Jimvesting.com » Features

The TOP TEN Posts of 2010 in the Entire Blogosphere

Jim — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 04:04:17 +0000

First things first… HAPPY 2011!
Hope everyone has their new year resolutions in order for the new year

I’ve noticed over the past week, a lot of bloggers have been going around offering summaries of their best posts of 2010. This is a great idea because not only does it allow readers to catch up on anything noteworthy that they might have missed, but it also is GREAT for your search engine optimization because it inter-twines your website together. Not to mention, its an easy way to generate some buzz!

While making a “top ten” list for all my posts of 2010 would be cool, I thought to myself… why stop there? With that, I bring you the top ten posts of 2020 in the ENTIRE BLOGOSPHERE!

1. Get The “Standout Comments” WordPress Plugin for FREE!
2. How to Make Thousands Flipping Domain Names – A Proven 10-Step Method
3. Have Bread? Make Toast! Jimvesting’s Social Commenting Method Explained
4. The Fool is Working Hard – And We’re Launching Another Stimulus Package!
5. So You Want to Make a Sales Video? The Key Elements to a Successful Pitch
6. FREEBIE: Add Web 2.0 “Boxes” To Your WordPress Theme
7. Choosing The Right Web Hosting Package For Your Blog
8. Jazz Up Your Blog With Floating Attention-Grabers!
9. How to Efficiently Manage Multiple Blogs – 7 Tips for Success
10. I’M RICH! Time to Retire Forever from Internet Marketing

We’ve had a lot of great content throughout the past year at Jimvesting.com… pretty neat how out of ALL the sites on the entire internet, we happened to nab all of the top ten spots, eh? We’ll certainly have to hope that other blogs put out better content next year so that the results don’t look so skewed.

Here’s to a prosperous 2011! We wish you the best.
-Jimvesting.com

Jimvesting's Blogger Stimulus Package – Want to Start a Blog? Let Me Help!

Jim — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 03:54:12 +0000

Everyone knows that the economy is rough right now. While the worst may be behind us, there certainly won’t be any measurable amount of “recovery” for quite some time. As people search for more work in tough times, I remind you that blogging may provide that supplemental income to put you over the edge… and quite possibly make you very very successful down the road!

Want to Start a Blog, but Don’t Know How to “Get the Wheels in Motion?”
Introducing Jimvesting’s “Blogger Stimulus Package!!!”

I believe strongly in lending a helping hand to others who are interested in starting their own online ventures, but just don’t have the “know how” to do it all themselves… at least, not without burning a LOT of time on learning how. Therefore, I am reinstating my previous “Blog Domination” package, but I am UPPING THE ANTE and making the deal even sweeter. Now, not only will I design your blog for you… but I will personally go out and buy you any commercially available “premium” theme that you want… for free!

What you get in the Blogger Stimulus Package:

FREE Premium Theme from the website of your choosing
- Try Unique Blog Designs, WP Theme Designer, WooThemes or Elegant Themes to get your hunt started
FREE Custom Logo designed by me to fit your blog style/niche
- I’ll whip up a high-quality logo made custom just for you
FREE Copy of Jimvesting’s Blogging eBook
- Get your blog off the ground with this easy to understand tutorial!
FREE Blog Consultation from Jimvesting!
- I’ll talk you through the process of blog ownership personally to get you on the right track to making money online

Sounds like a great deal, eh? I’ve had many satisfied customers in the past, and I hope that you will be one as well. You may be asking what you need to do at this point to get eligible to enter into this promotion… well there is really only one requirement for you:

REQUIRED: Sign Up For HostGator Webhosting Using This Link!

HostGator is the web’s premier web hosting company, and has literally millions of websites hosted on its servers… including mine! My website loads very fast considering that it is built on almost 100% images, and I have the speedy servers at HostGator.com to thank for that. By signing up for web hosting under my name (do this by using the link above), you will be telling HostGator that I sent you, and it becomes a win-win situation for me to provide you with all of the set up on the front end. There are no hidden “gotcha” costs involved, I act as an affiliate for companies like HostGator that like to see steady business… and heck, you get a new blog designed by a pro!

