How to Start a Business

Don’t discard your floundering website business just yet.  Perhaps there is a way to relaunch the business in a way more suited to meeting market needs.

In 2007, I launched a website while living and working in Lima, Peru.  The site was called My Inka Link and I worked with local Peruvian suppliers to sell traditional products directly to clients in the USA.  The business model was unique in that the products shipped directly to the doorstep of the buyer from the artisan in Peru.

After moving back to the USA, I disbanded the website as it became harder to work with the suppliers in Peru from the USA.  The site was non-active for about a year and I have just decided to relaunch the site.

About a month ago, I received contact from one of my supplier contacts from Peru who was interested in selling new products on the My Inka Link site.  So I redesigned the site and am now selling this supplier’s goods with the same Direct to the Consumer business plan.

I write about this because I never thought I would relaunch the business.  But I was able to relaunch it with a completely updated product offering by just re-establishing contact with one supplier.

Where is your online business today?  Are you losing market share, website traffic, and sales?  Is it time for a website redesign?  Is it time to update the business model or business plan?  Has competition rendered your product a commodity?  Don’t give up and remove the website.  Rethink your business and the market and respond in a way that meets the needs of the marketplace.

 

 Relaunch Your Website Business [1:31m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

1 Comment

1.   Laurel Nicolosi   |  Wednesday, 04 November 2009 at 9:17 am

   I agree with you Erik! I think many times people are short-sighted when choosing business names, and so it doesn’t work past their present purpose, and they have to move on to the next name…

   The better way to do it is to pick a more general name, that describes YOU or your view on life (mine is bestlifepossible.com) so it serves me for whatever I have been doing online for the past 2 years.

   But I am not happy any longer to redirect traffic to a program I am in…I want to NOW show people who I am, not just what I am “doing” at the time. I feel this is the best use of the site name and will serve me from now on. So I agree with your assessment – make it work for you and you will be much better “repurposing” than starting from scratch!

   Laurel Nicolosi
   http://www.bestlifepossible.com