Monday, April 18, 2022
Friday, April 15, 2022
Applying For A Business Online
Starting a business has never been easier. Doing business online has made starting and running your own business easier than ever before. With the growth of social media, different people from different backgrounds and geographical areas are connected regardless of their income status. There are different ways of doing business online. You can opt to start an e-commerce marketplace or use third-party platforms such as eBay and Amazon. You might also decide to start your own e-commerce site, depending on the type of business you would like to venture in. One of the most important aspects of doing business online is the legal aspects of a startup. Before starting a business, whether online or not, there are a few legal documents you require. Without the legal documents, your business might not thrive as it will be operating against the law. Filing your business paperwork can be challenging, but it’s better to do so in order to avoid both federal and state laws affecting your business operations. Top 5 Legal Tips to Apply Online for an E commerce Business
1. Register for Employer Identification Number Employer Identification Number (EIN) is a business identification number comprising of nine digits. It helps the government to identify your business. Register for EIN as it is in your best interest to always pay taxes on the goods you associate your business with. Identify your business with the tax ID in all government forms. A tax ID can help you gain credibility with your suppliers. However, international companies do not need a tax ID if they don’t have employees based in the US. Visit your local IRS state to apply for EIN or download the application form from the website and apply. In case you don’t have employees working for you, just apply for ‘identification purposes’ to avoid confusion later.
2. Register Your Domain Name Once you have come up with a business name, register the domain name immediately. You wouldn’t want to find out later that the name you came up with already exists. create a domain name in line with the products you intend to deal with, for the sole purpose of being found online easily when people make relevant searches.
3. File a Fictitious Name Statement File a ‘Doing Business As’ form to enable people to know that you and your business are one. The fictitious name statement verifies that you are the person responsible for all legal and business transactions for your business site.
4. Obtain a State Labor Agencies License If you have employees in your online business, you have to register with the state. However, depending on the state, you might be required to register as the only employee if you don’t have one.
5. Go through Online Business Regulations Digital taxation, security, copyright and privacy are the items that distinguish online businesses from physical stores and other forms of businesses operated offline. A lot of these regulations may affect retailing businesses. However, even if you are not involved in retailing, ensure you go through regulations on online businesses, especially those on advertising. If you are operating your own e-commerce website, ensure you also go through the specifics of online business laws.
7 Free Ways to Quickly Grow Your Online Business
1. Take Advantage of Free Marketing Tools
The Internet is full of free marketing tools from email marketing campaigns to designing perfect social media graphics. While it may take a bit of effort to find tools that work best for you, the end result is a far more streamlined system. Let’s say you want to publish a post on your Twitter, Facebook and accounts for the business. Instead of going to each one of these, which is time-consuming, you can use free tools like Buffer and simultaneously share the post with all three. In fact, there are a number of social media marketing tools you can start using right now to boost your business. While some may have a monthly subscription fee, many will have free or trial versions you can test out immediately. If you have a website on WordPress, there are thousands of plugins you can choose from to grow your business in 2020. For example, you can check out Hub Spot's free WordPress Plugin that offers a rich set of tools to boost your sales and marketing performance: CRM, forms, email marketing and more. If you don’t have your business listed in Google, you’re missing out. Because of how local searches operate on the search engine today, people in your area may never see your business listed in the results page. One of the first things you should do right now is use Google My Business. It’s a free platform rich with data while making sure your local customers know where your store is located. The Internet is full of free marketing tools from email marketing campaigns, like Hub Spot's Free Email Marketing, to designing perfect social media graphics. While it may take a bit of effort to find tools that work best for you, the end result is a far more streamlined system. While you may receive more benefits from certain marketing tools by paying for premium service, sometimes the free versions are all you need. The point is you need to push the limits of these free tools to benefit.
