The world is a wonderfully eclectic place full of difference which is a marvellous thing. Depending on what sphere you move within will influence how you think about the internet and internet business. Is the concept of ever having my business online, a complete fantasy or some desired reality for you? And how capable are you to participate in the world of internet business?In the space of one week I discovered two conflicting views about where business is at in terms of internet presence. I read an article that proclaimed every business today was aware it needed to have an internet presence to survive and most had developed that. I also spoke with a business coach and consultant based in a regional area who said that for most business owners, the internet simply wasn’t in their head space. He was involved in the delivery of a business course locally and there was absolutely no mention of the internet in any of the course materials. He admitted that it was becoming necessary and internet content would be included in coming years. So who is right?In the regional area in which I live, the concept of the internet business is very much in its infancy. Many people purchase online and the number and quantity of online purchases is growing all the time. Particularly for regionally based populations, the internet is one giant department store where anything is instantly available. However, when it comes to considering putting their own business on-line, many people are not quite there yet. Some businesses with a retail shop front will sell on eBay or have some form of internet element to their business. By far the vast majority of regionally based businesses would have very limited knowledge about how to go about optimising traffic online. Very few would have any idea about how to conduct market research on an idea or business to ascertain whether or not it could compete online.From my initial observations it appears there are three very broad categories when it comes to people and online business.There are computer geeks who speak a foreign language and who have the innate ability to write code hard-wired into their genes. The internet is their world. They rarely see the sun and have difficulty being understood by the rest of the world., Then there are the non-computer geeks who want to participate in the commercial world of the internet business. These are the questers. They know there is a whole lot of stuff they don’t know and they are constantly educating themselves but it’s a challenge and mentally exhausting. Most simply do not know where to start looking. They might attempt a blog or develop a website but without any knowledge of how to get to page one on Google, they remain forever in the far reaches of cyber sphere occasionally clicked on by some lost or wayward internet search gone wrong.And finally, there are the twiddlers. They like to look but they do not put their own content on the net. The internet is a foreign place. It’s interesting to be a spectator on the train as it flies through the terrain but they would never step off for fear that they might get lost or get too close to something that might explode.I am a self-confessed quester. Luckily, I know some computer geeks quite well and when they finally got sick of me asking stupid questions like:- Do you think a subscription service for tampons would go well on the net?; or How do I find out how many searches there are for red wax candles?, they politely pointed me in the direction of some internet based training. Now, having fought my way through the jungle of internet keyword analysis, search engine optimnisation and authority backlinks, I can now see how ridiculous my questions were.But I also now have the tools to answer those questions for myself. Knowledge is empowerment and I feel much more empoweerd having gone through the learning process myself than having outsourced it to a computer geek!
Tag Archives: Ecommerce
Raise Capital With Private Investors
If you have launched your own startup, your first biggest challenge is to raise capital. Fortunately, you choose from a lot of options to raise the funds your business needs. Among all the sources, crowdfunding is one of the best ones as it helps redefine how startups can get off the ground. In this article, we are going to help you know the benefits of raising capital with private investors through a crowdfunding platform. Read on to find out more.
Benefits of raising capital with private investors
1. Funding is not equity-based
First of all, crowdfunding is not necessarily equity-based. Although startups have the liberty to use the equity in order to catch the attention of potential investors, It’s not required to give up ownership to collect capital.
The good news is that some platforms allow their members to apply a reward-oriented approach in order to raise capital. For instance, if your business deals in a specific product, make sure you hand over a few units to your prospective investors before you roll it out for the ultimate users.
2. Attracting potential investors is easy
With crowdfunding, you can attract a lot of potential investors without putting in a lot of effort. Although you can try for angel investors, keep in mind that this process can cost you a lot of time. The reason is that you will have to pitch your small business concept several times.
On the other hand, if you use a crowdfunding platform, you will have to post your business pitch in only one place. And this page will be ready by hundreds of investors from across the globe.
These platforms have a lot of useful features that may help startups collect funds from investors. So, attracting potential investors and raising capital will be much easier using crowdfunding platforms.
3. Higher visibility
Crowdfunding can help you make your startup more visible. Since marketing may consume a large chunk of your budget, it makes sense to use a crowdfunding platform instead. For potential investors, it’s easy to fund a crowdfunding campaign.
And these activities can help boost the visibility of your brand. Plus, you can also attract investors for your next funding rounds.
The Bottom Line
If you want to raise funds for your startup, crowdfunding can be the best choice. All you need to do is become part of a crowdfunding platform and you will be able to tap into the pool of potential investors. And this will help you kick start your business and make it a success in the industry.