Online-only businesses have become a growing trend. Majority of them are run from a home office or a small office, usually by a family. The owner of such business ordinarily wears lots of hats and does not have a board of directors to help him make decisions.
While traditional businesses use TV and radio advertising, online establishments build links, run SEO campaigns and blog. Most of these businesses are retail type businesses, selling everything from toys and games to wedding rings.

While there are many differences in the way these businesses work, there are more similarities, and business owners need to keep in mind that traditional rules do apply. Entrepreneur’s time is best spent on entrepreneurship, not on mailing packages or putting together a balance sheet.

So what are some steps that online business owners can take to channel more time towards money-making activities?
- First of all, hire an accountant; letting a professional take care of one of the most stressful jobs will not only give you more time, but also reduce stress and improve focus.
- Secondly, have somebody (maybe even an older child, other family member or an inexpensive helper) run most of your business errands. You don’t need to be the one packaging products, weighing them and running them to the post office; you shouldn’t be making routine phone calls to suppliers, government agencies, etc. If you can hire an assistant to take care of all of these tasks for you, it will likely payoff big.
- Next, consider adding certain traditional advertising venues to your marketing plan. For example, seminars are exceptional ways to make money, if they are done right. Also, ads in an industry magazine will help you build your brand. Research and compare costs. You may be surprised to find out that you can afford more that you think.

If you have a large, well established online business, have an office with various functional departments and employ many people – you are on a completely different level. You are now competing with the brand names in your industry and you need to play by their rules. You should consider hiring a consulting firm to install efficiency software and train your staff to use it. For example, SAP implementation can automate various tasks within functional departments and improve inter-department communications.

In any case, an online business can benefit from hiring a business consultant to review it business and marketing plan and make suggestions.