2. Be Mobile-Friendly
Everyone needs to have a mobile-friendly website today. More than 54% of people browsing the Internet are doing so from smartphones and tablets. If your site isn’t responsive or has a mobile variant, you may alienate more than half of your consumers. Being mobile-friendly includes a variety of adjustments to the website. No Flash video: Most mobile devices do not work well with Flash. Optimized images: Rendering graphics takes bandwidth and time. Always use the correct sizes for your site. Trappable elements: Text links are often too small for thumbs. Use larger buttons that are easy to touch or click. Easy navigation: Don’t overfill the navigation menu. If it fills the screen of a smartphone, it often appears overwhelming. Easy Functionality: Visitors should be able to easily manage the site from a 3-inch screen. Some aspects of being mobile-friendly do not require a monetary investment. Things such as modifying images to fit, redesigning the menu bar and more can be done easily by yourself. In fact, using systems like WordPress hosting already does most of that for you. It’s already mobile responsive without making adjustments. An easy way to get an idea of what your site looks like on a mobile device is to shrink your computer’s web browser. By adjusting its height and width on your screen, you can get an idea of what people see when looking at your web pages.
3. Deliver High-Quality Content
Creating high-quality content is important whether it’s a company blog or a product description. It’s all about engaging the audience and giving them what they need: information. This information needs to be delivered in a way that keeps readers connected. Avoiding text blocks, separating points with headers and keeping the language easy to absorb is only the beginning. Another important aspect of content to keep in mind is remaining factual. Always base your material on evidence you can collaborate with other sources. As we live in an age where “fake news” is tossed around frequently, you want to make sure your business is seen as a legitimate source. In other words, you want your company to be viewed as an authoritative figure. Authority works to improve brand reputation as well as search engine ranking. High-quality content also involves other elements outside of text as well. While content is and always will be king, the delivery of that information is greatly important.
Site Speed As many as 53% of people on mobile devices give up on a site that takes more than three seconds to load. This means the site as a whole needs to be optimized for speed. If you use platforms like WordPress, you have access to a variety of tools to improve the performance of your website. Design Layout More than one-third of visitors will leave a site if the layout is poor. Color choices, graphics and even the overall layout of the site’s functions can cause issues for certain users. You need to deliver a good visual and functional experience for everyone visiting the website.
Avoid Fluffing Don’t try too hard to achieve a certain word count. This often leads to what’s known as, “fluff.” It’s content within an article that doesn’t seem to have a purpose other than stretching out how many words are on a web page. It can confuse your readers as well as search engine bots for optimization.
4. Diversify Your Operation
Growing a business often involves diversifying the operation. There’s nothing wrong with including elements that will help you draw in a larger crowd or benefit from existing traffic. Being diverse with your business grows income while keeping the company protected from market shifts. Like the adage goes, “Never put all of your eggs in one basket.” Keep the business flexible and easy to adapt to trends and changes. Here are a few points of what I’m talking about.
5. Focus On Your Target Audience
Focus the business on your particular audience. The more you streamline content, products and services, the higher the quality of your visitors. This means you’ll target those who are most likely to spend money with your business. For example, you wouldn’t want to create guest blog posts on a website that centers around lawn care products if you sell kitchen appliances. Any marketing you do needs to stay relevant to what you offer. The target audience will influence everything from the type of content you create to the brands of products you stock. This is a key element you’ll need to discover if you want the best chances of success. One mistake a lot of new businesses make is trying to target “everyone.” This often leads to a haphazard marketing strategy and winds up being overly expensive in the long run. Keep your focus on those who are going to directly benefit from the business. Later on, when you’re ready to pump money into ads, knowing your audience is going to save you a lot of money. Instead of showing ads to anyone, you can fine-tune them to show only to those people who will most likely make a purchase. If you’re unsure who your target market is, take a look at free tools like Google Analytics. By going over the activity data of your website, you can get an idea of who likes what when it comes to your business. Many eCommerce platforms come with a variant of this tools as well. Another good way to scope your potential buyers is to take a look at your direct competition. How do they have their content set up? What seems to be working well for them? Answer these questions and make your site better.
6. Integrate Social Media
Wednesday, April 13, 2022
10 online business ideas for e-commerce beginners in 2022
It is easier than ever for anyone to start a business with or without business experience in this “online age.” The cool thing about starting an online business is the freedom to make money from anywhere. However, there are plenty of small business ideas out there, and deciding on one can be quite a task. This article is for beginner entrepreneurs considering starting an online business. In this post, we’ll discuss how feasible it is to become a first-time e-commerce entrepreneur, as well as viable business ideas you can consider this 2022.
