Business Overwhelm – The 3 Magic Keys to Online Business Failure

Hmmm… I bet that got your attention, huh?  Well, don’t worry, I’m not really going to tell you how to fail in online business. I’m going to show you just the opposite — the specific tools that you need to succeed in online business — how to create a business that is fun and that won’t drive you to drink (Ok, as a wine lover I have to take that one back — go ahead and have a glass of wine. Or two.)

New online business owners often fall into the money (and time) pit of too many choices; which web platform should I use, what email marketing software, which ecommerce solution, and on and on til you just want to curl up in the corner and cry.

It’s overwhelming – so much so that the verb “overwhelm” has been morphed into a noun.  If you do a search on “business overwhelm” (but don’t – you don’t need more distractions) you’ll find dozens of entries.   Do you really want to focus on the negative?  You want to use a new word designed to scare you?  I wonder if there’s a pill for that?  Sorry, I digress.  Anyway,  at the risk of over-simplifying,  let’s over-simplify.  I’ll walk you through the specific tools that you need to build an online business, and then show you how to put them together. This will take more than one article, so stick with me.

Fun Monger Disclaimer:  The tools and setup I’m about to share with you have provided the foundation for thousands of online businesses. But we’re not talking about a business that has enormous inventory, like Amazon, or brick and mortar stores (although it certainly has been used for smaller stores). Let me be clear – there are TONS of options for building your online business, but we’re going to cut to the chase — you need answers, not more options. 

First, the big picture:

• If you are going to do this yourself, that’s great – you can do it! But don’t kid yourself, it will take time and patience, but shouldn’t take very much money.
• If you have the resources and don’t want to do it yourself, that’s great too – just read the next sentence carefully: Would you hire a plumber to fix your car? I hope not.  So don’t hire just any web developer to build your online business. Find a technical person who has specific experience in building an online business;  all aspects of it, and someone who uses tools that are widely used.  A programmer is NOT a programer is NOT a programmer.  Trust me on this one. I’ve worked with literally hundreds of programmers and you need someone that understands this unique world.  You need someone who knows that simple is best, and who understands that you want, and need, to maintain control.

Standard tools

1. Website –  WordPress blogging platform is being widely used as a Content Management System.  What that means is that you have the best of both worlds — you can have a “regular” website, and you can have a blog, and they are all part of the same system.  I’ll go into detail about this in an upcoming article.  It’s free and easy to install.  You can download it at Wordpress.org  Don’t mix this up with Wordpress.com – they are the same company, but you want the self-installed version, Wordpress.org.
2. Email Marketing — The three most widely used systems are aWeber, Constant Contact, and 1 Shopping Cart.  There is also Mail Chimp which is becoming more popular, but as of this writing I’m not a fan, as it simply doesn’t have the tools and ease of use of the other options, but don’t listen to me – check it out for yourself.  Important considerations when you are choosing:
   • Do you plan to sell services or products via your website?  If you are, then 1 Shopping Cart should be at the top of your list.  No, it’s not perfect, and there are other options out there, but 1SC is widely used and there is a large pool of experienced people who can help you. 1SC can provide your email marketing and ecommerce in one solution, and most significantly, it means that you have one database, that can be separated into multiple groups.  That’s BIG.  Just try managing 2 or 3 different databases and trying to keep everything in synch. Then imagine trying to send out an email campaign only to realize that the list you really want to send to is in a different place.  Been there, done that, no fun.
   • If you have no intention of processing sales through your website, and all you need to do is send emails, then go for aWeber or Constant Contact.  But if sales are only a few months away, go for the lower priced 1SC option.  It will save you time and money in the long run.
3. Project Management — This one is easily overlooked and is really important.  With the right tool you can keep projects organized, have a task list that can be checked off to show progress, store important files online so that you (or your team) can access them easily, provide a calendar, keep an Operations Manual, create databases, etc.  I wish I’d gotten one sooner.  The two that I see people use regularly are Basecamp and Central Desktop.  My strong preference is for Central Desktop, which has a free version and is very powerful.  You can use all the bells and whistles, or just keep it simple.  Basecamp is more, well, basic, and although I have worked with it, I find it rather limited.
4. Free Telephone Conference Service — This is a bit of a muddy area, because different services have different gotchas.  FreeConference.com is widely used because they seem to work better with cell phones and VoIP (Voice over internet – like Skype and Vonage).  The gotcha is that when you record calls they only keep the recording for 30 days.  No exceptions, no backups, no grace period.  So you hiccup once and you’ve lost a valuable recording.   Oh, and to record a call you must schedule it in advance, which can be a little annoying.  Another service that is widely used is FreeConferencing.com .  It has nice web interface controls, allows you to do things like see who is on the call, let people “raise their hand” to ask questions, etc.  But it doesn’t play well with cell phones or VoIP phones.  A killer in my book because many of my friends and clients don’t even have a land line anymore.  There is a guide here that provides more information.
5. Metrics — This one is so easy to overlook, and it is so important.  Setup a free account on Google Analytics and go through the simple tutorials, then put the tracking code on your new website.  But don’t forget about it.  Create a simple spreadsheet and check your numbers in Google Analytics and in your email marketing service about once a month.  Check the Learning Center for a template.  1SC provides shopping cart and email metrics as well.  Don’t get too crazy with this, it’s just good to keep an eye on things and see what works and what doesn’t.  Never forget that numbers are a tool, not a substitute for creating a memorable customer experience.
6. Backup – Way too many new business owners learn this one the hard way.  I recommend 2 backup systems at all times — one online, something like Carbonite (their stellar reputation has been a little tarnished lately, so do your homework before contracting with them) and then a physical, external hard drive that uses a good backup software like Acronis.  Don’t forget to backup your email files!

These are the tools that are the big players in online business.  Yes, of course there are other options, but a significant advantage of these tools is that there is a big pool of people who understand the tools and the processes that work together to create a strong online business.  When you’re new, or trying to get re-organized, having the tools that a lot of people know means you can easily get help when you need it.  Take some time to visit the various websites for the different systems, and feel free to post questions here.