Over the years I have seen hundreds of so called home based business scams. From SMC to that Crazy like a Fox TV spot, there have been some crazy stuff out there to get into. I even talked to a guy that spent $50,000 dollars on a musical greeting card business. There will always be some weird commercial on late nights or some obscure radio spot promising to deliver you quick money. On and on, there are so many scams promising to make you rich but in the end, the only way to get rich is to work your ass off…right? Ironically, I know thousands that work their fingers to the bone year after year and they are still not rich. So its not even about how hard you work.

So what is it? Honestly, its about education. It's true that education is priceless. You simply cannot put a price tag on information IF its the right information. That's the trick. Nine times out of ten, even with those get rich schemes, what you are buying is information. The problem is that its usually an an education on how to make someone else rich and kicking yourself in the ass.

Colleges don't teach you how to start an online business or how to be an affiliate marketer or anything close. Slowly they are starting to teach Internet Marketing which accounts for about 10% of the 4 year degree because they are still teaching the old methods for marketing. So what or how do you go about finding the right information?

For me, I have always been a firm believer that if you show me how to do something, I can do it. I could probably be a brain surgeon if you showed me. Now that's extreme but seriously, that is how most people operate. Show me how and I can do it. Don't you think the same way? Of course you do.

This is why I am offering  a "partnership" so to speak. Basically what you are getting is a complete store, designed and programmed from start to finish. I will hold your hand each step of the way on how I personally get a Yahoo store up and running. From finding a good niche, to suppliers, to catalog management, etc. You will learn directly from me, one on one, and when we are done together you will have a fully operational ecommerce store.

Why Britt Taylor? Firstly, if you are going to learn from someone, why not learn from someone that actually does it for a living. Listen, I know where you are and I know where you would like to be. I know this because I was you, only 4 years ago. I was working a full time job, doing the corporate thing but it dawned on me that I would never be rich. I would never be able to just take off when I wanted to. I would never have anything that was truly mine. I was merely working for someone else, helping them succeed and helping the higher ups make more money while they continued to take more away from me. That is when I decided to take control of my own future. I only wished I had done it sooner. I am turning 36 yrs old this year and wonder what my life could have been like 10 years ago if I had only started my own business sooner.

What if you could have an ecommerce store that was generating a mere 15k per month in total sales? What if you made 35% profits. That one store would yield you over 5k per month! That's 60 thousand dollars per year. Now imagine a couple of other scenarios… maybe that store does twice that much and you are doing 120k per year. Maybe you decide to duplicate your efforts (like I have done) and have multiple stores making you money.

The point I am making is that you are only 60 days (give or take) away from being there. You just need a coach. A mentor. A partner. When I launched my first store, I was still working full time and handling my online business a few hours after work each day. Processing orders, answering emails, returning phone calls, etc.

So if you are still waiting…stop! Pick up the phone and call me. Let me guide you down the right path to success. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain (I really hate that line but it's really true).

For $5,000 we can get started on your project. When we are done you have 3 options to choose from.

1. You can buy me out for an additional 5k and the site is completely yours.
2. You can stay on as my "partner" and we split the profits each month.
3. We can list the site "For Sale" and split the profits from the sale of the site to someone else.

Again, its about education. You are getting the tools you need to do this on your own down the road for a little more than what you would normally spend if you were going solo.

Have questions? Call me, 252 442-4672

Would you like to be my business partner?

Let me explain. As most of you are already aware, I own and operate a few Yahoo Stores and we drop ship everything. My goal is to have 10 stores that generate 10k per month in profits. Had you asked me 3 years ago, I would have said, I just hope to have a site that can supplement my income. So now, 10 sites doing 10k profits per month is not that unrealistic. At 30% profit margins, thats only a little over 30k gross per month. That's only 1k in sales per day which, depending on what you are selling, is only 5-6 orders per day. Sometimes however, I get ideas of things to sell that may not quite be interesting to me when I am done. You know how you work harder on things that really interest you? It works the same way with ecommerce stores. For example, I have a site that sells medieval swords. I love working on this site because the products are cool and new swords show up in movies all the time and things like that. Another site I own sells neon open signs. I really enjoy taking custom orders and working on the neon site. Another site I had was pokerstarsdirect.com and after a few months, I got bored. The site is doing fantastic but I just did not have "passion" for working on it so I sold it. I did the same for premiumofficechairs.com. Its a great niche, great products with good margins but its boring to me. Its office chairs! So…I sold it. These new owners are ecstatic with their sites and doing awesome so in the end, I helped someone else start their own business.