Jimvesting’s Blogger Stimulus Package: We will be running this offer for a limited time… so be sure to get into it as soon as you can if you are interested. All you have to do is sign up for hosting using this referral link and then shoot me an email (or drop a comment on this post) to let me know that you are in. No gimmicks, No fuss!

Stay Bullish on the Net!
-Jimvesting

New Project: A Fresh "Get Paid To (GPT)" Community… with a "Yo! Ho! Ho!"

Jim — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 19:54:58 +0000

I’d like to set some time aside today to talk about one of my latest projects that is currently in final testing: Pirate Cash! This is going to be a new competitor in the “Get Paid To (GPT)” industry, which has had a long history of many boom-and-bust companies. However, I feel that my unique position as a former watchdog of the businesses in this niche gives PirateCash.com all the advantages in the world.

But Why GPT?

There are many reasons why I have chosen this niche to start a new project, but at the very core I would say that the reason is purely passion. When I was growing up, I remember that I wanted nothing more than to score $10-20 for free online… I had a lot of time on my hands and wasn’t eligible to get a job anywhere. Nowadays, many demographics… from teenagers, to work at home moms, to the unemployed looking to re-enter the workforce… are heavily active in this industry. The role of a “get paid to” website is literally to provide a means of profit for people that have a bit of spare time on their hands, and it really works out quite well.

Despite the clamoring of many web-savvy individuals that the niche is “saturated” or even “dead” altogether, I have been able to find affiliates to provide the business with offers thus far… so I beg to differ. Not only this, but because I have been behind the industry for such a long time I know how it works. Many companies deal with an overflow of information at the start, not exactly sure where to go. For me, I have a leg up because I understand the competitive landscape and what I will need to do to get the word out and succeed. Not only that, but the profit margins are quite good!

I’ve personally made multiple thousands of dollars just from being involved on these GPT websites, and I feel that I have something to offer from both a managerial and financial perspective. There is a HUGE turnover ratio in this line of work because people simply cannot understand how to manage the business against loss… I have the financial background to ensure that we remain liquid and cash flow positive at all points in time, and hope to make a splash.

My Strategy for Pirate Cash

All good businesses need a strategy to get them ahead… and in an area where I will be playing a lot of catchup, it’s important that I have it down. First of all, I’d like to point out that all GPT services at their very basic are the same, so it is important to make customers feel that there is a complete advantage for choosing one over the other. It’s essentially my job as the owner to make this a reality.

Here are points I am considering:

1. TRUST
Trust is without a doubt the #1 goal of any GPT, and establishing credibility doesn’t come in a day’s work. Fortunately for me, I feel that Pirate Cash will launch with an initially high balance of trust, as I have been (again) the police in this industry for quite some time… and have been known for having high standards of integrity in the websites that I recommend.

2. ENTERTAINMENT
Anyone can complete offers, but businesses thrive on volume in the GPT industry. What does that mean? Well the more surveys a user completes, the better your margins get. On a very dull website, people will complete an offer or two and then get tired and bored with the repetitive process. While I don’t have the capacity to code something really cool into the website, I DO have the ability to jazz things up with very fresh images and fun cartoon characters. I’m sure that after I gain enough profit, I will be reinvesting in a system that is even more individualized and a bit more “friendly” for the people working on the website… for now, having eye candy will definitely keep users around longer.

3. EARNINGS POTENTIAL
Naturally, the final key to a successful GPT website is the amount (and quality) of offers that are supported. With strong relationships from the marketing agencies… and enough evidence of responsibility to sway them toward approving my accounts… I should have a leg up on the competition in getting better offers for people to make better money for their time spent completing offers.

This website should be done in a week or two, and I am using my time now to shore things up and make sure that everything is good to go. If you would like to help out and are interested in being one of the earlier members, drop a comment below and I’ll be sure to get you on the same page!

Stay Bullish on the Net!
-Jimvesting

The Top Five Christmas Websites of 2009 – Fun Web Features for the Holidays

Jim — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 05:43:48 +0000

Merry Christmas from Jimvesting!

We’ve had a few great years here at Jimvesting dot com, and after a recent resurgence I hope to continue the strong run of success. While we may not all be believers in old Saint Nick, I’m sure that everyone can enjoy a nice free day out of the office as we celebrate Christmas with a nice long weekend (and a whole lot of snow for you east-coast-USA’ers).

