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Conducting Business
on the Internet
Instructor: Fred Aebli
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 963.2592
Our Time Together
• 1st Night
– Talk / discuss
– Create business entities
• 2nd Night
– Wrap up Talk
– Build a company
Business Basics
• Netiquette
– Yes there actually are rules…
• Email
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DON’T SHOUT – Avoid using all Caps
Don’t Spam – Spamming may result in “Flaming”
Don’t Flame – Harsh emails that make you wonder who just bit off your butt
Keep confidential emails confidential
Keep Attachments to a minimum
…more Netiquette
• Smart Emailing
– Brevity is key…too long, then phone them
– Use the subject line for your message
– Use quoting in your replies (email option)
– Include a signature
• Your name
• Your phone #
• Your Address / website
Now down to Biz-ness
• What is “e-business” or “e-commerce”?
– EDI (been around a loooong time)
– EFT (newer)
– Credit Card Transactions
So is this really new????
Who is on the web?
• Dot Com’s
– What happened?
– Will it survive?
• Traditional Companies
– Sears
– JCPenney’s
– Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Big Mac
• Traditional sites
The Internet Presence
– Brochure style
• A marketing device to reach a certain demographic group
• Raise awareness
• Success is measured by hits
– Selling style
• Open and close a sale electronically
• Comprised of: marketing info, catalogue & processing order
Demographics
• Fact: number of online users tripled
• 12Million to 47Million
• Most of these users are ELITE
– Higher income, education, porfessional
Is the division between the haves and have nots growing???
Internet Economy Study
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4 Layers exist
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commissioned by CISCO and University of Texas at Austin
Internet Infrastructure Layer ($115B)
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Backbone providers, ISP’s, Networking companies, Fiber Optics makers
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Consultants, search engines, database vendors (see pg 2-7)
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Online travel agents, brokers, portals
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E-tailers, subscriptions, entertainment
Internet App Layer ($56B)
Internet Intermediary Layer ($58B)
Internet Commerce Layer ($101B)
Where is this heading…
• Trends are tough but think towards these:
– Personalization
– Instant fulfillment
– Mobility
– Intelligent Agents
– Custom Pricing
Consulting
• Book does a good job outlining major points
• Can’t say enough about the business plan but….
• I don’t have all the answers….no one does.
• Webster:
What is a consultant?
con·sul·tant (kn-sltnt)
1.One who gives expert or professional advice.
2.One who consults another.
• Some say “a crook with a business card”
• But most say….
– A facilitator
– A mentor
– A friend
Recommended Steps to Take
• Determine your area to work in
– “Know yourself and seek self improvement”
• Start thinking of a name for your entity
• Incorporation
– Why?
• To protect yourself, your family and your personal assets
– How?
• Seek a counselor, corporate seal
• Contact an accountant and secure a Tax ID
• Create a bank account
The Business Plan
• The document that will keep you on track.
• Some common characteristics:
– Define product
– Define your target audience
– Define any alliances (virtual or actual)
– Identify key operations
– Financials
Taking more steps…
• Have a means to contact you
– Cell phone preferable
– Create your website with email address (not an AOL account)
• Admin Identity
– Letterhead
– Business cards
Doing Business
• Networking vs. Advertising
• Pricing
– Hourly Rate
– Flat Rate
– Free
• Contracts
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Have someone write one
Download one
Buy software
Know what you are going to do by identifying the requirements and listing them individually.
Identify a maintenance effort
Art of the “Face to Face”
• Many techniques and styles
• Find one that fits your personality
– Good handshake
– GOOD LISTENER
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Develop what THEY want
Return phone calls/emails promptly
Check in with them on a regular basis
Get to know them
Remember your job is to “consult” not “dictate”
Lastly….”First impressions…you only get one”
Useful Links and Places
• How to Info:
– Contract Professional
• http://www.cpuniverse.com/
– CNET (Builder.com…business and E-strategy)
• IT Jobs
– http://www.dice.com/
– http://www.ants.com/
– http://www.recruiterscafe.com/
Side Note:
• Consulting is fun but NOT for everyone.
• Life in corporate webdev and software dev is also challenging
and fun.
Let’s Do One!
• Scenario: You are lead on for a website development firm and
you are tasked with building a medium sized site for a real
estate client.
• Task:
Build a site that suits the client’s needs.
Step 1
• Preliminary Analysis
– What type of business is it?
• Answer: real estate
– What type of technology do they currently have in their office?
• How are they connected to the I-highway?
• Are they connected?
• Do they currently have a website?
Step 2
• Arrange a meeting with the principles
– Explain how you work (remotely or in shop)
– Talk about the site:
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What is the purpose?
Who is the audience?
Where do you see it in 5 years?
What keeps them coming back?
What is thier budget?
Step 2 cont’d….
– Once you discuss the fundamental requirements….retire from the
meeting but give them an estimate.
– Determine who will be your working liaison
– They will be providing the conduit for content
– Keep it to one person if possible
Step 3
• Contract Preparations
– Sit down and write out the requirements and begin a pricing scheme
– Meet again and go over cost
– Discuss timeframes and milestones for completing the work
• Analysis
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Step 4
Work up design compositions (paper based drawings)
Work up a preliminary siteplan (graphical one sheeter)
IDENTIFY HOW NAVIGATION WORKS
Identify key content
Identify major functionality
Identify those items that add value that should not be cut out and what can be
cut out
Step 5
• Contracting
– Identify method of invoicing
– Identify method of payment
– Prepare contract and work towards final copy (eg. Templates,
software)
– Sign and provide copies to both parties
– Secure the Domain Name
• Development
Step 6
– Once site plan is formalized….
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Create development environment
Begin graphics work
Begin creating the template for the website
Begin the work for the navigation
– Content Collection
• Get rolling quickly
• See pg 4-12
• Meta Tag thinking needs to start for search engines
Step 7
• Design Reviews
– Remember the site is FOR THE CLIENT
– Setup periodic design reviews to stay the course
– Be prepared for criticism
– LISTEN TO THE CLIENT
Step 8
• SELECTING A WEB HOST (optional)
– Platform (NT – Unix)
– Cost $$$
– Customer Support
– Email addresses
– How are they tied to the internet
– Availability
Step 9
• Final Design Review and Testing
– On development site:
• Walk thru each page with client
• Make individual page notes
• Ideal (have done by someone else besides liason)
Step 10
• Prep for Production
– Sign off on all requirements
– Make backup copies of all files
– Select a date/time during least activity (mainly for intranet sites)
• FTP Files to server
Post Production
• Search Engines
– A very tough area these days
– Don’t rely on solely
– Engines
• Find helpful sites to list top engines today
– www.searchenginewatch.com
– www.virtualpromote.com
How do you stand a chance?
• Most search engines key on the following:
– Keywords in the <Title>
• Be specific here
– Keywords (text not graphics) in the body
• Be wary of the tricks (colored text into bg)
– META tag / ALT Tags
• One by one
Registering your sites
– Goto search engine page and find link for submitting (can take 48hours to 6
weeks)
• Mass submission
– www.virtualpromote.com
– http://www.networksolutions.com/en_US/catalog/searchsubmit/welcome.jhtml
• Pay For Ranking
– www.topsepnow.com
Direct Sales Sites
• More than your average site
• Database driven pages
• Reliance on a payment system
– Go direct to major card holders
• www.mastercard.com
– Use payment systems
• www.paypal.com
• www.bigstep.com
What about risk?
• There will always be some level of risk
• Customer is only liable for up to the first $50 of fraudulent
charges