Online Entrepreneurship - The Thriving Business Model

 Waking up leisurely in the morning, a hot cup of coffee arriving at your bed side, relaxing in the couch reading the newspaper to kick-start your day and spending the rest of your time in front of the PC/Laptop browsing Facebook - seems like a day off from work? Welcome to the world of online entrepreneurs, the new dimension of modern business where you can work from the place of your convenience without worrying about the time, location or the boss.

Online supply chain management started off as a big hit with companies like Amazon, eBay, Alibaba.com etc. ridiculed the concept of physical brick and mortar store by their success. Today this online supply chain management model is further simplified. The idea is to make those extra bucks by just owning a page liked by thousands of people. This would mean, you are not going to spend time and money on hunting for a domain name, rattle your brains trying to get the expertise of maintaining a website and devote time writing about your company, products/service, most importantly not fretting about driving traffic to your website. All that you need is to own a Facebook account with a fair number of friends, voilà you can also do business. It's that simple, really!

Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and other social networking tools are not only being used by existing businesses to expand their operation and reach their target audience but are also used by individuals with barely any business setup to operate efficiently in order to grow in their field of expertise and offer services that they would only have dreamt of. The power of networking is insurmountable. The more you are successful at it, larger is the scope for the business to flourish.

As the popular adage goes "Man is a social animal", networking and having a backup of large audience to like your service/product is good enough to be a successful entrepreneur. Networking would mean both sellers (manufacturers, wholesalers etc.) and buyers (clients). Since there is no capital know-how to start a business, it is the most cost-efficient way to begin to pursue your dreams of becoming an entrepreneur. You have the choice to market your products that you have designed/created or simply get it from a wholesaler and sell it for a decent profit. When it comes to selling services, you may have to stretch little in terms of meeting the clients or catching up with them to understand their requirements.

Branding and advertising at the beginning may seem a bit challenging if you don't have too many friends but if your products/services are enjoyed by the end consumers, you are bound to become popular. The old-fashioned word-of-mouth and the walls of Facebook will speak your praise. But if you wish you can market further by writing about the start-up on the blogs you maintain (if you have one), write out emails to your friends inviting them to like your page until you get noticed.

Whether you are a working mother who has exhausted all the options to work from home, an inquisitive teenager trying your hands to sell your hobby/passion or employed and still eager to make a quick buck, there is no dearth of options in this massive internet universe. However there are three important requisites to be successful: A firm hobby/passion/interest to deliver commodity/service to your customer, good network of friends, commitment of service and you can also become a successful online entrepreneur.