An Internet Small Business Plan
Business Internet Planning

On this website we have provide free information to help you write your internet small business plan. The US Small Business Administration has free information needed for writing the regular part of your small business plan.  It is an excellent website.  Actually, the internet has many sources that will help you write your regular and internet business plan.

As a result of writing a small business plan, including an internet business plan section, you will be forced to take a hard look at yourself, your capabilities, your goals, your products and services, the market, the internet and countless other considerations to start a successful small business on the internet.

Small Business Internet Business Plan Considerations

The Legal aspects of an Internet Small Business

First you need to consider the legal aspects of owning a small business before you take a look at the internet side of a small business plan.  In some states nothing is required for artist, craftsmen, internet auctions, etc., but in others even a panhandler needs a license. 

• You need to decide what type of legal business structure you want to use.
• Corporation
• Modified Corporation
• Partnership
• Sole Proprietor
• You need to prepare the proper paper work and then file it with the appropriate agencies for your location to become a legal business in your state.
• If you intend to have employees, you'll need an Employer Identification Number EIN.
• You may be required to have a Business License and a Resale Certificate.
• You may want a business bank account.
• You may need a credit card Merchant Account.
• You should consider business insurance or personal liability insurance that would cover your venture.

It's a good idea to contact an attorney and accountant when making these decisions.

The Internet Side of a Small Business Plan

Your internet business plan will get you headed in the right direction before you start pouring money into this venture.

Initially, you want to use your small business internet plan more for self-evaluation. Once your satisfied you can deal with all the requirements of setting up a small business on the internet, then you start using your internet business plan to guide you through the steps of establishing your business on the internet. 

It's not our intention to cover the parts of a conventional business plan, again, that can be viewed on the US Small Business Administration website.  We simply want to give you suggestions about the internet part of your business.  Our goal is simply to get you headed in the right direction to enter the internet business world before you start pouring money into this venture (or should that be an adventure).

We are only giving you suggestions and information to think about.  As a business owner you need to remember that your decisions are yours and yours alone, gleaned from information obtained from many sources, some good, some not so good, so always use prudence in making your decisions.  As stated above, we feel the best free information for a conventional small business plan is located on the US Small Business Administration Website.

Is there a demand for your product or service?

This can get real tricky on the internet.  Some products are just hands on, the customer has to see and feel it in person; the internet doesn't work for these products.  Some things are fads and by the time you get established on the internet, it's over.

It may take six months to a year before you get enough traffic on your website to do any good.  Speaking of traffic, depending on your product or service, it's quality, the presentation, competitive pricing and ease of payment, you may need over a thousand visitors to get one sale.  Some of the better web sites are averaging between 1 to 5 sales out of every hundred visitors, the exception to the rule would be companies like Amazon, they are running about 27 sales for every hundred visitors.  Planning an internet business is going to be a numbers game.

On the internet it's difficult to know if a product or service is going to make it.  But, rest assured, the internet will become the market place of the future and you'll never know if you don't try.  Our advice is to research, research, and then research some more, then develop a workable plan for yourself and most important, keep your regular job until your internet business is paying its way.

Is your product or service a new concept, best to test the market!

Even in the normal market place a new concept can be a dicey proposition.  You need to put your idea or prototype through the wringer.  Consider every "what if" you can think of, then ask everyone you know their thoughts, ideas and first impressions. If you're still not satisfied go to a professional internet business consultant.

You'll need to keep an open mind, don't let your ego get in your way; i.e. just because you thought of it doesn't make it a good idea. The bottom line is, you want to be successful, it's your money you will lose if you're wrong, so listen carefully to everyone, even the kids, after you have listened to all the inputs, mull it over and over, then make your decision and don't look back.  There isn't anything more rewarding than to accept a challenge, work hard and achieve success.  The feeling is beyond belief.

We would still be riding a horse and buggy if someone hadn't taken a chance.  Just don't take foolish chances.  Remember the round piece of plastic, it made the inventor a millionaire, it's called the Hula Hoop.  A final thought, always think positive, expect the best but be prepared for setbacks.

How many webpages do I need to produce the revenue I need?