2. SEO consulting If you have a good knowledge of SEO (Search Engine Optimization), you might consider starting a consulting business for companies with websites. With the rise in online business, many companies and brands are obsessed with staying ahead of their competitors by ranking high and turning their searchers into customers. However, only a small percentage of these people have in-depth knowledge of SEO, schema, link building, and other digital marketing methods. A good SEO consultant helps analyze how a brand’s website is doing and prescribes an effective strategy that increases traffic and customers. This business is in demand, and if it’s something you are good at, consider launching your idea.
3. Virtual online training The pandemic showed everyone, including the education sector, that learning doesn't have to stop even in crises. In 2020, many people had to study online, offline-based institutions moved online, and people with skill sets in specific areas translated their knowledge into online courses and training. It’s true, there are already so many online learning platforms, however, the demand for them keeps increasing. Many people are turning to online platforms to learn new skills and access valuable resources. Whether fitness, digital marketing, SEO, or UI/UX design, whatever niche you are good at, 2022 is a great time to package your knowledge and skills and sell that to people. Some ways to sell your online course include organizing online training sessions, self-publishing a valuable eBook, and making tutorial videos. If you can't decide what to sell as a course, leverage apps like Social Triggers that teach people how to sell what they know.
4. Become a freelance app developer/web designer Technology has made app and software development a great niche to start a business online. Also, more and more companies need app developers to create mobile apps and websites. Chances are, anyone who wants to start an online business at this time would need a website, and they may not have the technical know-how to create it on their own. Also, existing sites are always looking to upgrade and improve their sites to meet customers' needs. If you are creative and have an interest in coding, HTML, CSS, and other aspects of web design, then being a freelance web designer could be one of the best online business ideas for you. Meanwhile, if you have no experience in this field, you can leverage valuable web design resources, courses, and tutorials available for beginners.
5. Freelance graphic designer/writer Freelancers enjoy flexibility; they have the chance to accept projects to fit their schedules. Also, with freelance platforms like Up work and Fiver, freelancers get to decide what to work on and who to work with. If you have a flair for graphic design, you can showcase your work and cater to the demands of small and large businesses. Almost every online brand requires the services of a designer to create info graphics, logos, posters, and other visual designs. Also, if you have writing skills, you can use your talent to get job offers to write blog posts, eBooks, and sales copy from people across the globe.
6. DIY craft seller Do you love design and crafts, art and aesthetics? Now is a great time to build a storefront to showcase and sell handmade crafts or art. If you have beautiful handcraft you make at home, you can sell them on an e-commerce store. And if you can't make the goods yourself, you can get a supplier and sell it online. Also, creatives like photographers and artists can convert their beautiful works and canvases into a source of income on their own e-commerce store.
7. Affiliate marketing Affiliate marketing works through recommending a product or service by sharing the referral link on your blog, social media, email, or other platforms. For every time someone clicks your referral link or makes an order through the link, you get a commission. Many businesses are looking for affiliate marketers to help them generate customers through effective word-of-mouth marketing. Sites like Amazon offer affiliate programs that work well for people looking to start in this niche. You can also consider other affiliate programs that suit your brand and niche.
8. Become an influence An influence earns through brand sponsorship. They work by helping brands promote their products or services on their page. Usually, influences have a large following on social media, and people see them as experts in a particular niche. For example, if you often post fashion tips and have a large following, you can become an influence for fashion brands and get paid for promoting their services. One great thing about influence marketing is the number of platforms available to use. You can start a podcast, become a TikToker, create a YouTube channel, or an Instagram account. The point of influence marketing is to become an expert in one or more niches, build a presence, have a lot of following, and you can get paid for promoting people’s products.
