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Can you afford to go online?
<www.zeennet.com>, he has many years of professional experience in the fields of eBusiness Development, Search Engine Optimisation, and Internet Marketing.
Whether you can or can’t afford the expense of a Web site is an important question to ask yourself. Can your business sustain the initial outlay needed to create an online business?
It really depends on the nature of your Web site, but set-up costs could range from as little as $1,000 up to more than $20,000. Of course, that also depends on whether you decide to develop and design your own Web site from scratch or if you bring in a professional to do it for you.
E-Business Solutions Centre (ESC) is a good example. ESC’s online presence has been a success with 40 per cent of its sales now being generated from its Web site. However, it has had to grow and expand to deal with the positive customer response.
Apart from the initial expense of setting up the Web site, ESC has had to employ additional staff to cater for business generated from its site. It has also created an Information Technology department to keep its Web site fully functional, fresh and operating at optimum levels.
It will be these types of costs you will also have to factor in. It is important to prepare for the best and the worst case scenarios. If your site exceeds your expectations and you begin to become swamped with business from your online arm, then it may have a damaging impact on your overall business if you are not keeping up with customer orders and satisfaction.
To work out how much your site can cost you, set yourself a working budget. You should:Figure out your budget based on how much money you would save by having the online presence based on a certain time frame, for example, 12 months.
- Combine that figure with any extras you can afford to add to give you an amount you will be comfortable in spending.
- Investigate thoroughly the options available to you when it comes to setting up a Web site.
- Try not to over extend yourself financially. You do not want to be faced with a huge uphill financial battle at the beginning. However, it is worth remembering you have to spend money to make money.
- Look at a cash flow chart based on the best and worst possible outcomes. After putting in the necessary research, outline what you think will be your monthly expenses and income for your Web site.
- Not be put off in the first few months of online trading. You really need to give it time to work for you.
When it comes to making money and Web site overheads, it is also important to aim at converting information requests into sales. There is no use employing extra staff to handle the rise in customer requests for information via your Web site if you are not making any sales.
The site is then costing you money and is not serving its function correctly – helping you make money.
For small business products and services please visit at www.zeennet.com
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