Do you want to start an online business today?

Yesterday, I was talking to my friend Carol Gino, best-seller author of "The Nurses Story." She was telling me that she has loved our women in business community at FoDreams.Com since it began. At first I was "full of myself" thinking how great it was that she loved it. However, in our conversation a few things popped up that really caused me concern. One was that she was explaining to me that she had forgotten the baby steps it took for her to learn before she started to write her first book. The reason this subject was even being discussed was that she had decided to REALLY "learn the internet." Over the years she had employed website designers and other professionals to put her on the internet. Today, she feels it is necessary to really learn the technology because it has evolved into everyday communication. She stated, "I realized there was a time when I didn't know the difference between a website or a webpage and that hosting was something I had to have once I figured out I first had to purchase a domain name!"

That one, simple statement opened my eyes to what might occur if someone decided to start a business online. She also said, "Deb, when I was looking at the possibility of adding online revenue sources to my own website, I realized I didn't know enough about it. So, I went to FoDreams and clicked on First Base thinking you would have all the "start-up" information for me there."

Wow, what an eye-opener! So, I quickly went to the First Base of our "Field" of Dreams women in business website and began reorganizing it to help those who actually needed to start from scratch in an online business venture.

When we develop websites, or when we start a new business, we look closely for all the "right things" and "must do things" on a clean slate. After awhile, the business owner advances to step 2, step 3 and so on. What must always be kept in mind, at any point of business development is to remember where you started in the beginning!

So, the very first thing I'd like to tell you to do, in order to continue in a forward progression is to stop, take a deep breath and return to the beginning stages of your business. Ask yourself, what did I do in the beginning. Go over those first steps. Simply understand your ideas, remember the motivation and what caused the motivation, research the technical aspects of the creation itself and get back to the original business plan. Take the temperature of your business. Is it still healthy and strong?

Carol went on to further state, "a friend of mine asked me why she had to have a "hosting service," after she signed on to a new affiliate program. The affiliate program told her to buy their promotional product and be in business within 48 hours." The new business owner later found she had to have a website host and felt she had been ripped off. Carol thought a moment and said, "well, if you buy a new car, the car dealership will assume you have a place to park it."

That simple explanation is what all new ventures are based upon. Things that seem to be insignificant to me, can be obstacles to someone else. I am taking some re-evaluating time and will be tweaking the fodreams.com business resources over the next few months. Just because I live and work the internet does not mean everyone else does. So, if any of you have any suggestions, needs or comments on this new and improved (coming again!) women in business community, please let me hear from you.