com

I do agree with the point that those businesses that 'drank all the money' with no real way of generating income killed off good firms as well. It was such a shame the way it went, but you can't change the past. Catherine, I have failed, but still generate ideas that would work best through the internet medium. I also have ideas not internet based as well. The main reason for this thread was really around finance. Do I finance someone to design a site which may or may not work or do I get it done FREE initially and then build it up if it starts to take off? I guess I could have a problem with finding funding because I have tried and failed previously. On the other hand potential investors may see it as a plus. Who knows how they think! To me it really hurt when my first venture failed, a sucker punch, but as you can see I am participating on this forum and do have new ideas. I just hope one day I reach my dream.

After taking the knock of losing out in one business I can understand your dilemma. Part of the rebuilding process is learning to trust your own decision making ability. You have been offered a free web site, is it any good, is it from a reliable source, can it get you started whilst you do more market research to iron out the problems that plagued you last time? If the answers to these are yes then go ahead. If the answers are not positive then try other free or low cost options. Once you start up again and get some income you will attract finance. Whilst you wait around worrying about making a mistake you are also wasting time. Make this one small decision, within the boundaries of assessing the risk and move forward. There are a number of low cost web designers on this site, a logo from Truly Ace in a competition would also be worth a try. Get some help in the areas you feel are possible weaknesses and start moving your ideas forward. Lee Schwarz Lime One Ltd www.limeone.com 0870 240 4325
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Lee Schwartz Lime One Ltd www.limeone.com 01244 852550