So where am I going with this? Well if you are looking to start your own ecommerce business or looking to make a few bucks selling one, maybe we can partner together. Typically a new store will cost around 10k to get up and going. This includes the time and labor to research, design, program, write and SEO the store. So what I am offering is for a partner to come along with me for the ride and we split the startup costs. So basically for 5k, you can work along side of me, as my partner, while we build a store together. Once we are done, we can either keep the store and split the profits, you can buy me out (for 5k) or we can put the site up for sale and let someone else have an online business and split the profits. All of my past stores have sold for 15-20k.

Together we will:

1. Determine a good niche
2. Find a product
3. Find drop shippers
4. Do keyword research
5. Design the site
6. Program the site
7. Write Copy
8. SEO

At this stage, we can determine our next steps. Buy, sell or keep.

Contact me directly for questions or comments. 252-442-4672

PS - This is on a first come first serve basis. I will only take on 1 partner every other month as it will take about 45-60 days to complete the project.

So what does it really take to start an online business? Well let's break it down.

Setup a Business - The first step is to merely setup a business. This can be an LLC or Corporation (I recommend an S-Corp for the tax benefits) which can honestly be done pretty easily on your own. Once you find your local government site, you can download the paperwork, fill in the blanks and mail it yourself. This process can be done in an hour but getting your paperwork back from the state can take a couple weeks. This cost will range from 125-250 dollars depending on the state you register with and 150-500 more if you hire an online service or attorney to prepare the paperwork for you.

Get a Federal Tax EID - Once you have your paperwork back from the state with your LLC or Corporation, you can pick up the phone and call the IRS and get your Tax EID right over the phone. They will also send the paperwork in the mail. This step costs you nothing…at least for now ;-p

Get a Business Checking Account - Once you have your business paperwork and Tax ID, you can head on down to the bank to get your business checking account. This part is kinda fun because it makes you feel like a real business (and they treat you better) and you get to pick out your checks and stamps and all that kinda foo foo stuff. Guess what? You are a legit business. This part costs you nothing unless you go for upgraded checks and stamps and stuff.

Get a Merchant Account - Since you are going to be using a Yahoo Store (smart move by the way) you will need someone to process your credit cards and then stick the money into your bank account. There are tons of choices out there but you must choose a merchant that is FDMS Nashville compatible. This is what Yahoo uses to securely transmit transaction data from your store to the merchant. Now its no secret that I recommend eMerchant Discount. Not only do they have the best rates going but anytime you need something you can actually get someone. Thats really important in a merchant provider. Also, for all that is holy, do not go with the merchants that Yahoo "recommends". Remember, its your business, not Yahoo's business and of course Yahoo has special deals and arranagements with who they push on you which ulitmately means, you pay more. I also don't recommend your bank. They are great with brick and mortar stores but they still don't have a damn clue about Internet businesses. This process will require you to fill out some paperwork and pay a setup fee and takes a couple days to go live. Once its ready you will get an email with your Merchant Account Number and your MID and TID's to plug into your Yahoo Store and you are ready to take credit cards.

Find a Product - This is by far, im my opinion, the hardest part of the process. Finding the right products to sell online could save you enormous amounts of time, money and headaches in the long run. To start you on the right path, you should look into World Wide Brands. The price is $299 or 3 payments of $85 and its for a LIFETIME membership. And, as of the time of this post, you also get your Yahoo Store monthly fee waived for 6 months! Its a great tool not only for finding drop shippers and wholesalers (real ones) but also for doing keyword and market research. Its an awesome membership and worth every single penny.

Find a Domain Name - Once you decide what you are selling its time to find a domain name. This is another fun but tedious step because its…well its 2009 and most of good domain names are taken. I goto netsol.com and do my searches there. Don't ask me why…I just always have. Once you find a domain name that is available, write it down and go to the next step. No cost here, just your time.