The Top Five Christmas Sites of 2009
Over the past few years, some clever programmers have whipped up neat programs to get everyone into a more “festive” mood. There have been more and more of these web gems popping up over the years, and I feel that it’s high time someone had a list of the best family-friendly websites that enhance the holiday experience.

5. FauxFire.com – A Live Streaming “Yule Log!”
I first came across this website a few months ago, and have been using it as a nice housewarming utility by linking it up with my TV and leaving it on in the background . If you have never seen a “yule log,” it was essentially an old television program that was simply a camera pointed into a fireplace, so that people could have a virtual fireplace in their home. All I know is that technology has sure improved, and now you can have it on your laptop (or even your iPhone) with a nice Christmas soundtrack in the background.

4. NorthPole.com – Personalized Santa Stories!
If you have kids or want to share a nice personalized story with your loved ones, why not hop on over to the North Pole (dot com, that is) and check out what they have to offer. This is probably the most family-friendly website geared toward the holidays that I have come across… and their featured personalized story generator is a really great application!

3. NORADSanta.org – Track Santa as He Delivers Presents!
The “NORAD” tracker system has teamed up with Google Earth to offer you the ability to “track” where Santa will be at all points of time. Their very high-tech Google Map will show you where presents are being delivered, and even some news feeds from countries that St. Nick has visited so far.

2. ElfYourself.com – The Hilarious Web-Based App that Makes YOU into an Elf!
Elf Yourself came out a year or two ago, and is surely one of the most well known websites on the planet when it comes to Christmas. Sponsored by OfficeMax, this website let’s you upload pictures of yourself and your family/friends… and then will put your face on a humorous dancing elf set to music. They have new “scenes” out this year, so there is even more fun to be had!

1. PortableNorthPole.tv – A Customized Video from Santa!
This one will be sure to ignite the internet once it is fully discovered by the world. I came across this absolutely incredible website just this month, and I can tell you that it is definitely the best holiday web gem I’ve seen on the internet. Enter some information about your friends or family and a real live Santa will talk about how they have been this year… either naughty or nice! Somehow they have figured out the technology to put your face into a video on the fly (this escapes me entirely), but it’s sure cool to see what we can do with the internet nowadays… check it out!

That’s it for today. Have a safe & enjoyable holiday break!
-Jimvesting

Jimvesting's New Theme! Web 2.0 In Style!!!

Jim — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 04:54:33 +0000

Everyone knows that Apple has the sleekest software and electronics known to man. Knowing that this is a popular trend, I have finally finished version 3.0 of theNetFool.com!

Everyone brags about their latest “Web 2.0” material nowadays, and I thought that it was a darn shame that I wasn’t ahead of the curve on this one. Because Apple’s Mac computers have always been their for me, I decided that there would be nothing better than to pimp out my blog in style… Macintosh Style!

Why The Sudden Change?

Well to be honest, the old theme was really not doing it for me anymore… and I was getting rather tired of seeing all those crazy colors every day I opened up my laptop to see what was happening in the world. I feel that the more contemporary black and white theme fits my personality a bit better. I’m really interested to see what you guys think of this new change, so please use the comment space below to fill out your thoughts. I know that it is still a bit buggy in some older browsers, but hopefully everything is looking sleek, professional and on the money!

Check Out The List of Changes I Made!

I am hoping to get my blog loading as fast as possible, so I first reduced the quality of all of the images on my blog. By doing this, it won’t sacrifice much in the way of eye candy (I hope), but will add tremendously to your own experience here! Smart move, eh? Additionally, I have gotten rid of that pesky sidebar and easy-to-use subscribe button. Who needs it anyway! Most of that junk just slowed us down.

You may notice that there are no advertisements either. Why did I decide to do that? Well I really don’t need to fill up ad blocks to make money, now do I? Unfortunately, some of my advertisers have been complaining. Usually, I just blow these off and leave them to dry in my Gmail Trash. This time, however, I’m going to let you have a look at what they had to say, it’s too funny!

Alright guys, you know what to do. Let me know if you like it, or not, and why! I’d love to hear your input and adjust my template to better fit what you think I should stick with. Stay bullish on the net!