9. Social media management It’s safe to assume that every brand now understands the importance of social media marketing to promote their products or services. Social media is an integral part of online marketing, and it’s no wonder many businesses are now investing in it. However, managing their own social media accounts is not an option for many business owners due to other tasks that require their attention. They would rather outsource this job to social media enthusiasts and experts who understand social media marketing and are able to manage their pages.
10. Niche market retailer Whether it's clothing, furniture, or pet supplies, there are buyers for almost everything. If you don't consider yourself skilled at social media management, affiliate marketing, or other online business ideas, you can create an e-commerce store to sell specific products. You can do some research to see what products you could sell on your online store. Setting up an e-commerce store is relatively easy nowadays you can create your hosting service with integrated e-commerce software or list your products on an e-commerce marketplace.
Here are three reasons why now is a great time to either launch a podcast, become an app developer, go into affiliate marketing, or launch an idea that can bloom into a successful online business.
1. Plenty of opportunities The pandemic has made it evident that many things can work online, and this is the best time to start a business in the comfort of your home. From online fitness to online courses and home delivery, many opportunities emerged from the pandemic to cater to people’s changing needs. Online platforms connect businesses to the right customers, and if you have the right business ideas, you will find plenty of opportunities.
2. It’s easier to sell and buy things online The e-commerce business model was widely adopted during the OVID era as many brick and mortar businesses had to close, and many people had to buy online. People are getting used to buying and selling online, so why not make the best of the situation? Individuals with business ideas can take their businesses online and reach a wide range of audiences with the help of different online platforms and tools.
3. Advanced technology Technology companies and financial institutions are becoming more advanced in supporting e-commerce businesses. Now, it's easier to start an online store and take payments easily with minimal setup. So, this is a great time to leverage all the tools and resources to open a booming e-commerce business.
Best Online Business Ideas
Knowing how to make money online in today’s digital world gives you more flexibility in achieving financial independence. You can make quick money on the side or engage in full-time ventures. The most common ways to make money online involve investments, business opportunities, and remote work.
The 40 Ways To Make Money Online Online Business Ideas
Buy and Sell Domain Names You can buy and sell website addresses similar to how you sell other commodities. Cost is as little as $10 per year for each. Business, geographic, generic, and famous names are easy to sell, so keep an eye on those and grab them as soon as they are available. Visit any domain registrar and search for a domain name you like, or you can ask the owner of the domain name if they are willing to sell. Make sure you choose ones that offer value or have built quality back links and traffic and then evaluate the price.
Start an Affiliate Blog Affiliate blogging is a career that allows you to use your writing skills to promote affiliate partner products in your blog content. The startup cost is relatively small, but you will need to invest time to build your network and create quality content to drive sales for the businesses you partner with. Your initial investment will go toward licensing, creating a professional website, marketing, and advertising efforts.
Start a Transcription and Translation Business A transcription business usually offers translations as well. If you have a keen sense of hearing and can type fast, you can start offering these services immediately. The startup cost is relatively low because it’s already possible to launch your service from the comfort of your home, doing away with storefront costs. All you need is your computer and a stable internet connection to make sure you’re always available to communicate with your clients. Information is also readily available online should you find yourself needing help with any proofreading issue.
Sell Subscription Boxes Subscription boxes are unique products that you can put together yourself. Typically, the boxes include curated items that align with a particular theme in which customers are interested. For example, there are themed options for clothing, kid crafts, razors, coffee, and more. Customers subscribe to websites that appeal to them to receive regular deliveries, usually a minimum of once monthly. It provides a fun experience for the shopper because it offers a personal touch to ready-made gifts. Pricing depends on the value of the products within the box and can range from $20 to more than $99 monthly. Once you decide the type of subscription boxes you want to sell, look for a platform to help on which you can set up your business. The best platforms help with everything from providing a pricing calculator to branding and shipping your subscription boxes. Crate Joy, for example, has a free subscription plan for aspiring subscription box sellers, but its paid plans have additional support
Start an E commerce Store Starting your own eCommerce store also means starting a career in online selling. You would be committing to providing customers an opportunity to shop conveniently for products in which you believe. This venture is very versatile, meaning entrepreneurs from any background or with any expertise can establish their own online store. You need a professional online store builder. Use Shoplift for a fast and easy way to create an online store with beautiful, responsive themes for your eCommerce business. Choose from the many Shoplift themes and features like drop shipping with Lobber to help you curate and add products automatically to your store.
