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Home Internet Business - 5 Mistakes to Avoid at Startup

Starting your own home Internet business can be an exciting

thing. Dreams of independence, being your own boss, walking 20

feet to your office, early retirement, and telling your boss

where he can 'place' that weekly report is appealing to most

everyone.

Unfortunately it's not all glitz and glamour and at some point

the dream loses much of its luster. This usually happens around

the time one realizes that running an Internet business from the

'comfort of your home' is really a lot of work, that home is not

as comfortable as its cracked up to be, and that retirement is

still light-years away.

Even so, running your own Internet Business is still one of the

best things since sliced bread and bad clichés. In this article

I've listed some initial mistakes that many Internet novices

tend to make and how to avoid them. "The smoothest road to

success is the one without the potholes we create for

ourselves." A famous person probably already said that. If not,

then somebody alert Bartlett!

1. Don't Plan to Run Your Internet Business on the Family

Computer.

This is a huge mistake that's made more often than you might

think. In true capitalist fashion, many newbies figure they can

save a buck or two by using the family computer instead of

purchasing one of their own. Believe me, you don't want to go

there.

If you have any doubts, simply picture what it would be like to

have your 4-year old son pounding on the keys of the computer at

your office or your obnoxious brother-in-law sloshing beer all

over your desk while he surfs porn sites. Think your superiors

would approve? Think you'd get much work done? Getting the

picture?

If you want to run a successful Internet business, it is

imperative that you work from your own computer that you have

absolute control over.

2. Don't Plan to Set Up Your Home Office on the Kitchen

Table.

I don't know about you, but my kitchen is like Grand Central

Station nearly 24 hours a day. Yes, the kitchen table can make a

nice substitute for a computer desk in a pinch, but I would not

want to work there on a continual basis. There is simply too

much distraction in your kitchen, or for that matter, any other

main living area of your home.

What you need is a quiet place that you can get away from the

daily ruckus, where you can spread out and concentrate on the

tasks at hand. Ideally, you'll want to be in a room with four

walls and a door, preferably one with a lock on it. If you don't

have a spare bedroom, den, study, what have you, then at least

find a nice corner of your home where you can have some

occasional privacy. If you have to retreat to a corner in your

basement, then do it.

You should have space and services for your computer, a phone,

and a fax machine at a minimum. You should also seriously

consider a printer, scanner and copier just to cover all the

bases. Some of the all-in-one inkjet printers on the market

today serve this purpose splendidly. Oh, and unless you enjoy

sitting on a folding chair or milk crates, I suggest you find a

comfortable, ergonomic, office chair. Your back and backside

will love you for it.

3. Don't Plan to Use a Free Web Host.

I'm going to keep this one short and sweet. Free web sites in a

nutshell:

a) Unprofessional

b) Annoying advertising pop-ups and banners

c) Typically unreliable

d) The web host can pull the rug out from under you at any time

and without warning.

If you can't rely on your web site, then your customers cannot

rely on you. It's as simple as that.

4. Lose the 'Build it and They Will Come' Mindset.

This is probably the mistake most often made by Internet

marketing novices. Due in large part to the scams and get rich

quick schemes posted all over the Web, folks think that all they

have to do is build a good looking professional web site, slap a

bunch of affiliate links on it, sit back and watch the money

roll in. Sorry, not happening in this lifetime.

Establishing your domain and building your web site is the easy

part. The marketing is an ongoing and time-consuming venture

that literally makes or breaks your business. If people don't

know you're there, then you're not going to make any money.

Initially, plan to spend most of your time optimizing your pages

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for the search engines, establishing back links, writing

articles, generating customer lists, adding daily content to

your site(s), etc. and so on. You get out of it what you put

into it.

5. Don't Quit Your Day Job.

This last item ties in more-or-less with the previous topic.

Don't expect success overnight. Even if you could magically

establish loads of pertinent back links, submit 20 articles a

day, and optimize the white space out of your web pages all

within a couple of weeks, don't expect any noticeable results

for at least another 3 or 4 months. Why? Because Google runs the

show.

It does not matter how good you are, how good your product is,

or how well your web site is optimized for the search engines.

Google WILL plant your butt firmly in its

'sandbox' for at least 3 months before deeming your site worthy

enough to be listed anywhere near the top of its search results.

The existence of this 'sandbox' cannot be confirmed, but the

'sandbox effect' is very much alive and kicking.

Even after your web site starts appearing in the search engines,

establishing a good customer base and web presence will take

even longer. In short, regardless of whether it's Google, MSN or

Yahoo calling the shots, it's going to take some time before you

start to see that first trickle of income from your web site. It

will build in time, but you have to be patient and stick with it.

If you're serious about starting an Internet Business, then

'seriously' start an Internet business. Prepare appropriately

and realistically and plan to put some work into it. Oh, and if

you really just can't wait to give your boss those 'very

specific directions', you may want to plan your time evenly

between the unemployment line and your budding Internet career.

About the author:

Bob Davis is a professional database consultant, web designer,

graphic artist, and Internet marketer. If you'd like some solid

tips on starting your own legitimate Internet business, then

visit his Home

Internet Business Guide for Beginners.

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