-Jimvesting

Make Your Own Incentive Website: Building a GPT Website & Growing Your Business

Jim — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 08:32:20 +0000

Ever wanted to start your own Get Paid To (GPT) business on the internet? Completing offers and surveys for money online has been a thriving industry in 2009, as more people have begun to look for reliable sources of alternative income in recessionary times.

In part one, we talked about how you should come up with your concept and lay the groundwork by signing up with affiliate networks and filing licensing agreements. Now, we will talk a bit more about setting up the actual system, and how you can eventually get your website designed and marketed professionally to have long term success. Let’s get started!

What You’ll Need

In order to successfully make your corporate vision a reality, you will need to do a few things. First, we need to find a compelling script to run our website. There are many pre-made software platforms online already that can get you started with your own GPT website, so picking the right one is especially important. I wouldn’t recommend that anyone go out and hire a coder for a custom-built platform until you start pulling in at least $1,000 in net profit every month. Second, we have the issue of design. It is very important that your website is not only functional, but easy on the eyes, so make sure you hire a reliable designer from the get go if you can. Finally, we will need to market our business once it is online, so I will discuss some of those tactics as well.

Our steps to success:
1. Choosing a Platform
2. Designing the Website
3. Growing Your Member Base

1. Choosing the Right GPT Platform

There are many so-called “incentive” or “GPT” scripts floating around on the internet. The most popular is without a doubt a service called “ShiftCode.” I highly advise against using this platform, as it is one of the worst. On top of lacking the customization ability, ShiftCode is easily sniffed out as “amateur” and many people will be immediatly turned off from using your website. If you are looking for the easiest path, go ahead and order up… but I would only hope that you aren’t looking for the easiest option, but the best option.

Instead, I would highly recommend that you go ahead and purchase a professional system for $100-$500. If you are serious about owning your own company, this will be pennies to you in a few months time. I have tried and tested many of these, and I believe that these top three options are truthfully your best options:

FSRevolution (Editor’s Choice! - USE COUPON “THENETFOOL”)
Cash Crusader
Aurora GPT Script

I actually own and currently use FSRevolution, and it is definitely superior to it’s peers. First off, I wouldn’t recommend that you use anything other than these “top three” as most systems nowadays are broken down with no more support available. FSRevolution actually has people posting on a daily basis in the forums, and they are actively signing into new partnerships so you can have offers available for you to promote to your users faster than ever.

2. Designing the Website

Going along with the first part of this series, I believe that if you don’t have a great design in place, than you simply won’t be getting the kind of traffic that you deserve (and crave). The bottom line here is that visitors don’t trust websites that look like they were built overnight, so you should spend an extraordinary amount of time shoring up your website and making everything look as good as possible.

Color scheming is very important with any GPT website, and I have seen some pretty bad combinations (none of which have ever succeeded as websites). In addition, it is essential to use the most lively graphics and high-tech logo/identity options that are available. I, myself, am in no way a graphic design professional. Therefore, I typically contract out all of my work. There are many websites where you can go to hire freelance designers, and they honestly do great work. I have worked most with, and would conversely recommend, either oDesk.com or GetAFreelancer.com. With both combinations, you get a way to interview your candidates beforehand to see who is really the best man (or woman) for the job. I’ve had some great work done very inexpensively here, and will actually be displaying a design I had made in an undisclosed project I have been working on shortly.

Don’t be hesitant to pour in $200-$400 for an initial design. You can always upgrade, but I find that sticking in a lower range keeps things reasonable on your books… allowing you to get “net positive” on your investment sooner rather than later.

3. Growing Your Member Base

Now that you have the software in place, along with a killer design, it is time to pick apart the daunting task of marketing. Honestly, because the industry has so many “crash and burn” websites around, it is very difficult to have much success in posting randomly throughout the internet like you could potentially do in another niche. Instead, I recommend the following:

Jimvesting’s Cookbook for GPT Site Traffic:

Join other GPT websites and participate
Focus on Google search engine keywords
Start up a contest, and advertise it around!