Sell Your Artwork to Publishers There are other opportunities for fine art experts apart from selling their designs on online marketplaces like Easy. Professional artists and designers can also create artwork specifically for publisher clients. These designs can be used as illustrations and book covers for e-books, hardbacks, and paperbacks. Like any other artist, you will need your own portfolio to show potential clients your drawing style. You should also consider setting up your website to showcase your designs and create a digital resume. Once you have this, share your website link on professional networks like LinkedIn groups to reach potential clients.
Start a Premium Consulting Chat Group Premium, members-only online chat communities allow experts to share information with their audience in real-time. In the chat, you can share content, make introductions, expose local meetups, and help members better understand the marketing trend. For example, marketers can home in on an emerging trend like account-based marketing or voice app marketing, create a premium chat group and then charge $20 per month for access.
How to start: Choose from any popular platform like Slack, Whats App, Telegram, or Discord. You can then use tools like Citigroup, which makes it easy to charge for access and manage members on any platform.
Start Your Own Chat bot Agency Business pages on Facebook are now using chat bots to manage their customer care. While working with artificial intelligence (AI) messaging can seem intimidating at first, you can learn to make chat bots for free and start your own agency. Chat bot builders are inexpensive and easy to learn so that you can start your business with minimal investment. Select a chat bot builder platform like Mobile Monkey, and learn how to use the tool. It doesn’t require any coding skills, and there are templates to help get you started. There are also a variety of chat bot related services that you can offer independently, up sell, or even provide for free.
Become a Business Coach If you brand yourself as a business coach, this means you are starting a business based on your expertise in planning and implementing business strategies. You can share lessons from your experiences beyond your expertise and provide enough value on the topic to be considered an expert. You can create video courses in addition to your course materials. Decide what your course will be about and create a plan to follow when you design it. Your course should require about three months to finish. Anything longer may get customers discouraged and also asking for refunds.
Start an Online Flower & Gift Shop Flowers are so easy to source, and you can earn high margins per order. With online flower shops, you can upsell them with common gift items like chocolates, cakes, and jewelry and earn higher margins as you sell “packages” instead of one-off single bouquet orders. Network with the right suppliers and find the best one based on what your business needs. Afterward, create an Instagram or Facebook page for your business, establish a delivery system, and set your online payment platforms in order.
Offer Professional Bookkeeping Service Bookkeeping is one of the easiest and most profitable business ventures a person can start. Not only does every single business need bookkeeping services, but you can do it remotely from anywhere. The average freelance bookkeeper charges $20 per hour and must have basic knowledge of online bookkeeping tools. Get certified as a QuickBooks expert through a quick, easy, and free certification class called Quick Books Pro Advisor. Once you are a Pro Advisor, you will be able to post your bookkeeping business on the Quick Books registry for all businesses to see.
Offer Insurance Consultancy Services Independent online insurance consultants provide information to people about various insurance plan options. This works best for individuals who were previously employed as insurance consultants and are looking to start their own firm. They will have enough connections and resources to provide excellent advice to clients. You will need to get licensed in your resident state, purchase a web domain name, web hosting service, and be able to provide an online life insurance quote to generate your leads.
Start an Online Teaching Service Teaching kids can consist of helping them with their homework, review for tests, or learn special skills like music. You can do this online if you offer your teaching services to remote learners. English, science, and math are the subjects with the highest demand. There are even opportunities to teach English to children overseas, thanks to online communication tools like Skype. You don’t need to be an expert to become a tutor, but you will need to set aside the time to teach. It’ll be even better if you specialize in specific areas of learning. Make sure you design a website to showcase your credentials and add a signup form on the main page along with your contact details. Start a Graphic & Web Design Agency Small to medium-sized businesses usually do not have a budget to hire a graphic and web designer to their marketing team, which means they are looking to outsource when they need services. However, because companies need an online presence to stay competitive, they are willing to pay a premium to individuals who can provide this service. Many of the projects that graphic and web designing agencies undertake do not require a whole team to finish. Search for a local search engine optimization (SEO), internet marketing, or public relations (PR) agency and approach them about their need for a contract-based, remote designer to help with professional media creation.
