Inspired by my recent Geo development plans I wanted to share my personal thought process when creating an online business. Take notice of the phrase “online business”, not website.

So what is the first step?

Step one for me, is setting my first year goals and determining how I am going to achieve them. Using TampaBay.tv as the example, I begin with research. I need to know the ad rates not only for similar websites but print, television and radio. I need this information to set my pricing and create my sales presentation. Once I’ve finished the research, I take my goal ($xxx,xxx) divided by the ad rates and that tells me how many ads I can offer. I then want to develop my site around the money, making sure not to alienate my site visitors with tons of ads.

Take this same advice for mini-sites. Write the articles around the products you intend to link. Research the products first, determine what you want to sell on your mini-site and then start writing.

Tip: If you do not have the time to do the research yourself hire a virtual assistant. Their fees range anywhere from $5-$35 an hour or you can pay per job. This is how I was able to get the research done for TampaBay.tv.