| Wondering how to start a small business? It can be | | | | An online small business differs from this in that it often |
| quite challenging, and today's economy isn't necessarily | | | | has no physical office - there might be a customer |
| conducive to running a small business, but with the right | | | | support center, shipping area, or other peripheral to the |
| kind of attitude and business model it can be done. | | | | business itself, but many internet businesses exist |
| There are lots of different small business ideas floating | | | | entirely online. They can show you how to start a |
| around, and many of them rely on one of two things - | | | | small business in the online community. This can greatly |
| physical businesses require a real world customer | | | | reduce their overall costs, as they might pay a small |
| base, usually confined to local areas for a specific | | | | hosting fee rather than hundreds or thousands of |
| need, while online businesses need to attract | | | | dollars in monthly rent. They do not have the local |
| customers in the first place, but are not restricted in the | | | | support that a physical small business has, although |
| areas they can service. In this article, we'll take a look | | | | they can more easily attract customers through |
| at the key differences between these two types of | | | | search engine optimization and other online marketing |
| business. | | | | techniques. |
| A physical small business is generally a very particular | | | | The most important thing to remember when figuring |
| thing, but can be a good example of how to start a | | | | out how to start a small business is where your |
| small business. They tend to be geared towards | | | | strengths and weaknesses lie. A physical business |
| providing local citizens with some product or service | | | | needs to quickly and effectively build a base of loyal |
| that either is not provided by larger corporate | | | | customers, and then ensure that those customers |
| businesses, or they do it with a higher level of service | | | | keep coming back for more due to the high quality of |
| and product quality. Many small local businesses are | | | | the goods and services provided. An internet business |
| supported by the city and its citizens, and therefore | | | | needs to find ways to stand out in the growing number |
| are more able to compete with large corporate | | | | of online businesses, and to attract initial customers |
| businesses. However, they are somewhat limited in the | | | | through the various methods of web promotion. Using |
| areas they can provide service to, and therefore rely | | | | each type of businesses' strengths to its advantage is |
| on a loyal customer base in order to keep sustained | | | | key in success either online or off. |
| business going. | | | | |