The Five C's of a Business Start-Up Plan

I was recently reading Starting an Online Business, by Greg Holden.  He talks about the four C's that we need to be aware of if we want to succeed online.  I would like to summarize what Greg shares in his book, but also add another C that I think is helpful in today's online business environment.

Competitors

For the first C we are encouraged to become aware of the competition.  Know what other businesses are out there, and which are the most successful.  There is nothing wrong with learning from the competition.

Customers

Try to understand who are the customers that are buying online.  Are they young or old, middle class or somewhere else.  These will be the people who will be coming to your site.  You will want to be attractive to them.

Culture

Understand the culture of the people who frequent these types of businesses.  How do they talk (their slang)?  Do they like comedy or formal?  Do they like new things or traditional ideas?  You will want to reflect that culture on your website.

Content

The main thing that keeps people coming back to any web side is the content.  It may be flashy with graphics and multi-media, but if there is no worthwhile content, people will not come back.  Will you be able to supply valuable content on your web site.  This will be essential to your success.

The fifth C that I would like to add to Mr. Holden's list is...

Charity

In today's online world it is usually not enough to only have great content.  If you want to increase your membership/visits, you usually need to give something away.  It doesn't have to be expensive - maybe just some extra knowledge, like a training course.  People feel good about getting something for nothing, and they are more likely to return, and more likely to purchase if they have received something of value for free from your site.

So, as you are developing your business start-up plan, don't forget the five C's.  They will help you in the early stages of your planning.  If you do this kind of ground-work, you will soon find yourself moving along toward eventual success.

A business start-plan is essential for any business to succeed. To read more about starting up an online business, go to this site. You can also learn other business related practices by visiting, http://rvanderroest.com