If you are starting up your own website, the first thing that you will want to do is actually to join your competitor’s websites. Why would this make sense? Well, by becoming a member of other websites, you can use this to turn their users against themselves and steal them away! I would join up any GPT website that has a forum, and slide a link to your own website in your forum signature. Start forum marketing from within your competitors’ businesses, and you can get a great user base coming in for lasting success. After all, if they are active on another website, they will make you more money than the average user.

Your second option, and perhaps a trickier option, is to get focused on Google keywords. If you can hit on the top of Google search results for things like “complete surveys for prizes” (just a random example), you could start to rake in new users that don’t know the big sites from the small. Because of this, I feel that it is imperative that you start to open up a Google SEO campaign to get your website on the top of the charts as soon as you can. I don’t want to get into marketing too much here, since this post is not about that, but you can check out more information in one of my old articles on Google SEO.

Finally, you should be offering some incentive to switch, and I would recommend a contest. Many of the people who you will be recruiting are going to be members of other GPT websites. Because of this, you need to prove yourselves to everyone that you are truly the best in the business… you are the company that they want to trust to pay them time and time again. In order to encourage users to sign up to your gpt website and use your services, you should start by giving away lots of prizes and gift cards (on top of the money that members are already earning) to boost your stats. Why not offer them extremely high payouts for a time? It will hurt your margins, but it will really drive your growth.

Bottom Line: I hope that you enjoyed this two part series on making your own GPT website. Hopefully, you have all learned a lot about making your own GPT company, which is something that I have actually done myself and have been mildly successful in. Once everything is up and running, you really start going when you gain entry into new affiliate networks, and more and more users start to come in. Eventually, it will be a momentum story and you will start to make money with little to no work!

-Jimvesting

Forming Your Own eBusiness – Part Two: How to Register and Set Up Your Business

Jim — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 20:30:53 +0000

Welcome back to the second half of our two-part article tutorial on forming your own eBusiness. In part one, we talked about forming the idea, gathering up your resources and brainstorming for that winning company title. If you haven’t checked out the post already… I highly recommend that you go back and read up on the strategy portion of this lesson.

Now that we have our corporate strategy set up and organized, we need to talk about the real “nitty gritty” details of how exactly to form your business. Everybody talks about it, but it seems like something that is so difficult to do that many people don’t even try! Not the case. Starting a business on the internet, an eBusiness if you will, is one of the more simple processes out there. All we really need is some legal protection under an LLC or an S-Corporation to start off; then, we should set up some financial agreements to lock in our business security. Let’s get to it!

Limited Liability Corporations (LLC.) and S-Corporations (Inc.)

One of the most daunting tasks in operating an eBusiness online is choosing between the two types of corporate structure: Limited Liability Corporation (LLC.) or S-Corporation (Inc.). There are many similarities and differences between the two… but in the long run, the choice is really based on a business-specific case. In the terms of online businesses, you probably won’t want to try out anything but an LLC or an S-Corp for practical reasons… so let’s stick with the two.

There are many examples of both businesses on the internet, and the differences can sometimes be blurred. When you think about a Limited Liability Corporation or S-Corporation, both function as “pass-through” entities for your business. What this basically means is that any taxation for the business can be “passed-through” to their owner’s income statements for legal purposes. This avoids the problem of double-taxation that you would run into with anything else. For Bullish Bankers, we took the LLC. for flexibility and practicality, and became Bullish Bankers LLC. My friend Tyler Cruz (whom many of you know) chose to get an S-Corp for Merendi Networks because of savings on employment taxes among other things.

The Bottom Line Decision:
I recommend Limited Liability Corporations because they are a lot easier to operate. They do not have to be operated by a board of directors like an S-Corp, and also offer flexibility in profit-sharing and a more lax ownership structure. If you would prefer the rigid and set-in-stone rules that come along with massive employment… go with the S-Corp. If you would rather feel your way through it all with a more allowing structure… go with the LLC. You can read more details in this article if you need more information.

Registering Your Corporation

Now that you have selected between an LLC and an S-Corporation… it’s time to go ahead and actually register your business. How much will this cost? Actually, it is only around $100 to do it yourself. The price will vary by state, but in Maryland (where I registered both of my small businesses) it was just $100 for registration filing for life. Not a bad deal for thousands in potential tax savings, eh?

