You hear a great deal about the Internet these days -- that it's revolutionised communication ... commerce ... education ... Life-As-We-Know-It ...
Is this just hype?
You be the judge:
AN INTERNET TALE
After spending over twenty years at the Chalk-face, as a high school teacher, the novelty had worn off somewhat, so I did what so many others are doing now, I started looking for ways I could achieve that most desirable of lifestyles and be my own boss.
Home Based Businesses (HBB) are the fastest growing segment of the economy with thousands of people launching out on their own every week.
But there are pitfalls in setting up your own business: capital equipment can consume huge quantities of your precious resources; advertising costs can be horrendous, but since they're the only way you can tell people about your product or service, you have no choice; printing costs eat into more of your money; then you have to pay for postage, long distance phone calls and faxes to suppliers and customers. And we haven't got to the problems that can arise when suppliers let you down, when there are problems with transport ... aargh!
If I sound as if I've 'been there and done that,' it's because I have. My first business was marketing a series of courses I'd written.
I had the courses printed; I set up a free-call number and a reply-paid postal system; I advertised in all the major newspapers in three states; I paid to have the courses mailed to those who ordered them, and I soon discovered that I was just covering costs ... but only just.
This certainly wasn't the door to economic freedom I'd visualised (OK, let's be honest, it wasn't the freedom I'd fantasised about. Where were the big cheques every week? Where was the huge customer base that was supposed to be clamouring for me to write more and more courses for them? Mere figments of my imagination!)
ENTER: THE INTERNET!
But then I discovered the Internet, and suddenly there was no need to print hard copies of my course; I could email the whole course to students anywhere in the world!
And it didn't cost me any more to send courses to a hundred people than it did to send one course to one person. Suddenly my running costs were reduced, and I was able to halve the price of my courses.
I could change the course as I saw the need, adding newer examples to keep it up to date, deleting sections I wasn't happy with, rewriting whole sections. Plus, I now had the most amazing advertising vehicle for my course -- a website!
I was able to put up examples of my writing; I could show people what was in the course; I could point out the importance of being able to write well. I could do anything! And this was all because of the Internet.
Mind you, it took me some time to work out how to actually build a website; I made some terrible mistakes and wasted an incredible amount of time -- time that I could have been using to build my business. (My first efforts are outlined in an article I wrote, The Saga of the alt tags: http://www.write101.com/saga.htm )
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
That was in 1998 and my business has expanded to include professional writing services -- something I'd never thought about doing. It grew because people I met through the Internet asked my advice about their own writing and then asked me to write for them; I now have clients from every continent (except Antarctica).
That's what happens with business opportunities -- they just sort of arrive out of nowhere, and you have to be ready to recognise them and grab them before they get away!
MASSIVE GROWTH
The Internet provides the greatest opportunity of all in its capacity to change the way we do business and communicate, and in the rapidity with which all this has happened.
In 1996, there were an estimated 40 million Internet users worldwide, but according to a study released by market researcher the Angus Reid Group, global Internet usage is well on its way to reaching 1 billion users by this year (2005).
Consider the following:
? A world where e-mailboxes outnumber TV sets and telephone lines is probably only two years away.
According to statistics compiled by Messaging Online, the total number of e-mailboxes in the world has soared 83.5% in the past year. For comparison, the CIA says there are almost one billion TVs in the world, and according to the ITU there are less than 800 million phone lines. This means email has in 12 years done what it took 50 years for the TV and 125 years for the telephone to do.
? Online advertising revenues are expected to grow to $28 billion worldwide this year, according to new Jupiter research released in June at the Global Online Advertising Forum in Cannes, France. Jupiter says that nearly 6% of all global advertising revenue will be spent online and that growth will partly be driven by the rise of the online population worldwide, which will more than double within the next five years.
? Because of the swift time-to-market and the strong return on investment of e-mail, a new Jupiter report estimates that commercial e-mail spending will grow from $164 million in 1999 to $7.3 billion in 2005 - an estimated forty-fold increase in e-mail volume.
? The online population growth in Northern Europe, Asia and Latin America will lead to a global melting pot in a few years, eMarketer predicts and most of the Internet's growth will be in Western Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
? eMarketer also predicts that wireless devices will link millions of new users to the web in the next few years.
According to the European Commission, Europe has one of the highest cell phone penetration rates in the world, with Finland leading the pack at 64.4% (Statistics from Masha E. Geller's MediaPost: http://www.mediapost.com)
Convinced?
