E-business is “a marketplace where businesses are using Internet technologies to transform their internal business processes (via intranets); their business relationships (via extranets); and the buying and selling of goods, services and information (via Internet)” (Nick). International business would be rather difficult without e-business facilities. Because of the complexity of procedures of doing international businesses, a few small businesses are willing to take the risks to go to international. E-business backed up with telecommunications make doing international business like doing local one. Therefore, running an international business is pretty easy. From setting up to operation, there is no big difference between the international and the local.
Selecting a good business name is one of the first steps required in finding the path to success. As your selected business name is the first impression a potential customer gets regarding your venture, you should ensure that it is able to attract customers from the internet. Furthermore a business name plays an important role in your ventures’ marketing strategies. Your selected business name influences on how an outsider, more importantly a potential customer would identify or perceive your business. Therefore when selecting a good business name you should ensure it reflects the image you want your customers to posses of your venture. As selecting a good business name is one of the most important decisions you would make regarding your business and the name would last for the whole duration of your venture, it is essential that you dedicate a good portion of your time and consideration for this task. In addition to the above facts you should also take into consideration the various legal issues that could arise due to the selected name. If the selected name is already registered or trademarked by another business it would create a very messy and expensive situation for you to sort out. Hence one of the first important steps when selecting a business name is to find out the availability of it. You can utilize business directories, phone directories, yellow pages and also the internet to check the availability of the name.
Even though selecting a unique name is a great idea, it makes more sense to name your business depending on the nature of service it provides. Ensure that the customers can easily visualize the service you offer through the selected name. Also the selected name should bring out positive connotations (emotional implications) you require people to associate with your business. By selecting a name which is short, easy to spell and simple to pronounce, you would be assisting your customers to easily remember your business.
Since many businesses now rely on the internet to boost up their sales, it is important that you select a business name for your venture which is also available as a domain name. You can easily conduct a name search and check the availability of the name through online businesses which allow you to purchase these domain names.
For any type of business to flourish and expand, business networking is an essential element that needs to be taken into serious consideration. Effective networking paves the path to building up and forming relationships with like businesses. Also it exposes your business to a much wider audience and in turn enables you to gain new clients and valued referrals. As a business owner you should utilize your networking skills to identify the concerns, requirements and problems of your specific market segment.
In order to build up valuable networks it is vital that you reach out to as many people as possible. You can always start with your family and friends. Once you have gained more confidence you can focus your attention on business contacts and associates. One of the best places to meet other business contacts are through business groups which meet up as a network or community in order to benefit from vested interests. Joining them and actively participating in these associations or organizations is a sure way to start building successful networks. Being a good listener would enable you to collect more information about others and their concerns or problems. This in turn would facilitate you to assess how important your business would be to them. Staying in touch with your new found contacts is also important. You can utilize emails, notes, cards and phone calls in order to maintain contact with them.
Make yourself available for contact through as many communication modes as possible since different people prefer to communicate in different ways. For instance while some would prefer one-to-one meetings, others would favor communications through emails or even phone calls. The best ways of passing out your contact information would be through business cards, email signatures, websites and sales and marketing materials. Your name, title, business name, mailing address, phone numbers, fax numbers, mobile number, e-mail address as well as your web address should be clearly stated in these. You can also specify in a few words what your business is all about. For example you can state the kind of product or service which you offer.
Effective networking is the best way to maintain contact with your clients as well as your fellow businessmen in order to obtain benefits for your professional life. It is the main component which enables your business to develop and grow successfully. Therefore always be ready to mingle with anyone at whatever event or function you may attend (Susan).
Depending on your skill level, the amount of time you're willing to spend, and the amount of money you have available, building an online business website can be quick and easy process. On the other hand building a website can be very time consuming and expensive. There are pros and cons to consider whether you decide to build the site yourself or you decide to outsource the work to have it done for you. This article will look at 4 options that are available to you.
Do it yourself. If you have prior knowledge of HTML then building your website is definitely the least expensive option for building your online business website. Once you have a few pages created, the rest of the work becomes fairly easy and will not take much time to complete since the layout for each page can be copied from your initial work. The cost stays low depending on the type of HTML editor you purchase to create the web pages. The most advanced HTML editors such as Macromedia Dreamweaver offer all the editing tools one needs to complete a website with all the bells and whistles, but the cost can be prohibitive. If you don't have a prior knowledge of HTML then doing t yourself can be time consuming, learning even basic HTML will allow you to build a presentable website that you will be proud of.
Buy a readymade template. Template website designs have been around for a very long time now. When website templates were first being offered, they were not the most attractive designs. But, as time passed and websites designs became more creative, there was competition between template makers to offer the public templates that were clean and state of the art. Now you can search for website templates to fit any business model or design aesthetic you choose. These templates are generally inexpensive and are ready for you to simply add your content. Designers may often tweak their designs to fit your specifications if you feel the need to modify the original design.
Get a website package deal. A website package erases the need for you to learn HTML by having the company that offers this service build you a website that incorporates all of the aspects that an online business website needs including products and services to promote. Depending on your niche, a website package that includes the products and services you want to promote may be hard to find. On the other hand there are companies that offer a generic websites and a process for adding your own products and services to their design model. This process is usually "drag and drop" and easily customizable. I won't mention any in this article, but a quick Google search will yield many results. Just be sure to get seek opinions on reputable online webmaster forums before you make a purchase.
Hire a designer. Hiring a designer can be the most expensive and time consuming solution of them all. Not only will you have to give your design specifications, but you will also have to work with the designer to get the site created exactly the way you envisioned it. Designers can range in price, but by using freelancer 's to whom you can outsource this work by simply posting a description of the project you would like created and have web site designers bid or compete for your business. You can also take a sample view of their work to ensure the best quality. If you know a web designer and are comfortable with their work then that might be your best solution. No matter which option you decide to use to build your online business website, you will still be wise to learn basic HTML. Because once the site is created it's up to you to maintain it and keep it functional. You will save a lot of time and money if you don't have to pay every time you need to make changes to your website. This also gives you ultimate control over your online business.
In sum, setting an international business is not that tough you imagine with wikinomics. Your international business opens its doors to the world, co-innovates with everyone, shares resources that were previously closely guarded, harnesses the power of mass collaboration, and behaves not as a multinational but as something new: a truly global firm (Don 20). Using various e-business tools to facilitate your international business.
Works Cited
Kenyeres, Nick. “COMP 1113 Week 1: What is e-Business?” Course notes. 9 September 2008. Course home page. George Brown College. 1 December 2008.
Hutson, Susan. Build Your Own Business. 27 November 2008. 1 December 2008. <http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/35/3457/The-Importance-of-a-good-Business-Name.php>
Tapscott, Don, and Anthony D. Williams. Wikinomics. New York: Penguin, 2006.
