Starting Your Own Internet Business: A Step-by-Step Guide

Start Your Own e-Business, from Entrepreneur Magazine's Startup Series, is a comprehensive guide for anyone who is considering trying to make money on the Internet. Author Lynie Arden touches many bases in describing what it takes to achieve success online, and the book is now on its second edition (ISBN: 1-599181-92-4).

Are you a small-business owner just now coming to the Internet in hopes of generating more cash? Or perhaps you are one of the millions of people who don't have a job -- or are underemployed -- and are seeking to start something on your own because there is no one hiring? Or maybe you are concerned that you may get laid off, so you are looking to get something going on your own just in case?

Well, Start Your Own e-Business is a good place to begin if you are seriously considering doing something solid on the Internet. I don't mean trying to make money by selling ''get-rich'' schemes or ''secrets of the wealthy'' plans. That's not what this book is about. It's a how-to book for people who are serious.

If you are already an entrepreneur, author Lynie Arden has put together a pretty comprehensive view on how you can expand your business to the Internet. She provides plenty to think about for brick-and-mortar businesses who are weighing moving to the Internet -- You can save costs but some consumers still feel more comfortable knowing that there is a real-life store standing behind the sale, for instance.

She also provides a good basic discussion on building a website, exploiting affiliate programs and driving customers to your site.

This Chapter Alone is Worth the Price of the Book!

If you are going to build a website -- or have one built -- this book's list of things to stay away from is absolutely invaluable.

A disabled back button; a hard-to-navigate design, no contact information...Oh, yes, author Lynie Arden hits on all the things that drive visitors crazy. I counted and I have run into five of the 10 no-nos on sites this week! For instance, one of the libraries I go to regularly doesn't list its hours on the home page. It puts the hours under a subhead that isn't obvious, so I have to search every time to try to remember where it is located. What's the point of that? If you want to attract customers does that make sense?

I really think that anyone who wants to have a profitable website would do well to buy this book, make a giant list of her top ten bugaboos, and place it where it can be seen every day!

Building and Keeping Web Traffic

As I was reading this book I marked down the pages that contained information I thought would be really useful to someone who wants to be an online success, and looking back most of them dealt with one topic: Attracting Internet users and making sure they come back.

Start Your own e-Business has numerous chapters on this topic, which argues that it is surely the most-important ingredient in your chance of success.

Some of the tips are pretty basic -- add a signature to your e-mail announcing your business, join online discussions about your field. But have you thought about classified ads? Or how polls could attract visitors? And what about a blog?

There's plenty more tips and advice in these sections, and I imagine that anyone who is working online would find them useful.

I found the book's chapter on affiliate programs to be very concise and clear, listing both the advantages of generating cash as well as the danger an unreliable affiliate can have for your reputation. It's well worth perusing this discussion before slapping any affiliate code on a website carrying your name.

The book also addresses how to get listed in the major search engines, and whether it really is worthwhile to pay for faster consideration (Hint: It may well be.)

There's plenty of other good information, including how to choose your domain name and web host; how to accept payments online; how to tap international markets and much more. Sprinkled throughout the book are small boxes of information with quick tips, advice and warnings that I found very useful.

Zappos, Blinds.com, Giftree and More!

There were a few flaws to the book.

The pages dealing with seeking out venture funding seemed a bit out of place . It was almost like the author (or publisher) just felt like any book about business needed to discuss venture funding, so they just stuck it in. It read like filler text that could go into any business start-up book, whether online or not.

The other thing that started to grate on me were the many pages set aside to interviewing entrepreneurs who have been successful online. Almost a full third of the book's text is turned over to Question-and-Answer profiles of entrepreneurs who started businesses including Zappos, Autobytel and e-Bags.com. Some of their experiences are interesting and may even be inspirational, but the Q-and-A format just felt like there was a lot of filler mixed in. If they had included only half of the 16 interviews in the book I would have been happier.

Even so, anyone coming new to the e-business world would find this a good introduction and guidebook. After reading this you should have a clearer idea of what you want to accomplish online and what the path to success looks like.

A Companion Book That You Might Find Helpful

A blog can be a great help to any Internet business. Done right, a blog can even be a business its own. Starting Your Own Blogging Business is a great nuts-and-bolts guide to building your own blog.

Author Jason R. Rich has good tips on how to choose a URL for your blog that will be easy to remember and help attract readers, and does a really strong job explaining what you need to examine with hosting services before you choose one.

If you interested in finding out more, here is a more detailed review of Starting Your Own Blogging Business that I have written:

Start Your Own Blogging Business: a How to Build a Blog Guide
Start Your Own Blogging Business, from Entrepreneur Magazine's Startup Series, is a comprehensive guide for anyone who wants to make money on the Internet th...

This book is aimed at people who are seriously looking to start doing business online. Is that you? Or have you already begun?

Entrepreneur Press has published well over 150 books aimed at helping people become successful with their own businesses. In addition to the Startup series, the company published the No B.S. books as well as a series of 50 guides on how to start your own business in each of the U.S. states.

In other words, no matter what kind of business you are interested in Entrepreneur Press probably has published a book that can help you. Check them out below!

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I've already explained that I think this book will help you if you want to begin an online business.I'd love to hear what other people are doing to become successful Internet entrepreneurs. Please share your thoughts. Thanks!