Create Your Own Travel Agency A travel agency is considered a one-stop shop for travelers. This means you provide options for airfare, accommodations, transfers, and even holiday packages. As a travel consultant, your goal would be to offer the best travel package so that clients continue to pick you over competitors. Beginners can choose to obtain a franchise from a host agency and make the entire startup easy vs incurring the larger expenses of building an independent company. These companies will also offer short certification courses that help aspiring travel agency owners become knowledgeable about the online travel industry.
Tuesday, April 12, 2022
Working at Apple
Apple is where you’ll work with others who share your passion. Where business serves expertise. Where a healthy respect for courage and original thinking inspires you to bring your best to what we do together.
If you are a Colorado resident, this applies to you:
At Apple, we see the whole you. We carefully consider a wide range of compensation factors, including your background and experience. These considerations can cause your compensation to vary. Specialist starts at a minimum hourly rate of $17.00. The actual pay may be higher depending on your skills, qualifications, and experience. Additionally, this role might be eligible for discretionary bonuses or commission payments as well as relocation. Every Apple employee also has the opportunity to become an Apple shareholder, because all team members are eligible for stock grants and also a discount when purchasing Apple stock.
Working at Apple
Revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. Apple’s five software platforms iOS, iPad OS, mac OS, watch OS, and tvOS provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, and i Cloud. Apple’s more than 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.
Starting a Free Online Business
Start any business, you need to decide what products or services you will provide. Starting a free online business is no different. Start by thinking about your interests, passions, and skills. Do you have a hobby you can turn into a business? Do you have knowledge or skills others may want or need?
Brainstorm Your Free Internet Business Idea
It's important to choose an idea that you can stick with as opposed to searching for the cheapest or most profitable option. Building a business, you're passionate about increases the chances that it will succeed and that you'll enjoy it. The most affordable online business ideas will incorporate the skills or assets you already have. If you already know how to book keep and have bookkeeping software, that's less you need to invest time and money in learning and buying. As you make your list, don't filter out any ideas initially. You never know what obscure or odd idea could become a successful business. Later you'll research to identify the most viable and affordable ideas. But at the brainstorming point, write them all down.
Determine the Demand for Your Idea
While interest and passion are important, you also need to choose an idea that has a market. If no one is interested in what you have to offer, it doesn't matter how good you are at it; you won't have a business. Keyword Research Since your business is online, one place to start your research is by looking into keywords related to your idea. While you won't want to rely solely on search engines to bring you business, you do want to check to make sure enough people are searching for your idea. Start by making a list of words and phrases people would use to find your business topic. If you're selling virtual support services, what keywords would people use to find that? Once you have your list, you want to use a keyword tool to tell you how often those terms are searched. There are many tools, some free and some paid you can use. SEO Book offers a free keyword tool. Enter your term, and the tool will tell you how many times its searched on the major search engines each month. It will also provide related keywords.
Once you have a list of good keywords, enter them into a search engine to see what results are returned. Are the top sites listed online stores, blogs, or service providers? It doesn't hurt to visit the sites, so you can see what they're offering and whether or not you can offer something different or better. Your goal in keyword search as part of choosing your online business idea is to find the keywords that best combine the highest volume (popularity) with the fewest results returned in a search (competitiveness). Market Research Just because a term has a lot of searches, doesn't mean it's a viable business idea. Along with popularity, it has to have a market that is willing to pay. A keyword term like "free bookkeeping help," suggests people don't want to pay for services, and therefore wouldn't be a good indicator of whether or not you should start a bookkeeping service. So along with keyword research, you want to do a feasibility study to determine if there are enough people who are ready, willing, and able to pay for what you're offering. This research not only will tell you if you have a potentially profitable idea, but it will also help you identify your target market; the people most likely to buy.
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