Is building a successful online business much more difficult than any traditional businesses?

Question

I want honest opinion of those who have tried making money online and building an internet business. For the last ten years, I have done nothing but learned, learned and learned technology. Now, I'm at a point that I literally know dozens of complicated technologies and as a result I can build a great looking site within days. All of these have been done with the hope of an online success that makes me independent of my day to day job as a contractor. However, putting aside the pack of lies and hypes that is on the Internet, it is difficult to the extreme to make any meaningful money online. The hurdles that you have to overcome such as getting traffic from search engines, mixing technologies to create features, converting users to subscribe to your service are so difficult even for someone like me who has mastered so many technologies.

Let's face it, a plumber comes to your house to just inspect pipes and he hands you a $100 bill. A dentist spends half an hour on your tooth, and hands you a $500 bill. But put up an ad on craiglist that says you want a web site to be built for you for under $300, and you literally get dozens of responses from people who say that they would do it for under $250. Even consider a tool such as Youtube; do you have any idea how extremely difficult and complicated it is to run a Web site such as Youtube? Yes, if Youtube even suggests a montly $2.99 a month, it will die an agonizing death. How much do you think a dentist or a banker would have charged you if they were to offer you a service as great as Youtube or MySpace?

In any case, the point of all this is to say that developing even a barely successful online business is probably 10 times more difficult than setting up a grocery shop. Do you agree? And why do you think is that?

Answer 1

I totally agree. I don't think these people who have replied and denied that for one second have tried to run an actual online business. From what you have described you have already done your homework. The last reply even claims you haven't gotten your hands dirty which based on your description is not anywhere near true.



I am in the same boat I think. While I can command a good salary working for companies like Ebay and Google, but I am yet to be able to make even equivalent of a month of my salary from the few web sites that I have created and then abandoned because there wasn't enough traffic to them.



As you mentioned Craiglist is a good proof and example as to how difficult it is to make money online or else these poor soles offering to create a web site which is a huge amount of work for $300 would have had more profitable ventures to pursue.



The plumber you mentioned probably never had to think even for one day as hard as we on a regular bases. And for dentists, have you ever seen a dentist sitting in a coffee shop for hours and hours learning? I have seen so many computer people who practically have no life and just keep learning, and yet they are to make as much as the dentist. I could have easily become a dentist and my life would have been far more enjoyable and easy.



I can imagine that I would have had my own business or businesses if I had gotten into a different industry right from beginning.



I don't have anything against people who have replied before me, but I don't think they have even attempted to create a Web site. They probably work for an Internet company which pays them well, and they think creating a new Web site is as easy. You should have mentioned that people should respond only if they have already tried to make money online.

Answer 2

From what you have said, you've done all the "studying" but haven't taken any action. It's not hard to make any meaningful income online, but at some point you have to get your hands dirty and put in some work.



The plumber, dentist and banker would be no further along than you are describing if all they did was "learned, learned and learned the technology". Learning wasn't the goal, doing the work and being highly compensated for their time was the goal.



If you are talking in terms of profitable business it takes less to get started than a grocery shop, but it takes about the same amount of work initially to make a clear profit.



Interesting you find Youtube and MySpace are great services. What are you comparing them to? Both Youtube and MySpace are advertising intensive business models. They sell advertising, so there is no viable reason to charge users. The users of their services are the product being sold.



No, I don't agree with your logic and setting up a successful online business is not more difficult than a traditional business, it still comes down to having a plan and taking action on that plan.

Answer 3

Easy to answer this question. You are over thinking this "problem" way to much. Solution: using your example of the plumber, put up a web site offering plumbing services to local areas. Get the site upto first search engine position for relative key terms. Leave an area of the site for plumbers to contact you in regards to advertising on your site. You will get people who want to advertise on your site. Our company spends anwhere from 250 to 1000 month per website we advertise on. Simple math is 10 companies from 50 states= 500 companies charge 500 a month to each. You now have a gross income of 250000 per month, should be enough to pay the bills. Best of Luck!

Answer 4

Nothing good comes easy. I hate the "get rich quick" schemes that prey on out of work people who are desperate to make a living.

As for the web sight and traffic, the question would arise as to what you are offering on it. A lot of web sights remind me of junk mail that you have to sort out to find what you really want.

The plumber and the dentist both have services that people hope they will never need, no one goes to the dentist as a hobby or calls a plumber for the fun of it. And it is good to note that both the plumber and the dentist invested years in an apprenticeship or college to get their businesses off the ground.

So the question goes back to what do you offer on a web sight or a dot com. business? I think you have to find a 'niche' market where there is demand for what you offer. Laying aside the technical aspects of it, you must invest time in market research on the goods or services you offer and perhaps get the advice of a business consultant as to the best way to present this on line. Good Luck

Answer 5

at least in a real biz, you can hang out a sign and people driving by will see you; online there's millions of sites, its hard to be found and people can't meet you to see if you're legit.