Question:  I have decided to start a small online business, but, would like to start small, can you help?  I think I would like to start by selling products online, but, don't have my own (I am working on this) at this time.  I would like to have my business centered around a craft.  I already have a business plan that I have started, and I have a business name that is registered with my state, I have some basic business forms and registrations completed or nearing completion thanks to the information provided here and on other sites.  Whatever help you can be, would be much appreciated.  LaTisha W., Louisianna

Answer:  There are many ways that I can offer up information on this subject, but, from what you have said, I believe that there are a few things you can do very easily and quickly to have a small business up and running in the next few days.  What I am going to suggest is a very basic idea, and I recommend updating the idea once you get a hang of it.  The first thing you can do is set up a blog.  There are many free hosted blogs out there, but, if you have the knowledge, time, patience to do it on your own, I would suggest purchasing (this may be free) the WordPress Blog format and setting up a domain name with your WP software and then setting up a system similar to the AskAnissa.com site.  What I mean by this is to set up your site with 7-10 main categories (research this) and then add content to your site.  Make sure all your content is relevant to your site.  Then you will need to find products to sell off of your site.  There are many affiliate programs for most niches.  Make sure that you are adding original content to your site at least 3 times per week.  You can outsource this type of work if you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself.  If you are willing to do as much of this on your own as possible, you should join the Authority Site Center.  Find and download the Authority Black Book.  This should be enough to get you started and on the road to more indepth questions.  Feel free to Ask Anissa if you have more questions.

 

Question:  I have been thinking about starting my own business from home and wondered if it was a good idea.  I would like to find some information on working from home, to see if it really is what I want to do, can you help?  Maggie B., Bozeman, MO

Answer: Working from home is definitely worth it.  There are some people who need the surroundings of a professional office, other employees, a boss etc to truly thrive, but, I believe that if you are contemplating working from home, then it just might be for you if you can create the right routine, schedule, organizational skills, and surroundings.  I have created a special page with articles from Sylvie Fortin who has successfully worked from home for years, and who is helping others to do the same.  I will post more articles and information on my Home Business pages, as time progress's.

AskAnissa: I'm a single mom, 24 and I have two kids. I'm a layout artist for a small design company and I allot most of my time doing layouts in front of my laptop. Most likely, it has been my sought hobby since I was in college. Whenever I'm at home and have nothing to do, I just doodle a lot in my computer using the Adobe Photoshop Software and try to do layouts for various things. But one day, I found myself thinking on what could be the best idea in order for me to have an extra income after a busy day from the design company I'm working with. I need it to sustain my kids' needs. It's a bit difficult on my part since I only have one job. I want other home-based jobs too. What can you suggest? – Anonymous

Answer: We all wanted the best for our children and finding the best is hard when your income isn't just enough for your family especially that you're a single mom. Basically, you have to ask yourself this question before doing other things that you expect to help you in your financial needs: "What am I good at?" Once you have sought an answer to that question, you will eventually have an idea on what you are going to do with your extra time. Everyone knows it's tough to be a single mom and so when you do things that you're good at, then you'll probably gain more income and the fun stays too.

As what you're saying, you are a layout artist. All layout artists have exceptional talents especially when it comes to designing new things out of nothing. They can make those colors blend and can insert images that could come up into a brilliant work of art. Also, you have mentioned that you use the computer a lot and allot most of your time in Adobe Photoshop. Don't you think it's a sign that you should do things which is related to your field?

Today, notepads are the way to go especially for entrepreneurs, office workers as well as students. They often wanted to have personalized notepads that they can use during discussions whether in school or at the office. So why not, give yourself a chance and start your own notepad business wherein you can give your clients an order sheet and let them write down what they wanted to see in their customized notepads whether they have their name on it or doodles per se. I believe, it won't take too much of your time since you have already an idea on what you are doing. You can have a special pricelist for your clients or whatever way you wanted it to be.

Starting a customized notepad business will not only make an extra income but it could also be self-fulfilling when you see that your customers are enjoying the work that you did. Always remember that when you are happy with what you are doing, you will eventually drive in more clients. That's how the law of attraction works!

Question: I have a Home Based Business, and I sell items through my online store. I have had a fair amount of traffic coming to my site for several years, and have seen my traffic or visitors drop in the last six to eight months.  I have kept a lot of my regular visitors, but, I don't believe that I am getting noticed by new visitors.  I did a search with several different search engines to find my website and it doesn't come up where it used to and I am not sure how to reach more visitors like I used to be able to, do you have any ideas?  Anonymous, Sunny California

Answer: There are so many things that you can do to promote your business online and get more traffic to your site.  There are several things that I recommend, and one is to use a blog format for your site.  Having a blog is a Web 2.0 tactic that adds the most valuable features for users and the search engines.  I just read a post from one of my favorite blogs (about building a business online) and Jack gives a very powerful way to promote your blog and help others in your niche.  Below is the information he provided and you should check out his blog for more detailed information on online business building tactics.