WHY YOU NEED A WEBSITE
As well as using your website to facilitate your business, as I did, there are countless other uses:
? Keep in touch with family. So many families these days are spread across the country and around the world. We miss out on all those precious moments such as new babies, first steps, graduations, birthdays, weddings ... but having your own website means you can post pictures of your family, you can even put up videos and recordings so everyone in the family can keep up to date.
? Have you retired? Use the Internet to plan that great Retirement Odyssey; put up maps of your travels so friends can follow your trip; post your travel diary and keep the best travel memories fresh for all time.
? Set up a site around your hobby, sport or craft and show off your work or collections.
? Are you a member of a charity organisation? Build a website to keep in touch with members and benefactors. Use it to arrange fund raisers.
? We all know that children these days seem to be born computer literate, so give your children the opportunity to explore their talents and to build their skills by giving them their very own website. If the Internet is going to play such a dominant role in our lives, your kids need to be thoroughly skilled in all its uses.
Developers have seen the writing on the wall and many are now building housing estates with Internet access a standard inclusion in new homes.
Websites are the way of the future and we can learn to use them or get left behind.
NB If the spelling of words such as "visualised" in this article worried you, please read this: http://www.write101.com/aus.htm
Jennifer Stewart has had her own web-based business since 1998 and offers ghost writing and other professional services to clients from every continent except Antarctica. Visit http://www.write101.com and subscribe to free, weekly Writing Tips: mailto:WritingTips-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Northbrook Cadillac Deville rentals .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareWebmasters deal with a myriad of complex design challenges every... Read More
After planning the design and content of your website, it's... Read More
Although there are significant differences among the various types of... Read More
1. SiteSpinner V2 - On Sale www.deprice.com/sitespinner.htmSiteSpinner is a user-friendly... Read More
Today it seems everyone is jumping on the entrepreneur bandwagon,... Read More
A lot of people these days are interested in getting... Read More
What to do if you are an artist after you... Read More
Many web developers today are starting to KISS their website,... Read More
Thinking about starting up a business? The web is the... Read More
If you ever want to create a state directory, article... Read More
Are you, like many other website owners, frustrated at the... Read More
Wow, we`ve already taken a domain and chosen a web... Read More
What happened on your website yesterday? What about last week... Read More
I am just a learner who likes to delve in... Read More
Having an eye catching website is great, but are you... Read More
The process of Web application development is critical to the... Read More
With the New Year upon us yet again, it's time... Read More
What to put your the website if you are an... Read More
An Introduction to Server Side IncludesBeginner? That's OK!While much has... Read More
Profiles are one of the best kept secrets around regarding... Read More
Making money with your web site is the dream and... Read More
An interesting eCommerce success factor that isn't precisely overlooked, but... Read More
Running an effective website is a continuous process. I have... Read More
The first thing you will have to deal building your... Read More
Functions and Subroutines in ASP If you read... Read More
Beason Mercedes Benz s500 rentals ..So you want to take a look at a real... Read More
What to do if you are an artist after you... Read More
Dance is how you pamper your soul and satiate your... Read More
There's been widespread speculation about the new legislation being introduced... Read More
Recently I was reviewing the keyword specific conversion rate data... Read More
With all of the factors involved in designing and building... Read More
Are you, like many other website owners, frustrated at the... Read More
1. Splash pagesMost of the time splash pages are uncalled... Read More
Go to any internet marketing forum you want these days... Read More
You've put up a website to promote a product or... Read More
Most interactive websites nowadays would require a user to log... Read More
Losing website sales and traffic is sometimes simply a case... Read More
Server Side Includes (SSI) with ASP People often... Read More
Dan Kennedy once said that if you can't make money... Read More
For years now I've been looking to start my own... Read More
I am just a learner who likes to delve in... Read More
A professional online reputation is essential to the flourishing of... Read More
I talk with so many people who have small businesses... Read More
Selecting the Perfect Domain NameThe first issue I have with... Read More
Psychology is a long word which everyone thinks, "no, that's... Read More
An Introduction to Server Side IncludesBeginner? That's OK!While much has... Read More
A PHP Redirect automatically transfers a web user from one... Read More
Developing a website with content that entices visitors to return... Read More
Do you make your website just to entertain yourself or... Read More
There are many elements that are key to successful web... Read More
Web Development |