7 Barriers to Starting an Online Business

The internet has spawned a massive amount of entrepreneurs due to the easy access and low cost requirements to startup an online business. This may be easy to the technology-laden entrepreneur but to the bricks and mortar business person, there are challenges to moving your business online. Regardless of your starting place, there are solutions to overcome the 7 barriers to starting an online business.

1. You have a lack of technology skills. If you are new to the internet, there is a learning curve to become proficient using this technology. If you have no interest in entering the "geek" world, you can always outsource the technical aspects of the internet. You may want to go to websites such as Elance and Guru that connect businesses with freelancers. Here, you can submit a proposed project and budget to get proposals from various freelancers. You can then evaluate and select the best proposal to meet your business needs.
2. You have too many ideas and make little progress on your projects. Many online entrepreneurs are constantly chasing the latest idea but make little progress at developing their online business. The answer is simply to set a goal and focus on completing it before you move on to your next project. It is important to be specific about your goals and make your goals be measurable. You also want to have different goals for different time periods such as daily, weekly, annual and even 5-10 year goals. The better the goals the more progress and success you will have with your online business.
3. You have a lack of capital to invest in your new business. While the internet is a very low-cost application, you will need some capital to get started. You will likely need capital for a website, hosting, marketing and other initial expenses. You can always save your money until you are ready to launch your business. You can borrow money from friends and family. The latest internet trend is to access capital at social lending websites such as Prosper. At this website, you can submit your project and the amount of capital you are requesting. The lenders will accept a specific amount of funding with a desired interest rate and payback period. Your request can be met by the accumulation of numerous lenders each providing a portion of the requested capital.
4. You have no product to sell online. This is a frequent problem for those who are looking to start their first online business. You may want to determine what it is you enjoy such as your hobby or other recreational pursuits. You can often take your offline career online such as writing, marketing, etc. I am aware of at least one person that enjoyed playing video games for recreation. This person started an online business by selling an ebook with tips on how to succeed at specific video games. Other offline ideas that I have seen established as online businesses include: guitar lessons, personal trainers, staging a home and many others.
5. You don't know how to build a website. Having a website is a critical part of your online business. Having the ability to build a website is not always necessary. You can refer back to item 1 and look to outsource your website development. There are a significant number of website developers that can create any type of website you need at a reasonable cost as this industry is very competitive. Secondly, if you are up to learning new things there is a number of website programs that can be learned as the software is becoming easier to use by the general public. The days of having to know HTML is ending as most programs are point and click applications.
6. You have a lack of sales from your online business. Having a good website is critical but you must remember what a website is designed to do. The websites purpose is to make sales. This happens as potential consumers are directed by the sales copy on your website. The key to writing effective sales copy is learning how to use persuasive words to entice your customer into buying your product. Initially, you may want to outsource your sales copy to a professional copywriter. However, sales copy is such an important part of sales that it is a valuable skill to learn by taking online classes or seminars.
7. Your online business need more traffic. You definitely need traffic if you want to grow your sales but traffic is not always the solution. First, make such you have a simple and functional website. Secondly, evaluate your sales copy to ensure it is effective at converting customers into sales. Lastly, monitor the amount and quality of traffic your website receives. You must know who your targeted customers are as well as where to find them on the internet. You can employ a search engine optimization (SEO) strategy to improve your ranking in the search engines or you can bid on keywords at the search engines. Both methods do require a level of sophistication and have a learning curve to reach proficiency. It is worthwhile to learn all you can about building traffic to your website.

You have just read about the common barriers to creating an online business. To be successful, you want to create an attractive website that builds trust with your customers. Who wants to give their money to someone they do not know or trust? You must also educate your customer on your product or services. To make the sale, you must focus on the benefits of your product or service and not on the features. Said another way, it is benefits that sale not features.

A simple success line would be to tell the truth, showcase the product and cross sale whenever possible. Of course, once you overcome the seven barriers you can attain unlimited success with your online business.