Whether you work a freelancer part-time or have a small home-based business having access to the internet at all times is vital. Unlike ten or twenty years ago where you promoted your business through mailings or the newspaper, today most of the population is online. They communicate, process payments, do research and use email.
The First Step
The first step as a new business owner is to have a reliable and fast internet connection. Your business growth depends on your ability to receive and send messages at will from your computer, iPad, and smartphone. Without access to reliable internet service, you may miss important updates and information essential to closing a deal.
Having a Presence
Starting up a new business is difficult. You need to establish clients quickly to stay afloat. The good news is that this is the age of technology wherein anyone can get exposure by having a presence on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn for short money. Most consumers are on these sites daily. This gives you a large audience of diverse backgrounds and ages allowing you to reach more people than traditional methods of advertising. In addition, these sites also have a place where the consumer can respond to your service or product, giving you an insight into how people feel. Plus, as an added bonus if someone likes what you are selling it automatically appears on all of their friend’s pages too, giving you additional advertising for free.
Communication
While businesses still use the traditional phone system in their office, they also have an email address. Email offers a fast way to send a message from virtually anywhere. Many businesses also use the email in the same manner as businesses used mailing lists just a short time ago. Only now, there is no additional fee for postage and the list of targeted people receive the messages instantly. It’s also a great way to keep in touch with your loyal client base and present new products or services that you now offer and conduct periodic surveys on your rating as a business.
Website
When people see your ads on social media they will then look to check out your website. Having a website along with a social media presence can help you sustain a healthy growth over the year. A website is convenient to the consumer. It allows potential clients to view your services and products 24/7. It also helps to legitimize it by letting them see what other people think of your business through honest testimonials.
Research
Whether you want to check out the competition or research a product prior to writing about it, the internet provides the fastest and the easiest way to do it. With a few clicks of your mouse you can move from one company or page to the next, gather what you need and you’re done. Without the internet, at your disposal, you would have to contact other businesses in disguise as a potential client to gather information, and that’s just on one company.
Off-site Employees
The internet lets you stay in contact with your employees and have a portion of your staff as freelancers. You can hire people by the hour to perform tasks such as customer service, sales, and billing without the need for space in your office. Outsourcing a small part of your business saves you money. It takes away the need for having more full-timers that need medical benefits and annual bonuses. And, since this is becoming a normal practice there are many online companies that specialize in finding you the right person to fit your business needs.
The internet is essential to getting your new business off the ground. It lets you send and receive messages rapidly, market your services or products quickly, achieve a strong presence on social media and research just about anything at will.