I was visiting a favorite business building blog today and found this great and very different kind of web 2.0 link building technique started by Alex over at HowtoSpoter.com. This tactic will absolutely blow you away, and will greatly increase your incoming links if you use it.

Follow the directions below and make sure you do it right. This might take a minute to see what's going on, but when you do, it will hit you like a ton of bricks!

Check out how this started (opens in a new window) then come back here and see what has changed on the review list below and you will see how this works immediately.

Thanks to Jack for passing this on, and to Alex for starting this genius link building campaign!

— copy and paste the Reciprocal Review Carousel and instructions below this line —

Reciprocal Review Carousel idea is based on a few simple yet effective link-building and blogging techniques I have learned:

• Build value of the blog by creating a helpful link from within content.
• Provide value to community by doing a review on a blog you personally like.
• Link to YOUR blog has exact anchor text you want and helps you boost Google Rankings.
• No more than 30 outbound links from any page to prevent penalties for link farming.
• Viral effect of the link – as more bloggers participate, link to your blog with YOUR anchor text, coming from quality content post will spread.

Here is How to participate:

• Copy the entire text between the specified lines.
• Create a post on your site and put at least one paragraph explaining how you joined the Reciprocal Review Carousel.
• Paste the text you copied into your post.
• Remove the Bottom Review and At the Top add your own review with a link to a site reviewed, at least 2 sentences about the site and a note – Reviewed by: Your Anchor Text. Link your anchor text to your site. Here is an example:

WordPress Web 2.0 Guide is a blog providing very useful information on building your very own Web 2.0 portal based on WordPress. Detailed instructions and howto guides make it possible for anyone to create a sparkling and engaging blog and join the community of like-minded individuals. Reviewed by: WordPress Web 2.0 Spot-er

Sites Reviewed:

• OnlineSecurityAuthority has everything you need to know about online security. Whether you are in need of the latest information on personal computing, blocking mySpace, ID Theft, RFID, Dating, or Banking this is the site to visit for all online security information. Reviewed by: AskAnissa
• Peter Lenkefi writes about Web 2.0 marketing strategies at Web2Center.com. He has some killer videos over there you should check out along with a ton of good information on blog marketing and various "new media" promotion tactics. Reviewed by: Link Building Maniac, Jack Humphrey, for the Friday Traffic Report
      

• Andy-Coates.com is an original creator of Viralink concept and a blog publishing information on Magic, Personal development and blog development. I have found a wealth of information on getting your blog noticed and generating the traffic for free. Reviewed by: WordPress Web 2.0 Guide
• FitForFreedom is well-established blog where you can find multitude of information on achieving financial freedom. Blog is run by Marco Righter and his writing style greatly adds to the value of information he provides. Reviewed by: Alex
• Secure Your PC For Internet blog run by Colin and provides essential information everyone accessing internet should know. Identity theft is becoming more and more of an issue and by visiting his blog you can minimize the risk of being compromised. Reviewed by: Alex
• Home With Heather is a great informative blog targeting WAHM (Work At Home Moms) and run by … you guessed it – Heather Masson. Information on what works for her in Internet Business written is very easy to read and comes from her personal experience. Reviewed by: Alex
• A Copywriter’s Blues blog published by Alex Badalic, a veteran of advertising turned musician gives you great food for soul. I have found some nice old videos of Johnny Cash performance and he has a lot more of vintage videos to satisfy fans. Reviewed by: Alex
• Did You Smell That blog authored by one of the veterans on network marketing filled with business ideas you can use. David Ledoux is well known and respected in online community and now he makes his experience available via blog posts. Reviewed by: Alex
• Best Damn Blog run by Richard Wing is all about Internet Marketing. Your visit will be rewarded by honest reviews, freebies and information you need to succeed in this cut-throat business without sacrificing your integrity. Reviewed by: Alex
• PlugIM Blog is a support portal for a new post voting system and a contender that has gained popularity among bloggers. Active community that lets you promote your blog and spread your message. Reviewed by: Alex

— copy and paste the Reciprocal Review Carousel and instructions above this line —

To recap – just take the whole thing above including the lines –copy and paste…etc–, do an opening paragraph like the one I started this post with, paste what you just copied, take the bottom review in the review list off and add a review like I did for Bill Wardell's site with a "Reviewed by:" link back to your site.

Post it and watch your traffic!  If you want to learn or use Web 2.0 strategies for your online business click here.