While the Internet offers many opportunities for the home-based
entrepreneurs, it has its downside. Here are the top five disadvantages of
operating a web business:
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1. Requires
tech savvy and know-how.
You need to be at least computer literate to operate a web business. It is
important that you know how to write and edit text in an HTML environment,
create tables, add graphics, and upload files to your server. As you go along,
you need to learn how to automate tasks by installing scripts (there are
many available for free).
While you may still be able to run a business on the Web without any tech
know-how, you should be prepared to allocate resources to pay for your
coterie of web designers and programmers to assist you in the technical side
of your business. You can pay a web designer to create your site, make any
updates you need and troubleshoot coding problems. Need to repair a broken
link? A simple task that anyone with basic HTML knowledge could do in a
nanosecond can cost you an hour's pay of your web developer.
2. Business can
easily be copied.
The saying “success breeds copycats” is more evident on the Web than in
other commercial mediums. With your business presented on your site,
complete with detailed descriptions of your services or pictures of your
products, people can easily study what you have to offer and decide to open
a similar business to compete with yours. More so if they perceive your
business to be a success. The Internet has allowed your business to be
copied so easily!
We have seen small home business merchants struggle with other businesses
who rip-off their business concepts, their sites, even their domains. Some
are even their former customers, who realized that theirs is a good business
and begin to offer the same exact products. Others take it a step further
and open a similar site by changing a single letter in their domain name
(e.g. add an “s”).
Unless you have the resources to patent your business concept and
products, or to pursue long, overdrawn court battles on copyright
infringement, home businesses are particularly susceptible to this kind of
risk on the Web.
3. Greatly
depends on your selection of your web hosting company.
Unless you are hosting the site yourself, the continued functioning of your
site (and hence your business) depends solely on a third party -- your web
host. Hence, your choice of the web host is extremely crucial at the very
start of your Internet business.
If the servers of your web hosts are sub-par, you may find that a lot of
people abandon your shopping cart and your site because of its slowness.
People may not be able to understand what your business is because your
pages hardly load up.
If your web host’s servers malfunction, you can suddenly find your
order forms malfunctioning, preventing you from receiving any orders. Or you
may not be able to receive emails through your domain name, or even update
your site. Worse, your site could be gone for days, and so will your
business.
The bad part is, you are pretty much helpless, especially if the once
helpful customer support of your web host decides to make it hard for you to
reach them while they solve their technical glitches. You can, of course,
take the proactive stance of leaving your current web host and moving to
another host (which by itself has its own difficulties and drawbacks) to
face a new adventure.
4. Restricts
the kind of business you can set-up.
One of the biggest lessons learned thus far is that not all kinds of
businesses can thrive on the Internet. Some businesses are simply not
suitable for this commercial medium.
Customers may not be ready to change their buying patterns for some
products. Take apparel, for example. Studies show that customers are not
flocking online to buy clothes because they are unsure of accurate sizing
and do not want to take the trouble of returning items that do not fit well.
It will take time and effort to educate consumers before they are ready to
change their shopping behavior.
Even if your business suits the Internet medium well, some of your
clients may still hesitate to do business with you over the Web. Security of
the transaction is usually the main concern. Others simply want to do
business with someone they have established a personal connection talked
on the phone, shook hands with and met face-to-face. If you are faced with
this situation, be sure to offer viable alternatives that would allow your
clients to do business with you outside of the Web.
5. Opens you to
unwanted communication.
One of the “occupational hazards” of running an Internet business is
unwanted commercial email. If you post your email in your site, or include
it in your forms to allow legitimate customers to contact you, be prepared
to receive a deluge of spam emails. Some Internet entrepreneurs receive up
to 150 spam emails in one day. That’s a lot of useless emails!
Unscrupulous marketers harvest emails from web sites and offer them to
unsuspecting clients by claiming that your email is part of an “opt-in
list.” To counter spam, you can put filters in your email client or you
can look for mailing scripts that do not incorporate your email addresses in
your HTML codes.
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