Step 1: Register Your Business Name
It will benefit you in the long run to register your business with a legal business name to ensure everything is legal. By doing this you will also keep other people from using your business name and benefiting from your hard work.
- Do a little research on the tax benefits of being incorporated (INC) or being a limited liability corporation (LLC) versus the disadvantages and see if either of those will give you an advantage for your business.
- Get a second address for your business for privacy and to keep your personal and business mail separate.
Consider renting a mailbox from your local post office to use as your second address. Make sure you get the best size for the amount of mail you will receive. You may also have the choice to pay in 3, 6, or 12 month incremental payments.
Step 2: Open a Business Bank Account
Open a separate business bank account to keep your personal and business expenses separate.
You can open a business bank account anywhere, but having a local branch nearby can be helpful, especially if problems arise and they can only be resolved in-person.
Explore different merchant accounts to take credit and debit card payments.
There are several options:
Traditional banks, PayPal, Stripe, etc.Banks will require more information about your business (including a business plan and forecasts) to grant you access to a merchant account.
Virtually anyone can apply for and get a PayPal or Stripe account (without providing the level of information a traditional bank requires), so you will be able to take payments more quickly.
Step 3: Open a New Google Account and Services
Set up a Google account to take advantage of Google services such as: Gmail/Google Analytics/YouTube/Etc
Head over to JVZoo and set up a free account.
You can set up a free JVZoo account to sell your own products and to promote other marketers’ products as an affiliate.
Step 4: Get Your Domain
Name and reliable Web Hosting To set up your own business website, the first thing you will need is a domain name.
Here are a few domain name registrars:
Namecheap
Don’t forget about reliable Web hosting:
Siteground
Try to register a domain name that has your main topic or keyword in the domain name. Doing this will help with your site’s ranking in the search engines and be easier for prospective customers to find.
Try to register a .com, .net, or .org domain name if possible- arguably, the three most-recognized domain name extensions.
Be sure your Web hosting provider provides good customer service whenever you have an issue via online chat, email or phone.
Also be sure your Web hosting provider has reliable uptime for your site. You can’t afford to have a provider that can’t keep your site up and running at all times.
Step 5: Create Your Website and Graphics
Decide which website creation software you plan to use to make and edit Web pages. Most web hosting providers have website creation software you can use or use a content management system (CMS) like:
WordPress/Drupal/Joomla/Etc
Doing it yourself will save on costs and time in the future if you learn how to effectively work with the software you decide to utilize. When adding products to your website, be sure to create cover graphics to give a nice visual representation.
When doing this, people will be more likely to click on them and check out the offer. Most Internet marketers provide their affiliates with graphics and sales copy to promote their products- use them in your promotion of such offers and place them appropriately on your website.
Step 6: Send Some Traffic To Your Site
Traffic is the lifeblood of your business because no traffic equals zero sales. Quality traffic is especially vital. There are free and paid traffic-generating methods. You can use any combination of them to get quality traffic to your site.
Here are a few to get you started:
Social media marketing / Viral marketing / Content marketing / Facebook advertising / PPC advertising / Solo advertising
Step 7: Count Your Profits and Pay Your Taxes
Don’t spend your early profits frivolously because the tax man will come knocking before you realize it.
Remember: Be sure to put enough money aside to pay your yearly business taxes. It will always benefit you to invest some of your earnings into yourself. Increase your knowledge of current marketing methods so you can stay profitable.
