Things moved on to mail order catalogues and now of course E Commerce. But how hard can it be to set up your own online store and get selling?

Not very.

That is, if you know where to start. Well, here's some pointers.

Step 1: Work out what you actually sell. Create a list, and order it by category. Oh and put it into Excel or some other spreadsheet - the data can be manipulated much easier later.

Step 2: Get together product pictures. The more the merrier. If you really want to save costs, put the image names against corresponding product details in your spreadsheet. your developer wont necessarily know what pictures go with which products - you do!

Step 3: Think about how you want to get paid. If you already have a credit card machine then you may be able to add an Internet Merchant Account to your banking facility. An Internet Merchant Account is NOT the same as online banking. If you're not sure Paypal offers a quick and easy way to take payments by debit or credit card online.

Step 4: Work out your delivery charging policy. You may already have one in place if not have a look at what your competitors are doing and do something similar or more appropriate for your business. There are many different methods - just dont make a loss!

Step 5: Set a budget for the project. Make sure to include some advertising and promotion spend. After all if no-one knows about your new website what good will it do?

Step 6: Find a web developer who best suits you and your budget. Make sure they understand what you're trying to achieve, your budget and you. Remember you can save money by preparing the information how they want it.

We are experts in dealing with owner managed businesses working to small budgets. Ask us for details.