Reflections of a Startup

 Learning to Host January 30, 2021 This week I have learned about web hosting and the different factors that need to be considered. There is more to it than who has the best price. One of the most important things to consider when choosing who will host (or store your site online) is if it is easily compatible with the site builder you choose to use to make your site. Most site builders have their own or one or two hosts they work closely with. If you are writing and using strictly your own HTML, this factor would be irrelevant. But, if you want to use a site builder like Weebly, Wix, WordPress, or GoDaddy, you need to consider if you can easily move it to the host. You may also want a mix of template builds and customizing with HTML. If you do, make sure your site builder and host allow that function. Another factor, that most of us consider, is the cost and features that come with it. There are a lot of hosts that are very reasonable. Some you can check out are BlueHost, Weebly, ...

Learning to Source January 23, 2021 There are so many questions when you decide to start an online business. So many business models. Most important is what are you going to sell? Is it a service? Is it a product? If I choose a product, where do I source it from? Do I keep inventory, or do I dropship? Should I just become an affiliate? So many questions! Through researching this week, I have learned many pros and cons to each method. I have also learned how to go about finding a source for each of the models. Let's talk about each model. The first model we are going to call an e-tailer store. This is where I could order and stock inventory for an online store. The pros to this method are that I have the product in stock, and therefore know what I can sell. I control customer service, shipments, all of it. The cons are that there are money and space tied up in inventory. The next model is a drop-ship model. This is where you market your e-store, but do not carry inventory. Instead, ...

 Learning to Research January 16, 2021 As I begin the process of creating an online business, I have a lot to learn. To begin, I have had to learn how to research. It is necessary to know what your competition and demand are. I have learned this week how to create a Google Ads campaign and to use the keywords planner to find statistics on how many impressions a certain keyword gets, and the competition level of the same keyword. You can use this information to see what keywords could be most effective and if there is an opportunity for entering the market.  Outside of learning the technicality of how to do this research, I learned that an idea may not be enough. It is important to know your competition and demand. You need to research before you begin, not just jump. There is a lot to decide when you want to become an entrepreneur. You need to research and make decisions about what kind of business you want to create and if it is feasible.