Creation of LLC Online Based Companies

Article Summary
This article is about creating an online business structured as an LLC. In the plethora of online companies many don't make it just like brick and mortar companies. This article contains basic and advanced techniques in making sure a new online LLC succeeds. Business Plans, Blogs, Market, Products, Sourcing Products, Domain Names and Hosting, Finance, Business Structure, Web Design, Search Engines, Marketing, Search Engines and How They Work, and the importance of Article Writing, will all be discussed in detail.
Choosing your Market and Products
When deciding to start an online business a target market must be chosen. This is the people the LLC will reach. Does the LLC want to sell manufactured products that were patented and created? Does the company want to sell products bought directly from manufacturers and wholesalers? Does the company want to be large? Does the company want to offer a large variety of products or only a single product? What kind of competition is out there? How can the company's make the product(s) better than the competition? What are the company's strengths and weaknesses? Most businesses require a team...this is because one person cannot wear every single "hat." There is no I in team. A team is needed in a company because this is what makes it strong. The CEO is there to guide the team but is not always strong in all areas of the company's structure. The CEO should be a solid leader, be able to spot weaknesses, and have a vision for the company in which all are onboard.
Where to get products
Very key... Businesses need products. Will the company make them? Is this is a small business that is a one man/woman show and the product can be manufactured at home? Believe it or not there are manufacturers in the USA. If you want to be big and have your item mass produced have a reputable manufacturer in your city make the product for it. There are companies that will make a prototype first. Patenting is important if the product is the company's and a prototype is required in this case. Lawyers are very helpful in getting the patent process moving fast.
Choosing a Domain Name and Web Hosting
There are many options out there for one to purchase a domain name. First let's explain what a domain name is. A domain name is what is typed at the top of your browser that tells it where to go. For example www.google.com. That is a domain name. Web Hosting is where the information for webpage(s) are stored. Godaddy.com offers hosting. Just go into google and type in domain name registration and hosting and many options will pop up. A business will need both to start. Since the 90's prices for .com addresses (the most recognized domain name ending) have become significantly cheaper. A business should never pay more than $7-20 to register a domain name. Hosting is not so expensive either. Per year hosting should cost somewhere in the area of $100. If you purchase a domain and hosting for multiple years e.g. 3-5 years it is cheaper. This is online real estate. This is ideal because it takes time for any business to grow.
Choose a name that relates to the company's product or brand. As stated in the SEO section tony chose http://www.thasource21.com. Tony decided he wanted to sell clothing at thasource21.com and Tony's target market was Urban thus choosing the word "tha" as compared the word "the." The name it is catchy, easy to remember, and represents the place (source) people want to go for urban clothes.
Now let's say the business decides to sell electronics. There are tons of electronics stores online. On eBay there are plenty and on the web there are plenty. So the company has to make its business stand out. More will be discussed about this later. A good example of a domain name for an electronics store would be superelectronics.com. Pick something easy to remember. Like tony thasource21.com is catchy, easy to remember and also targets his market. The domain name is a part of marketing the company.
Blogging
Blogging has become the "in thing" nowadays. People want to be heard and want an outlet. This is also a good place to write about a business as it develops. Anything that comes to the mind about a business should be here. Make one for the business. Talk about opening day, what's going on, and just what's running through a CEO's mind (which should be a lot).
For example let's look at Tony. He has a blog for his site thasource21 on google blogger. He writes about anything and everything that has to with his business. He talks about structure, partnership, ups, downs, and whatever is going through his mind. He also uses his blog to let his customers know where the business stands as it is being developed. For some reason people want to read this. It's interesting. One must have a company blog. It's a must for any business. Allow your customers to post as well. Also allow customers to subscribe to the blog via RSS feed readers or standard email. Some are just old fashioned and don’t know what RSS means.
Tony also allows customers to post freely on the blog. This way Tony can meet their needs on a personal level and the consumer will feel that. Not all comments will be positive. But this is also a place to see and patch the negative issues that may arise while the business is developing. Tony has a team and on that team his consumer marketing developer takes care of the blog. During the startup (and write daily during the startup) it will be the CEO doing most of the writing. Later on once cash flow is established hiring can take a bigger spot in the LLC.
