If you are still in college and learning how to have a career in the business world, at some point you will need to make some decisions on which direction you are going to make after you graduate. If you want to go directly into the game, then start sending out resumes to the corporations you want to work at. Be prepared – You will send out many resumes to many different companies. Many will get rejected out of hand. And some of them will show an interest in you. However, be warned. Many of you have a rough awakening ahead. Because unfortunately, many companies won’t want you. That’s a simple fact of life for many college graduates. For those of you that fall into this category, don’t worry or get too upset. There’s still many, many opportunities that you can choose from. Because whether you want to admit it, you are being forced to take your career in your own hands! You are now at a point where life will get very exciting… as well as very challenging. Now comes the point where you will research / decide whether starting your own company is a good idea, and something you want to devote your time to. I’m referring to starting an online business. When you start your own online business, you will find many obstacles blocking your way. But on the other hand, there are literally millions of sites out there that will guide you. The good news is that if you work very hard and with a little bit of luck, you can make a go of it. And then someday you can tell your own children how you went out and “took your career into your own hands”.
- – What Are Your Major Interests?
When you are researching , you’ll first want to look at the field which you are interested in. Or one that you have some expertise in. Many people will jump in and create a website and try to sell a bunch of products… using the shotgun approach. This is really not the approach you want to take. First and Foremost…you’ll want to determine whether or not there is a great deal of competition out there, because this could affect your decision to get into that particular field. Usually you will want to look for a field in which there is less competition so that you can come in with cheap but effective marketing and dominate that niche. And don’t forget, you should find a niche that you actually like and enjoy being a part of. There is nothing worse than trying to sell a product that you don’t feel motivated by. It is often easier to be a big fish in a small pond rather than a small fish in a big pond. You can decide to sell products online which you can find through wholesale distributors. You are able to advertise on your website using programs such as Google’s Adsense. You can even sell your products through storefronts at either Yahoo, eBay, or Amazon websites.
- – Constantly Be Trying New Approaches
Another key when you are starting an online business, is to make sure that you are continually testing and retesting your website. Once you design your website, you cannot sit back and wait for the sales to just start rolling in. It doesn’t work that way anymore… it used to in the beginning. Not today tho. You want to test and retest the different ways in which you have your pages and website built to make sure that you are taking advantage of the traffic coming into your website. You must constantly be testing the content that you post on your site. Make sure it appeals to your visitors, and that they respond favorably to it. If you are selling products, then test to see which products are selling best, or what products are getting the better reviews. By staying ahead of and up to date on how your visitors are reacting to your site and products, will allow you to make changes that will optimize the effectiveness and productivity of your web site. If you don’t do this, you’re leaving money on the table.
- – Become an Expert in Marketing
Another key when looking at how to start an online business is how you decide to market your website. Marketing is the backbone of a company’s future and launching pad for sales. While the marketing process encompasses the design and advertising of the product, the sales process involves direct interaction with the client, either by in-person meetings, cold calls or by networking. But there is always an ongoing rivalry between the two, one claiming supremacy over the other. The marketing people say they have an upper hand because they design the products, as well as developing the tools essential for sales. They say sales are the outcome of marketing and thus should follow its directions. The sales people might not agree to this view and may be completely opposite in their opinion. They believe it is the salespeople who actually sell the products and bring money to the business. They are both equally important and are both integral to your success. The way to build natural search engine traffic is through content and developing back links. 
- – You Must Learn Patience…
If you work on finding an under-served niche, it is much easier to pay for traffic bought from Internet marketing firms. By having a professional firm do this for you, it will be expensive, but it will help you get started quickly moving your way up in the natural search engine pages. However, you cannot rest on your ass. You want to make sure that you are constantly developing both a good site and its contents… so that your visitors will want to read what they find and then continually return to your website. And repeat visitors can very quickly turn into paying customers. But as I said, patience is vital. If you are thinking that you are going to start making a six figure income in the next three to six months…then it’s probably wise to just not even get started. It will definitely be a waste of your time and money. That may have worked 5-8 years ago, but now it will take time to build the trust with people who come to your site. Online visitors have become incredibly savvy and very distrusting of most sites these days. This is due to all the spamming and hacking they have been exposed to. But if you take your time and build your site slowly, adding new content to your site each day, you will not only build trust with your visitors, but you will build trust with Google. And that my friends is what you are really after. Because if Google sees you as trustworthy, then they will send more traffic to your site than you will know what to do with. And won’t that be a ton of fun!!!