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Home / Business / Management
Infopreneur: The “No Risk” Web Entrepreneur
By:Claude Jollet
You may be one of a growing multitude seriously thinking of starting a small business. You would like to strike out on your own, but you hesitate to take the plunge. You may not know where to begin and – most likely – you have nothing to sell ... or so you think! Become an “infopreneur” then!
Share What You Know
An “infopreneur” is a pure information provider. You know ... the stuff everybody, and I do mean everybody, is looking for on the Web. Millions of Web surfers hit the Net every day looking for an answer to a question, a piece of information to fill a gap in knowledge, or a solution to a nagging problem that needs to be solved.
We are in the “information Age”!
So. There you are. When you want to start a business, you should start by offering something everybody wants because they need it.
Give It To Them
Why not offer information then? Give them what they want. But what information, you may ask? Oh! That's an easy one, so I'll answer it right away.
You offer what you know! That's right, your knowledge and know-how. Surely, you have mastered something that you love doing ... and can't stop talking about.
That's what you offer your Web visitors. Yes, you need a Web site to start a business on the Web. That's the easy part! The hard part is identifying what you should be sharing with people. You already know what it is. You just have not yet recognized how valuable it is to others.
Sell Nothing ... But Visibility!
If you limit yourself to giving away helpful information ... how can your earn an income? You're not selling anything? I guess I owe you an explanation here.
People are curious or in need of helpful information. They will usually find your Web site by using keywords and a search engine. They read what you have to say. When you speak (write) enthusiastically about your favorite subject, you immediatly communicate your enthusiasm. Your enthusiasm is catchy. The information you are parting with is useful, helpful. You make sure of that.
With time, as you offer even more helpful information on your Web site, a growing number of people will visit your site. That is called “traffic”.
In other words, you give away information. It attracts people. You help them solve a problem, or fill a need for information. Once you have a steady flow of traffic flocking to your Web site ... you sell the traffic! That is, you sell the high visibility an advertiser will enjoy by advertising on your Web site. The more traffic goes through your Web site, the more your advertiser will be likely to get the “click” and a sale.
You give people what they are looking for. You give your advertisers the quality traffic they want. You also get what you want, because you can profit from that same traffic, through add revenue and affiliation commissions.
Your Cost Will Be Time
You will have noticed that it will take “a certain amount of time” before you build up the kind of traffic that will attract advertisers, or that will enable you to sell someone else's product as an affiliate. That time will be your “major” cost of doing business.
I know, I hear you! What about the Web hosting and the site building. Heh! That is only going to cost you about one dollar per day! Yup! A buck a day. No kidding, that's what I pay to have my Web site up and running.
The rest of the costs is almost all “my time”. I run my Web business on less than one thousand USD per year! Honest!
Next To No Operating Costs
I get away with it because I am an “infopreneur”! I give away my know-how as a business planning adviser ... and I sell others' products and services, as an affiliate. By helping people plan their Web business, I attract an ever growing flow of traffic to my Web site.
My visitors get what they want. I make sure of that! I monetize the traffic that I attract with my Web site content. Therefore, I get what I want. It's the give and take of sound business. It must be a “win-win” proposition, otherwise it cannot work.
“Infopreneurs” mostly risk their time. No significant investment, no inventory, near negligible operating costs. With proper planning and guidance, they reduce the risk of doing business to ... next to nothing!
I do business, and run negligeable risks, as an "infopreneur".
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Article keywords: infopreneur, web entrepreneur, business web site, business start up, planning, business planning
Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com
Claude Jollet is a former planning advisor to major industrial and commercial clients. He specialized in weather related operational planning issues. He holds a B.Sc.A. specializing in business process analysis and automation. He now devotes himself to the promotion of entrepreneurship on www.top-web-entrepreneurs-plan-it.com
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