Need information

[shane mackay]

I have a few questions that I need answering.I am setting up a internet business from the Uk.

1) what spec computer will I need to handle a business with 1000+ user accounts?
2) How do affiliates work? What I mean by this is can customers use my site to browse other business's and place orders through my site? If so how does this all work?Do I get a percentage of the sale price?
3)Which hosting would you advise me to use,I wil be expecting a fair volume of hits?
4)Do I need to make my .com name a ltd company?

I am sure there will be more questions as this is my first try at online business so any help would be really appreciated.Thanx

[monaghan]

1. No idea - what is the application, what are the accounts for? Why not speak to the software vendor as they will usually have a sizing model.

2. An affiliate scheme usually takes the form of a link on your site with a unique ID which credits your account with any sales from the link, some work on any sales on the site via the link others only work if the specific linked item is purchased, read the small print for full details when you sign up.

3. Hosting is subjective, without knowing what you want to host it is difficult to advise you as your requirement from what's listed above could be serviced from anything from a free / cheap host right up to a multi-server multi-datacenter solution

4. Depends, a Ltd company would make the company a different legal entity from you, again without further information it is difficult to advise.

[Profitxchange]

These questions need lengthy answers after you have provided more info.

Also - If you are asking these sorts of questions, one has to question whether you are really able to run such a business.

If you are young why not try the princes trust for a mentor or even your local Business link/enterprise agency.

[shane mackay]

well im in my 30's and am looking for a new challenge.Ive bought 28 domains today and am looking for some guidence.i do not have a computer background which is why i could really do with the help.Before i make any more decisions i want to know where best to plan my new business without having to trawl the internet hah

[monaghan]

If you respond to my original reply, then that will at least get you thinking on the right lines as to what you should be researching next.

Planning your business requires research, there are no short cuts except to the ever growing list of failed Internet businesses.

[Niche]

Originally Posted by shane mackay

I have a few questions that I need answering.I am setting up a internet business from the Uk.

1) what spec computer will I need to handle a business with 1000+ user accounts?

Most middle range computers will do these days. What's more important is your internet connection. You really should have high speed broadband.

2) How do affiliates work? What I mean by this is can customers use my site to browse other business's and place orders through my site? If so how does this all work?Do I get a percentage of the sale price?

Affiliate marketing is a way of promoting other people's products for a commission [details at Affiliate marketing guide ] But if you have a product that you want to promote, you can get affiliate marketers to promote your business for you by setting up an affiliate program for your product

3)Which hosting would you advise me to use,I wil be expecting a fair volume of hits?

Depends on how many visitors you expect to get and how much they are going to download from your server. The amount of content you want to have will determine the server space you should go for and the expected amount of traffic should help you determine the band width

But for most hosting services, you can get a good account with loads of space for about $10 a month.

I would also go for a hosting service that is well established e.g hostgator or godaddy or kiosk. I use godaddy but that's just personal preference

4)Do I need to make my .com name a ltd company?

I would suggest you get some sort of business registration.

[shane mackay]

Thankyou for your advise thats been really helpful.During the past few days ive been buying new domain names like mad,currently have 44 now.The last 3 I am very very excited about as they have 300000,60000 and 12000 hits monthly in the keyword market.They are all in the currency market too.300000 exact matches to my .com name is huge and I really would like some advise with how to procede with trying to sell them.Would anyone have an estimate as to potential price?

[shane mackay]

Thankyou for the advise.

[monaghan]

Originally Posted by shane mackay

Thankyou for your advise thats been really helpful.During the past few days ive been buying new domain names like mad,currently have 44 now.The last 3 I am very very excited about as they have 300000,60000 and 12000 hits monthly in the keyword market.They are all in the currency market too.300000 exact matches to my .com name is huge and I really would like some advise with how to procede with trying to sell them.Would anyone have an estimate as to potential price?

domain pricing is very subjective, most of the valuable .com's were taken years ago, other markets are getting bigger, the .co.uk market is doing quite well at the moment.

To buy a domain for its value requires a lot of research of potential markets and those that are worth the time usually gain a lot of interest.

Selling is easy, drop by any domain forum and place an advert or build a "for sale" page and sell it yourself, however, for the best price, you really need to do the leg work and go out looking for potential business that you think may benefit from the name and make the sale yourself.