Top Search Engines
Seventy Five Percent of Search engine inquiries come through google. When someone says google it, you know the company is huge. Just like when someone says xerox (make a copy) it, or I need a Kleenex (tissue). The 2nd largest is bing. Then yahoo. The rest hit around 2-3 percent.
Search Engine Optimization Also Known As SEO
This is where most new customers will come from thus increasing the relevance of its importance.
SEO Intro
Here are some simple tips for SEO.
On Page Optimization Techniques
There are many things a business can do online to increase its presence. This is called search engine optimization or SEO for short. This takes up about 15% of SEO criterion but it is still important. It includes things such as a good meta description (see website design section), using alt tags on images, and having good and differing content on the pages of the business website.
Article Marketing
Article marketing is another SEO method that has been around for some time and is extremely successful . Essentially, write articles that focus on a keyword or two and have a link back to the business website. You then upload those articles to article directories that publish them for free.
Let's take a look at this. As stated earlier, Tony wanted to start a clothing company that targeted the online market. Clothing companies are a part of the textile industry. It's been established as Tha Source 21. He purchased a domain called thasource21.com. He purchased hosting as well. He could blog, write a wiki article about his experience and as an example talk all about the startup journey of http://www.thasource21.com to help others who are going through a similar experience. That's the whole purpose of writing free articles. To HELP! Tony blogs about it and decides to write an article all about his ups and downs of starting and running his company online. This helps because writing about something helps not only himself but his readers as well can see what's happening in real time.
Within 5 years the website explodes and Tony is a multi-millionaire...This isn't just do to his blog and articles, it's do to intense planning which will be talked about in the business plan section.
Trusted Site Backlinking
This is simply using other sites to advertise for yours. This is sometimes paid and sometimes you can make a trade. One business advertises yours and vice versa. This is especially helpful in smaller businesses who are willing to trade advertisement for advertisement. However the add should never be placed on every single page of the site. Google actually penalizes this and brings your ranking down.
Social Media: Using it Wisely
Social media is a phenomenon in this day and age. Also a very good place for some free marketing. Blog content can be promoted here. Your company blog can be promoted here. And a good company page on facebook or digg surely helps.
Viral Marketing
In Viral Marketing, just as in social media and backlinking, the goal is to spread the word out and draw people to you. Especially in your target market. Have business cards handy at all times. If as the owner, passion for the business shows, conversations will take place. Have business cards handy at all times. Cards should include not only contact information, but a little about the business as well. MAKE SURE TO PUT LLC ON THERE!!!! This builds trust and shows that the business is the real deal.
Writing a Business Plan
Choosing a Business Structure
Business Structure LLC
What does LLC Stand for? Limited Liability Corporation. It basically creates the business as its own entity rather than falling back on the person creating it. It is structured to affect the businesses credit, not yours. It has all the parts of a major Corporation: Public or Private Stock, CEO, CFO, President, Board Of Directors, Private Shareholders, Public Shareholders if you choose, and is perfect for small business. There are many benefits of an LLC including major Tax Breaks. Everything that you do from a meeting to purchasing equipment for your small business can be written off. This is not a one player team (it can be) but a team is suggested. Any successful business has a successful team. Where you are weak, someone else is strong. Let's look at Apple for example. Yes Steve Jobs is the CEO and Leader of a great company. But does he engineer new products? No he doesn't. He might come up with an idea but without his team he can't execute it. From the Head of Marketing to the Head of Programming and everything in between Apple is Apple Inc. Now as an LLC the business will not be as large as Apple but if it wants to one day become a "whale" like them, anything is possible.
But that can be explained in another article about incorporation of businesses. Inc. Stands for Incorporation. Is that a long term goal for the LLC? For some it is, for some it isn't. That's up to the board of directors and the company's vision. But this Article talks about online LLC's. WIth your team, an LLC agreement is needed. This is the agreement between the team of who does what, where the profits go, how much is invested back into the company etc. This document (aside from your business plan) is of the utmost importance. In each state to register as an LLC you need to file your articles of incorporation (LLC Incorporation) at city hall. This usually consists of a fee in the general area of $200-500. This is separate from your LLC operating agreement.

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