It amazes me at times that people will balk at my prices.  I (understand that times are tight and starting a new enterprise can be a risk, but those who really understand business will not jump into the hype of instant web site equals instant success.

It is rare that any business has instant success. The same is true with instant web sites. Every business whether online, brick and mortar or a combination of both need to have a solid plan in place if they are going to be successful.

Let me give you an example of an instant web site night mare. A person of whom I was acquainted went to a seminar that offered an instant web site with a merchant account and the ability to accept credit cards.  All they had to do was plop down a certain fee add their products and tell everyone about their great web store.

After paying for many add-ons to help get them more attention including SEO and advertising, this person had to sell his home, move his family and file for bankruptcy. He could have avoided this entire debacle if he had contacted me first and I would have given him so free advice even if he didn’t choose me as his web designer. However, his biggest mistake was not doing some planning.

First, he signed up with a company that promoted a turnkey business opportunity without checking them out before signing on the dotted line. He could have easily going to www.ripoffreport.com or www.BBB.org and a plethora of other consumer complaint web sites out there. Likewise he failed to preplan before shelling out one red cent to anyone.

He had a dream of owning his own business, quitting his day job, paying off his debt, and saving for the future. Theses are admirable goals, yet without a plan, they are simply a dream.

First and foremost, your web site like any business needs to have a business plan.

What are your costs or running building it, maintaining it, filling orders and the like?

You should have a monthly advertising budget and know your Return on investment (ROI)

The Small Business Administration can help you write a business plan www.sba.gov however, a good web designer can help you create a web site that has all the functions you want and need in order to follow through on your plan. If the designer does not have any SEO experience, (which they should), then they ought to be able to refer you to a reputable person or company that can help you.

Remember this saying. Failure to plan is planning to fail.