September 3rd, 2008
It’s been ages since I have written anything on this blog, and I have really missed it! As some you may know, I’m currently still a student and with that comes the inevitable…studying! I have been really busy with my studies of late, mostly due to the fact that I will be finishing my degree in the next two months or so, which is pretty exciting. (more…)
May 29th, 2008
Now that you understand the importance of a hosting company for your e-commerce store (covered in Part 1) , we can move on to the actual software to be used. A decade ago there were very few e-commerce software packages that wouldn’t cost you an arm and a leg. Today, however, there are literally hundreds of different options, including a number of absolutely free ones.
I have decided to describe a few of the most popular packages in use today. These software options are used by millions of stores around the world. When considering a shopping cart (as they are commonly called) you need to consider the language (code) that they are written in as well as the database which it supports. This is very important because it will influence which hosting provider you select to host your website.
This is an open source software package, it is totally free to use and modify. It comes with a number of useful features that are quite easy to use and configure. The site can have an almost unlimited number of products which can be organized into categories. You can also set various discount and promotions. The site allows you to accept most popular payments methods (PayPal, credit cards, cheques,etc).
This is an e-commerce solution that has been developed by a number shop owners, programmers, designers and fanatics who have a lot of experience with e-commerce stores. It is a free open source solution with a user-friendly design.
This is a high quality paid software solution that costs $195 but comes with a 1 month technical assistance package. It is written in PHP and MySql. Installation is very easy with an automated setup. The admin area is very user friendly and easy to understand. The cart has been integrated with more than 35 popular payment gateways such as PayPal, 2CheckOut, GoogleCheckOut, WorldPay, etc. It includes 5 professional templates.It has also an advanced Order management tool, Affilate add-on, Product configurator, Feature comparison and Gift Registry modules.
This is an eCommerce package written in PHP & MySQL. You can setup a powerful online store as long as you have hosting supporting PHP and one MySQL database. CubeCart is very powerful and easy to connect to various payment gateways.
Virtuemart (formerly known as php-Shop)
This is an independent open-source shopping cart solution. However, it is better known as an e-commerce component for Mambo or Joomla! CMS.
Those are just a few of the options available to you. If you haven’t read the first part in this series please see Part 1.
Useful link:
Opening a Web Shop with E-Commerce Software.
May 24th, 2008
The last post I wrote was about starting a business and then building it in such a way that you are geniunely interested in creating value for your customers. As I mentioned… your customers are not stupid, they know when you are geniune about wanting what’s best for them. Now, I have been a big fan of Adii for a couple months and I just read a post where he described this very situation.
With his business dealings, he receives a lot of emails with varying degrees or importance and relevence, however, he makes sure that he replies to each and everyone in a professional manner and places his customers first! What a great way to do business! Is it any wonder that he has such loyal customers and readers? Ofcourse not.
I can recommend to anyone who wants to start an online business to go check out Adii.co.za and read what he has to say, you might learn a thing or two!
May 23rd, 2008
I was reading this post and I totally agree that there is absolutely nothing to stop anyone from starting their own little business, even if it is part-time. I strongly believe that with enough perseverance and hard work, any business venture can be successful.
If you have a dream to be financially independent and really want it bad enough… then to my mind there is nothing standing in your way to making that dream a reality. One of the main purposes of my blog is to help you to reach that dream. I’m passionate about helping others to become successful and I believe that business is not always about competition. We can collaborate to create new vale for ourselves as well as others.
The internet is the perfect medium to achieve your financial goals because of the pure scope that can be achieved! You can create a global business that has the potential to reach millions of people and you can do that in minutes. Now, that doesn’t mean that your success is going to be immediate! It is going to take time and some seriously hard work… That to me is the biggest misconception that people have about the internet. Let me just say this right now…get rich quick doesn’t exist!
With that said, if you focus on filling a need and providing value in everything you do, whether it is value for yourself (enjoying what you do) or value for the client (providing a great product or service), you will succeed! Why? Because people are smart….they can tell when you are sincere and not out to just make a quick buck.
I hope that these few words of advice are helpful and that maybe you become motivated to get up and go start something…Change the world!
(Image by Vladimir)
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