On-line Commerce options:  Company profiles

1.       Find you niche: The first step to creating your own e-commerce business is to find you niche. Examine your hobbies and interests for potential business ideas. E.g.  If you love cricket, consider selling cricket supplies or team uniforms online. You may also consider opening a business that is similar to your current job.

2.       Research The Demand:-Now that you have a few business ideas, it's time to research the demand for your products or services. E.g. If you plan to sell to the general public, you'll want to find out how many people are looking for your products or services. As a small business owner, you will not have the marketing funds to create a demand for a product but the products you sell, must already be in demand.

3.       Scope Out Your ‘Soon-To-Be Competitors’:-Before settling on a business idea, scope out your ‘would-be competitors’. Visit their websites and compare the following:

●        Professional Look & Feel

●        Products and Services

●        Search Engine Ranking

●        Page Rank (Available on the Google Tool Bar)

●        Keywords

●        Back Links (how many sites link to them).

This will give you an idea of what you're up against. Keep in mind that your website will need to be equally as professional as or better than theirs. While you're researching your competitors, check to see if the products you intend to sell are sold at large department stores such as Wal-Mart, Target, and Amazon.com. It is very difficult for a small business to compete with these large companies because the profit margins are extremely low. You'll need to sell products that are in demand, but aren't sold by corporate giants.

4.       Establish A Business Entity:- In order to conduct business, you need to establish a business entity. Fortunately this can be as easy as filing a "Doing Business As" or "Fictitious Name" form with your local County Clerk's office to become a sole proprietor. When you arrive at the County Clerk's office, they will check their records to make sure your intended business name is not already in use. If it's available, you will need to complete the appropriate forms and pay your filing fee. Each state has different requirements. Check with your state for requirements on becoming a sole proprietor.

You will also need a sales tax id. You will need to charge sales taxes in the state where your business resides. Contact your county office for details about sales tax ID's and any other requirements they may have.

5.       Open A Business Bank Account:-Now that you are a legitimate business owner, it's time to open a business bank account. Take your court documents to the bank and open a business checking account. Most banks offer a variety of business accounts. “Choose the one the best meets your needs. It's usually best to start with their least expensive account because it could be a while before you start earning revenue. You can always upgrade in the future.”

Some banks require a business owner to wait specified amount of time, usually 90 days, after the court documents are filed before opening a business bank account. These rules are in place to help prevent fraud. Check with your bank to obtain waiting period information.

6.       Choose A Domain Name:- While you wait to open a bank account, you can start building your website. First, register a domain name. Names that end in ".com" are best. If possible your, domain name should include one or more of your target keywords. For example, if you are creating a yoga supply business, you'll want to choose a name with the word yoga, such as yogacenter.com, yoga-supply.com, or yogastuff.com.

7.       Create Your Website:- One of the keys to successful e-commerce businesses is a professional website. Your website is the first and often the only impression your visitors will have of your business. A professional website can be the difference between your visitors viewing you as a home-based business operating out of your garage and a multi-million dollar business with hundreds of employees.

You'll want your website content to target specific keywords. This can be achieved by creating articles, product reviews, product comparisons and detailed description of your products. Avoid repeating the keywords so often that the text becomes difficult to read. There is a fine line between good copy text and spam text. Spam text is designed to increase your site's listing in the search engines, but often backfires when penalties are issued and your website is dropped from the listing.

8.       Host Your Website: - Now that your website has been created, it's time to find a company to host your website on their servers. Your website files can be uploaded with a simple FTP program. The hosting company's technical support personnel can walk you through the steps to upload your files and launch your website.

9.       Implement A Shopping Cart: - No e-commerce website is complete without a secure shopping cart. There are many shopping cart options. Many e-commerce business owners make the mistake of using Pay Pal to accept payments, which immediately tells visitors that their company is very small and not professional.

A good alternative to Pay Pal is a remotely hosted shopping cart.

Depending on your choice of a shopping cart, you may or may not need a merchant account to process transactions. Some shopping cart services allow you to use their merchant accounts for a slightly higher fee.

10.    Stock Your Inventory: - Now that your website has been created, it's time to stock your inventory. The first step is to find the manufacturers of the products you wish to sell. You can find this information by reviewing your competitor's websites. Some of them may list the manufacturer with the product name or description. Once you have the name, you can search for the manufacturer online.

Contact the manufacturer and tell them that you are interested in becoming a distributor.