Lesson 6: Legal Structures

Business legal structures are very important and can vary from business to business. The main ones to know are sole proprietor, partnership, corporations, limited liability companies (LLC). All my information comes from this website. Go check it out if you want more info! I’m just going to scratch the surface.

A sole proprietor has the most simple and traditional business structure. An entrepreneur would go into business using their name or a trade name (DBA). It may be the simplest to set up, but it does have a major setback. It does not offer protection to the owner of the business.

A partnership is a form of business ownership. Two or more people/entities can create this when they do business and lacks legal protection.

A corporation is business ownership where one legal entity is owned by many investors. There are two options: S and C corporations. There are a few differences between the two, I will focus on taxes. S corps are pass-through tax entities. Meaning, the profits/losses of the business are passed through, and are reported on the owner’s personal tax returns. C corps are separately taxed. They file a corporate tax return.

Limited liability companies make the most sense to me. It provides legal protection to the owner of the company. It protects owners from personal liability created by the business. Here is more information on how to form an LLC. It is done at a state level and cost varies between states.

Lesson 5: HTML coding and Buttons

So this week was the easiest one for me. I am finally starting to wrap my mind around HTML coding.

I learned through this HTML tutorial video that “< command that you want done>” starts a function and this “the command again> closes the function.  I created some websites in notepad, and even wrote a love note to my husband with it. (I know, we are geeky, but he was so excited and happy!)

I love what we are learning right now! Coding is very fun, and so useful. More people should learn how to code.

We also learned about PayPal, and making shopping cart buttons for our websites. PayPal is very cool because when you click here, and fill out the information that they need (not any personal information, don’t worry!), they give you a code to put into your website.

I will be using a variation of their shopping cart button to sell my merchandise.

Lesson 4: How to Choose a Site Builder/Host

I was labeling my past blog articles as week 1 and week 2, but it got too confusing to me because in my class, the lessons do not correspond to the weeks. SO from now on, I will be titling my posts with the lesson numbers.

There are many site builders to choose from. I prefer Drag and Drop (such as weebly.com or Godaddy) or content management systems (such as wordpress.org) because there is little to no coding required. I have not yet learned HTML coding so to start a business I need something a little easier than using WYSIWYG/html Editors.

Some things that should be considered before you decide on a site builder are: your level of HTML skill, your business requirement for power, time it will take to learn the system, and need for a certain type of look on a website.

A host is different than a site builder in that a Host has servers connected to the internet where you can place your website. Some have a website builder option too. You get what you pay for, and for my purposes (I am just starting out), a cheaper host is the best option since I am not sure if my company will be profitable yet.

It would be good to look at websites that rank hosts such as this one before you decide to sign a contract. Doing your research is pretty important, and if you cannot find the information that you are looking for on their website, start a chat with a representative.

In other news, I chose my product for my website. I’m very excited because I am going to start a home décor e-store. I will update the blog when I get that published.

Week 2: Wholesalers, Affiliate Marketing, and Drop Shipping

During this week, I was taught what wholesalers, brokers, and manufactures are. Let me re-iterate: I knew none of this before this class.

I read a very interesting article about How to Find a Wholesale Distributor. It basically tells you that if you know the product you want to sell, you should understand 10 tips for picking a wholesaler. I’ll list a few of them, but you should follow the link to get to the full article.

1. Understand industry’s distribution channels

Do you want a manufacturer (to buy directly from, this is what a boutique store does), an Importer (it has the sole rights to distribute a product), a wholesaler, or a Jobber (guys who make deliveries to retail or grocers)?

2. Try the manufacturer First
3. Have a productive first contact with a wholesale supplier

I really like their advice here – write a quick 2-line email as to not waste their time. You should include your product line, and ask for their minimum order requirements/prices.

 

This week, I also learned what affiliate marketing and drop shipping are. In my class discussion, I was taught way more than the reading about affiliate marketing, so I’ll share with you what I’ve learned.

Basically it means that a business would be drawing internet traffic to their site and using advertising to send customers to other sellers.

They wouldn’t actually handle the sale, but would get paid a commission for every sale that came from that website. This type of business, affiliate marketing, is wonderful for bloggers!

Drop shipping on the other hand, is pretty simple, but is much more hands on than affiliate marketing. I read this article in preparation for the class. You don’t have any inventory on hand, but you do process the promotion and collect payments.

You should watch out for chargebacks from banks though, because some people take advantage of the system and you will be left without inventory and without payments.

Week 1: My Very First Encounter With AdWords

After this first week of class, I feel in over my head. I’m a marriage and family major amongst business, CIT, and others who have studied this for the past four years.

I will not let my complete lack of experience stop me! I am going to learn how to have a successful online business if it’s the last thing I do.

Our instructor had us read about business models and asked us to advise if it is better to choose a model or a product first. Little did I know, that that is a very philosophical question! I suggested it would be easier to pick a product first and then fit the model to a product you are passionate about.

Apparently I was only somewhat wrong. If the sole purpose of creating a business is for you to gain experience, then by all means, choosing a model first would be your best option. But if you have already found a niche product, then you would obviously choose a model to fit it. Make sense?

For help on brainstorming business ideas go here.

Also, I had my first experience with Google AdWords on Monday. What is Google AdWords? Excellent question! I typed it into Google and found that it “is an advertising service by Google for businesses wanting to display ads on Google. The AdWords program enables businesses to set a budget for advertising.”

If I knew how to use any part of it, that would make my assignments a lot easier. I could write a whole blog about AdWords and how much I hate it right now.

A sweet instructor from BYU-I made a video how to use AdWords the right way. It was really helpful for me. Basically, DO NOT follow the guided set up if you want to use it for free. You can always set it up later.

This is also my first actual blog. Don’t get me wrong, I have written blog articles in the past, but I did not publish my own (unless you count Tumblr). My articles have been published on other websites.

As a week of many, many firsts, it has been a very stretching and growing experience to say the least.