Web Business Adventure

 There was a lot more that goes into the legal structure than I thought. I knew there was a lot of legal things, but I figured with such a small business there wouldn't be as much. It was interesting learning about the legal structures, I thought I would like an LLC best but after some research and discussion I will probably go with a sole proprietorship. It seems a lot simpler especially for such a small business. I didn't realize that I would need a lawyers help for an LLC so that was a bug part of my decision.  Plus I think I can change it in the future if my business gets bigger, or just transition to a more comparable legal structure. I still don't understand licensing really, or if I need any. I didn't know I need to register with the state government though so that was goo to learn.

 With website design I learned that less is more. A minimal website design helps make the site easy to navigate and draws viewers eyes to the most important info. If a site is too confusing, hard to navigate, or frustrating they wont stick around. The sites I studied they really just had a white background with their logo and their content. I think this helps you notice their logo and name, making it stick in your head. It also showcases their best posts, making you want to read and explore more. The design makes their site look more professional and credible, so people are more likely to trust them and read more.  Having a good quality logo is good too. It makes you marketable and look professional. I have a logo I created plus my simple design and it already looks more professional even though I don't have much content.  I hope to be able to learn more as I become more familiar with how to customize it.

 This week was very productive. I learned a lot about hosting and site building and I feel a lot more prepared now.  Before I felt so overwhelmed by all the choices and all the terminology I was unfamiliar with, but after some research and some guidance from our class I feel much more confident in the decision I've made. I feel like I understand better the inner workings of my blog and the business side of it, and it makes me so excited to get started.  I also understand that as I'm just starting out I will only need basic hosting and such, but I like that I can test it out and look at it again in a year or so and make it better if needed! Especially since I still have a lot to learn and I think with experience I will better understand in a year what I need from my hosting and what is still lacking. 

 I didn't know drop shipping was a thing but I think its a really good idea! Though I don't think I would ever have a merchant model business where I outsource everything, if I did the merchant model I would make all my products, simply because I love creating.  The affiliate marketing model is really appealing to me and I will probably use that for my own online business. I love that with this model I can create my own "product" (which in this case is content) and not have to worry about the sales side of it. I can write a post about something I created, link the products I used, and make money from the sales. To me it is fun, interesting, and easy.  Though another thing I didn’t realize, while it doesn’t apply as much to my goals, is that there’s a lot that goes into sourcing a product. Its kind of scary honestly, you’re putting your products, your business essentially, in someone else hands. You have to make sure you can trust them, because they could mess up ...

 I never knew the resources available to us, this week really helped open my eyes. People use Google every day, a thousand times a day, its really useful to be able to go in and see what people search on Google, and I hope to learn to use that to my advantage as I create my business.  Learning about how I can see the competition and the activity in a certain area is really helpful and I think it'll be super useful in my own work.  It is really important to understand demand and competition, because if there isn't enough of one or too much of another it could keep you from ever being seen. You have to find an area that is balanced.  It's important to find a niche that has a high demand without too much competition, if the demand is high enough and too many big companies don't own the market, you could still be ok in that field, but you have to be strong and consistent, and make yourself different from the others.