Part of your internet business plan is to project revenue.  You need to work backwards to get your answer, it's like the chicken and egg question.  First you need to decide how much money you need per year to survive after all the business bills are paid.  So lets start with this example.  Your product sells for $50.00 on the internet.  Your business overhead will be $20.00 per sale.  Now this is where it can get a little difficult because if your business costs are higher, then you'll have to compute for the business cost first.  For this example we'll stay with your personal needs.  Lets say your personal needs are $30,000 income per year before deductions.  Now we can start to figure the probabilities.

First you need to guess at how many visitors (potential customers) it takes to make a sale.  This can vary depending on the product, demand, price, presentation, marketing copy, and ease of purchase.  There isn't any set numbers to work from, only guesses.  Some internet businesses average one sale per 100 visitors.  The upper end seems to be about one sale per 1000 visitors.  Usually, the higher the product price the more visitors it requires for one sale.  For this exercise lets say that $50.00 is on the lower end and $500.00 the upper end.

Your product sells for $50.00 therefore you need 100 visitors per sale.  You take home $30.00 per sale so you need 1000 sales each year to meet your take home pay, so you'll need 100,000 visitors per year to make 1000 sales.  This means your personal gross income will be $30,000 and your business overhead should be at or below $15,000 per year.

Now comes the next variable in the numbers game.  How do I get 100,000 visitors to my website each year?  The internet is so new that statistics are marginal at best.  We averaged out a couple of small business websites and here is what we found.  Figure the low end at 10 visitors per day per web page and on the higher side, 50 visitors per day per web page.  Now you can questimate how large your web site should be to produce the desired traffic. Of course there are always exceptions to the rule, but for your internet business plan, be conservative.

You need 100,000 visitors per year that is about 275 visitors per day.  We'll use the low-end traffic per page to be safe which is 10 visitors per day per page.  Your answer is 27 to 28 pages prepared specifically for the search engines.  How to get your pages to the top of the search engines is discussed in the Alpha Omega SEO Webdesign website.  Also, shopping cart pages or pages that haven't been setup for the search engines do not count.  There are some small business websites that have 100 to 200 web pages, just to work the search engines. Again, be conservative when writing your internet business plan.

What about your competition, is your market already saturated?

If there is a large number of competitors on the internet and they have been around for a few years, chances are, the demand is there, however, you can never be absolutely sure.  If you are facing a large competitor base, you'll have to out-think and out-smart them, both with the product or service presentation, marketing copy, price and search engine position.

Do you have the ability to operate a computer?

The computer is the backbone of an internet business, without it, you can not do business on the internet, period.  If you don't know how to operate a computer, you will need to find someone who does.   You simply may not have time to learn to operate a computer in addition to the every day to day requirements related to operating an internet business.

If you are going to do it all, be sure you have all the right equipment and programs to do the job right.  You will be designing your web site, making graphics, scanning photos, taking digital pictures, touching up your images and graphics, sizing and reducing file size, etc. etc., not to mention the day to day operations.  Don't forget to include all this in your internet business plan. If this is beyond you experience, then you may need to enlist the help of someone like us.

Do you have the programs and ability to design a website?

If you have been using computers and various programs over the years, designing your own small business website shouldn't be too difficult.  However, getting webpages in the top 30 positions is another problem altogether. Microsoft Office 2000 Premium Professional program has all the tools you need to run an internet small business, including spreadsheets, graphics and webpage designing.  We prefer Adobe web designing programs and Microsoft data programs.

A word of caution here, designing a website is only a small part of doing business on the internet.  If no one can find your store, there won't be any business.  It has taken us years to figure out how to meet the search engines requirements and to create the right marketing copy that motivates the customer to click on your link.

If you are still determined to start this adventure, starting a small business on the internet, then there is more information on this website you need to read.  Just follow the links above.  You might want to get something to drink (coffee or whatever), and lots of paper for your printer.

We are giving you this " Information Free " because we did it ourselves and remember all those out there that helped us directly or indirectly.  We know if you get bogged down designing your own website chances are you will call on us, we're here waiting to help, but of course, we will charge for that service.  Good luck writing your internet business plan.