Tested Business Principles - Do They Count on the Web?

Every day our mail inboxes are full of new offers,
buzzwords, ideas and the latest software utilities.
With all the confusing array of offers, it's easy to
get sidetracked by the constant fear of not catching
the "next wave."

There is always new technology on the horizon.
RSS feeds, XML, SmartPages and the never ending
stream of things all the marketers say you can't live
without; it's enough to scare the daylights out of you!
Nobody wants to be overtaken by technology they
know nothing about!

Of course, one of the greatest - and most effective - tools
Internet marketers use is the fear of being left behind.
Experienced Internet Marketers will plant the
not-so-subtle seed of fear to get you to reach for the
wallet

All those things conspire to create an atmosphere of
uncertainty in most individuals, with good cause! Just
reading my email make's me feel so hopelessly inadequate!
Like the rest of the Internet got away from me while I
was fooling around with "basic concepts."

With the constant assault of thinly veiled fear and
intimidation reaching your inbox, how in the world should
you map a course of action? I mean, it seems like the web
changes overnight, while you sleep!

All the above fears - manipulated by skillful operators -
resulted in one of the greatest predatory feeding frenzies
that led to the DotCom bust of 2000.
Many Venture Capitalist and a slew of others lost gazillions
of dollars.

They invested in a technology they didn't understand and
believed the Internet represented a new business model.
The liars, thieves and scoundrels took full advantage and
soaked anybody with capital that simply wanted a piece
of Internet action! Ouch!

The sad thing is that very same mentality survived alive
and well and is into Internet Marketing! Yes, the same
predatory politics of fear and intimidation are at work
here with us, today!

If seasoned, well groomed investors lost their shirts,
it should come as a warning to others: Yes, Long Time
Tested Business Principles Apply To Any Business, Web
or brick and mortar!

That said, let us consider what are the basic needs of a
viable business, other than the obvious need for
capitalization:

(1) It must have a place of business, a home. If a Web
business, this means your Hosting service.

(2) It must have products and services to sell.
All businesses have something to trade.

(3) It must promote itself to let possible customers
and partners know it's open for business and taking
orders. It can place ads on the radio, television,
billboards, pamphlets, mailings and so on.

As can be seen, the basic business needs haven't changed
at all! All the other requirements of business flow from the
reliable execution of the 3 above. The only remaining items
are: focus and determination.

You must start anew every day and provide focus
and determination to your growing Internet business.
The above is something easier said than done because
every second of the day we find ourselves distracted
by one of the many new offers and gimmicks.

Just remember to finish one project at a time and don't
allow yourself to get sidetracked. Sure, you'll still get
all those emails telling you how the Net is leaving you
behind and so on. Ignore them!

The other remaining area of concern arises in the
translation of the above principles into their Internet
equivalent. If this is one of your concerns, don't feel
alone! Many big corporations are having just as hard
a time grappling with the issues of digital marketing,
promotion, delivery and pricing!

I invite you to breathe deeply and read this article
whenever you feel overwhelmed by the latest "flavor
of the month" Internet business offer. I hope it helps
you find your common sense grounding.

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by Francisco Aloy

(C)2004 Francisco Aloy
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