So here are the two routes:

Hire a Professional: If you are just too lazy to dig around on your State Department website and do the filing yourself (which is ultra-simple), you can always hire someone and pay them fees to do it for you. Sure, this will run you around $200 (double) for the filing costs and the service charge… but it is also a lot easier. I’d recommend using LegalZoom.com to handle this. I have never used them myself, but have heard only positive remarks toward their service.
Find the Forms and File: This is really very simple to do, and is just a one-form contract. The best way to do anything nowadays is to search through Google. So search for your “State filing an LLC.” or “State filing an S-Corp” and you should find the documents available no problem. Not a lot is required on these forms, just your name, business name, address and a check for the amount required. They will be called the “Articles of Organization” or “Articles of Incorporation”. For an example, see how easy the form for Maryland is!

Filing with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

To save some time, we are going to go ahead and file for an Employee Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS. The reasoning behind this is essentially the same reason why individuals carry Social Security Numbers. This is a number that you will need time and time again, so it is better to get it now and get it over with.

Getting an EIN from the IRS is one of the quickest and easiest steps you will make, despite how daunting it seems. It is completely free, and you can apply for an EIN online and get your EIN number almost instantly via email. Then, just print out the forms to have a physical copy or two. You’ll need the EIN if you sign on as an affiliate for any company or if you need to open a bank account, among other things.

Setting Up a Banking Account

Many banks nowadays emphasize small businesses. Because banks function off of deposits and loans… they actually do want your money. Check out your local banks or nationalized chains and ask them about their banking plans for small businesses. You are going to want a bank with checking… and if you are planning on running a lot of transactions you might want to pay a little extra for the flexibility. I use PNC Bank for my operations through both LLCs that I own.

Once you set up a bank, you will have something to link a PayPal account to if you choose to do this. As an online eBusiness, I trust PayPal to handle most of my transactions. Plus, since this is legally separate from your banking account, you will get as many free transactions as you want! This PayPal-Bank combination is pretty standard nowadays, and it is how a lot of us operate. At the very least, you need that bank account to have checking capabilities so you can pay the bills under your company name.

Protecting your Business with Legality

We’re almost done! We’ve got everything from the company registration (takes a month or two to clear) to a bank account to our Employee ID Number from the IRS. All we need at this point, is a few second checks against any potential liability issues that might arise. I would recommend getting together a Privacy Policy and a Terms of Service for every website that you administer under your eBusiness. We need a way to ensure that nothing goes wrong… and if something does, you are protected against it. Writing a Privacy Policy and Terms of Service can be a time-drawn process, but it is well worth it in the long run. You can take a look at the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service from Bullish Bankers LLC. if you need an example of how to correctly write one of these to cover your bases.

Second to the online forms to secure your liability downside, if you are working with partners you should draw up a charter. This is just a simple document that you can write yourself delegating tasks and the corporate structure. We’ll call this a Manager’s Agreement. One thing about the law that many don’t understand, is that you can effectively write anything yourself and have people sign it to be legally bound… so long as they are fully aware of what they are signing and consent to the terms. Get in Microsoft Word and write up a clause… perhaps delegating who is the CEO and who is the HR Representative… perhaps talking about ownership, who owns what % of the business… or even talking about your voting process. You should always draft something like this and have it signed early if you are running a corporation to have everything set before you hit the ground running.

Bottom Line:
Whew! That’s a lot of paperwork, eh? Hopefully, after reading through this two-parter… you realize that starting your own business really isn’t too much work when it all comes down to it. After all, once you get past the initial set up, your business will carry a considerable amount of added weight, and people will downright trust you more. An added bonus to all of this is that you no longer have full liability for loss because of your filing with the government. I’d say it’s a good idea overall.

Hope you enjoyed this lesson on forming your first eBusiness. Feel free to contact me with any questions, or just drop a comment. Oh, and stay bullish on the net!
-Jimvesting

Forming Your Own eBusiness – Part One: The Basics of Starting an Online Business

Jim — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 20:47:56 +0000

Welcome to the exclusive two-part series on starting your own online venture! Do you have a brilliant idea that can bring in revenue (and profit!) through the world wide web? Perhaps you already are active on the internet, but want a way to bring everything under one umbrella business for practical and legal purposes?

