Freedom University

freedomu answers:

Hi there. If you want just a small online business then maybe your best bet is to start trading on eBay. Try to buy the beads and tools wholesale as this will give you your best profit margin. The beads I like best are Swarovski as you cannot buy better crystal beads and also you would need a range of basic tools too. Different types of thread such as Fireline, Softflex and Nymo would be an advantage as beaders come in all shapes and sizes and also a nice range of low-mid priced beads such as wooden beads (for the surfer ranges) and ceramic beads. Sterling silver always sells well, but also try to stock gold fill too as well as the plated stuff for people just starting out. Vermeil is nice as not a lot of people stock this and try to have a nice range of clasps; Bali silver is always a good bet. The one thing I would suggest is though, try to stock something exclusive that’s really hard to find somewhere else. Do you know anyone who makes their own Boro beads or perhaps polymer clay beads that you could sell exclusively? I hope I have given you some food for thought but have you tried to sell beads at a local market if you have one, just to test the water? I only say this because setting up online (if you aren’t going to use eBay) can be quite costly. Even if you use an online host such as 1-1 or Easyhost (as I first did) you aren’t guarenteed the traffic you will need to make your online business a success. It’s all very well having a great looking site stocked chock full of beading goodies, but if no-one gets to see it, what’s the use? I have recently signed up to SBI! It’s great, but it does take a lot of hard work to build up as it focuses on content first rather than going in for the hard sell and all you have to do is focus on building your site as they do all the behind the scenes hard stuff for you! Take a look, http://ilovesbi.sitesell.com/sarahcassidy.html or if you don’t want to commit to that, theres always this at no cost whatsoever http://affiliatemarketing.sitesell.com/sarahcassidy.html

This is my site if you want to take a look (p.s I’m not selling you anything!)

http://www.jewellery-making-guide.com

I hope I’ve helped you in some way, good luck with your venture, whichever path you decide. X

freedomu answers:

The best routes to take are to research the process of starting a business as well as the industry you’re interested in.

I recommend checking out the SBA, Entrepreneur, The Start Up Journal & Nolo. All 4 are great informational resources for the new/small business owner. I posted links for you in the source box.

Research, research, research – this cannot be stressed enough. Read as much as you can. Here are some book titles that are relevant:
Online Business For Dummies, 4th Edition by Greg Holden
* How to Start and Maintain A Successful Online Business by Kelly Thornton
* The Complete E-Commerce Book: Design, Build, and Maintain a Successful Web-Based Business by Janice Reynolds

There are plenty of free informational resources out there. Check the source box for links to articles.

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!

freedomu answers:

You can open an account as sando says but you will still need a bank account to transfer the money to because they do not write checks anymore they do direct deposits. You can also start a merchant account which allows you to use all the major credit cards but of course you need to have a bank account to do this and set it up through them.

As far as a what type of bank account you need is another question. If you plan to run the business as a sole proprietor under your Social Security number then you can open a bank account in your name with a DBA attached to it (Doing Business As) which is what ever you choose to name your business. You want to check to make sure the name you use is not already active or you may be in trademark or copyright infringement.

Since you are doing it with a friend you will most likely set the business up as a partnership and I don’t think you can do this under a basic business license, you may have to incorporate as a limited partnership, it’s something to check out. The banks may also require you to incorporate in order to open a business bank account. The best thing to do is call your local city government and have the question answered about partnerships then talk to the bank to see what is required of you two to open a bank account.

The other problem I see is that you are 15 and the banks may not allow you to open a bank account of any type without a parent or guardian to co-sign the account so check this out. The same applies to forming a business.

Sorry I can’t be of more help but I hope this gets you going in the right direction.

Good luck to you and your friend.

freedomu answers:

I run 5 websites (none in retail though). I can say that this is a hard question to answer. Clearly, overstock.com will cost more to run than joesglass.com. I personally use bluehost.com for hosting, so my monthly expense is under $10 for all 5 sites (non-retail though…). I see anywhere from 8k to 20k visitors monthly with no speed issues. You should probably look into some e-commerece software solutions like this:

http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/ecommerce/

It looks like their starter package is about $40/month, and its scalable in case your business grows unexpectedly.

freedomu answers:

*Low Start-up Costs – When you decide to start a business online, you can do so with as little as a few hundred dollars and a good idea. However, don’t be misled into believing that the Internet is an arena for instant riches with little or no effort. Nothing could be further from the truth. Like any business, it takes creativity, planning, money and hard work to be successful.
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*International Audience – Even if you do not think of your business as an international business, you must recognize that your visitors are likely to be from all over the world. You should consider whether or not you are prepared for international shipping and other transactions with countries other than your own. You should also strongly consider having your website translated onto languages other than English. The percentage of non-US businesses on the Internet has risen dramatically in just the past year! Starting an online business
* Professional Look – If you are a Web Professional who is planning and designing web pages for others, we have a secret to share with you. It’s called the “Proposal Kit”. What it’s done for our company is help us look more professional, charge higher fees and get paid for all of our work. It’s the best investment we have made since we started our business!

freedomu answers:

Since you’ve never been in business before, I would strongly recommend that you talk to a business counselor before you do anything especially spend money. You have to determine whether you’ll start a web based business or one with a store front. I’d call the local office of SCORE (go to http://www.score.org and input your zip code to find the chapter nearest you), the advice is FREE.

The counselor at SCORE will most likely advise you to write a business plan which is very good advice because it will force you to dig out all of the start up details and the costs of starting a small online catalog business and force you to also understand all of the aspects of this business including the customers you’ll concentrate on (your market ) and how you’ll go after them.

You’ll need to register the business with your state controller’s office and make sure that you have any city and county licenses if any are needed where you live. All of this will come out in a business plan.
Try this link :
http://www.ychange.com/small-business-consulting-articles.html and read some of the articles especially the ones about a business plan and starting a business.
Good Luck

freedomu answers:

I wouldn’t recommend starting any Type of investment company until the economy bounces back.

freedomu answers:

P a i d t e e n s . W e b s . C o m

freedomu answers:

You need a website and a domain payments anually. They aren’t too bad really. You’ll need an office or storage for the good you sell. Then you need to register with a government kinda business committee. Because you have to pay tax and stuff whether its coperation or other.

You will also be asked for financial accounts. So have you thought about the ability to correctly do them?

Once everything is in place you could quite easily go to like amazon get your name out there and sell from there or the website. Plus you need to get permission of like banks for people to be assured that the payment is safe online.

freedomu answers:

Decide what you want to sell. You can start from craigs list. They will not be able to pay online. You will need to collect payment when them come to pickup their order.