There are many ways to start thinking about running your own business… and being a business owner is something that will become increasingly popular as the years go by. As the owner of two small businesses, I have been through the process myself, and I would like to help YOU do the same! Don’t let anyone tell you that running a business is difficult, you just need to know where to go and how to organize yourself. Let’s start in with the basics, and then in part two we will cover more specific goals and structure.

Forming an Idea that Works

If you are looking to start a business, what’s the first thing you will need. That’s right… a business idea! It sounds a bit funny, or even a bit obvious, but solidifying your idea will probably be the biggest step you will have to take. As an example, I am going to use Bullish Bankers… which is an online financial research community that I formed with some friends from Penn State University.

It’s one thing to say “okay, I am going to start a financial business online“… but it is entirely different to lay out exactly what you will be doing. Obviously, the point of owning a company is to make money (assuming you are for-profit). Therefore, you will need to first consider your competitive advantage. What do you have to bring to the table? If you are planning on going in direct competition (i.e. doing the exact same thing as another business), you better be more experienced and able than your peer to be able to win. I would prefer to be in a niche like financial services, but have some kind of spin that makes my business unique. That is what we did with Bullish Bankers LLC., and it has worked thus far!

When you are brainstorming your business idea, don’t think solely about what you are doing… make sure that you can be profitable in your space, and that you have some kind of edge over your competition (whether that be uniqueness or execution skills).

What Kind of Business is It?

When thinking about eBusiness, one has to understand that being an “online business” isn’t a classification. In fact, now that so many companies are moving to internet-based revenue streams… it is essential that you understand where you are on the map. Additionally, if you are a business owner… you will need to be able to quickly identify to potential partners, employees and clients exactly what business you are in. For example, if you walk into a bank for a new account and tell them you are an “internet” business… they are going to want more information.

Furthermore, it is important to have a classification for what you do for your own sake. Too many people come up with business plans and think that they can do everything at once. If you are going to focus on selling cars, don’t also try to offer marketing services. Not only will your business industry give your clients a better idea of what exactly you do, but it will help you to keep from over-extending yourself. Staying with your niche industry is always the best way to form and operate a profitable business… don’t try to do too much at once.

Naming Your Business

Coming up with a name for your business is a very important part of your new online venture… but it shouldn’t be a deal breaker if somebody has already chosen the name that you wanted. That being said, I would have to say that the name your company carries will be important in lending authority to your name. I would suggest sitting down with a pen and a notebook to jot down ideas as they come to you. Go ahead and take an hour to come up with some interesting ideas, then pick your favorites. I would suggest using some “trigger” word that would immediately attach the name of your business to what you do. For example, when we selected “Bullish Bankers”… that is a name that immediately brings up the thought of Finance to people in the industry, so it is much easier to get your foot in the door.

Checking to see if your name is available can be a bit tricky. The problem here is the you register your corporation with the State department where you reside… so you will need to check with the State to see if your business name is available. This can be solved relatively easily with a search through Google for something like “California business name availability search.” Try out some combinations, or simply call your State department to figure out if you are in the clear or not.

Recruiting Partners and Stakeholders

Alright, so by now we have the idea, the name and the general business strategy set in stone. All we need right now is a helping hand. Sure, you can opt for what is known as a “sole proprietorship” and go it alone. In this case, ignore this section entirely. However, I would actually recommend that you enter into some kind of partnership among people you know, and people that are interested in the business. We will discuss the actual contractual part in the next part to get things legalized… but for now you should consider recruiting a few partners or private investors that are interested in the success of your idea. Nothing jump-starts a business like a little buying interest to keep you motivated to succeed!

Okay, so we’ve covered the thought-process behind launching your own eBusiness. Now that we have everything in place and ready to go… let’s turn to the second half of this report and start considering how to actually file and register all of your ideas legally. It is important to have everything ready to go before you start… which is a big reason behind why I laid out this “idea machine” technique before actually talking about registering your business.

Do you have that million dollar idea? If so… let’s figure out exactly how to get up and running. Check out part two of this series on forming your own eBusiness, and we’ll continue this lesson to the point where you can legally operate as a business!

-Jimvesting