Get a Yahoo ID - Before you get your Yahoo Store, I highly recommend you signup for a Yahoo ID. You can go here to do that (https://edit.yahoo.com/registration?.src=fp&.intl=us&.done=http://m.www.yahoo.com). Why, you ask? Well, if you ever decide to sell or remove your store, its easier this way because Yahoo will attach your Yahoo ID to your Yahoo Store. So for every new store I create, I create a new Yahoo ID first. Trust me, its easier in the long run. I recommend that you use your domain name as your new Yahoo ID. For example, if your domain name is, www.bluewidgets.com then you should register bluewidgets as your Yahoo ID.

Get a Yahoo Merchant Solutions Account - I usually just call this a Yahoo Store but their official reference to such is Yahoo Merchant Solutions… anyway, remember I told you to write down your domain name? Now its time to use it. I personally buy my domain name from Yahoo at the same time I am signing up for my Yahoo Store. Since they pay for the first year for you, its a great bargain. Just follow the steps and you will soon have your Yahoo Store ready for action.

Design Time - Ok, yes Yahoo offers templates. Yes, you could use their templates. Yes, you could open your store for business with their templates. Yes, you can alter their templates to make it look better and yes, it would not not require you to spend any money but it will cost you thousands later. This is a war folks. There are already 1 million other people selling what you are going to be selling. You are not the only one and the rumor of "If you build it, they will come", just aint true in online ecommerce. You should want and demand that your site be professionally designed so it looks better than ALL your competition. Seriously, if it comes down to the same product, with the same pictures, at the same prices, what do you think will put you over the edge? Your Yahoo Store design! I cannot stress this enough. You have 8 seconds to make a good impression on your potential customer. If you don't do it, someone else will. Typically you can plan on spending 1500-3000 on design.

Programming - Now finally, its time to program your Yahoo store. Now don't be confused with having a programmer/designer. Its not the same. Programmers program and designers design. You cannot and should not mix them together. Programming your Yahoo Store is critically important. There are certain things you just need to make your online business easier on you and most importantly, easier for your customers. Don't get over zealous on programming features. I always start with the basics first. Usually its within the first 6 months that I will know what else is needed. Your customers will tell you, you will see it and you won't waste money. Be careful of the "package" trap where you end up paying for a bunch of crap you don't need. Every business is different so it usually takes a good 3-6 months to determine what other programming you really need. The core programming will run you 1500-3000.

Thats a good starting point on where you need to go and what you need to do and how much you can expect to pay to build your Yahoo Store business. I have also included expected monthly expenditures and we expand on those backstage at Yahoo Store Tutorials.

ONGOING MONTHLY FEES

$40 Yahoo Store Monthly Fee
$50 LivePerson Chat
$80 Control Scan
$12 Merchant Fee
$10 Aten Software
$30 Monitus Tools
1.5% Total Sales (10k gross sales = $150 to Yahoo)

$222 + 1.5% Total Sales

Remember, if you need help with any of this, just call. We are here to help.

Ok really, let’s talk straight. You are only as good as the equipment you are on. Have you ever heard that? Internet ecommerce is the same way. If you are using bad equipment or systems to run your business, you don’t stand a chance of being successful. It’s just that simple.

My business is running Internet websites. We have multiple ecommerce businesses that do very well. I have an office with 1 full time employee and together we run about 4 websites that generate over 10k per month in pure profit (per site). That’s not a joke. One of our sites sells swords and does well over 20k profit each and every month. Don’t believe it? Do a search for fantasy swords on Google. Do a search for replica swords on Google. Wanna know the best part? That particular site is only 1 year old. It was doing over 10k per month in gross sales by month 3 and all from natural rankings…no money paid out for advertising.

It’s not about just having a website anymore. It’s about having a website that has all the functionality and is search engine friendly. Since I do this for a living, I know what works and what doesn’t work. I have already done everything for you so if you take over one of my websites for sale; you merely need to know how to type. If you can spend a few hours per day writing some news articles, getting some links from other sites, writing good descriptions for the products and category pages, you will absolutely have a successful business.

When you are reviewing a business to purchase, you need to view the site. Is it professional looking? Does it have real .html pages or does it have some nasty long dynamically driven url that looks like domain.com/shop/index.php?=product_detail&p=792 this? That’s not search engine friendly! You will never get pages to rank with a system like that. And the sad part is that 85% of all sites being sold at BizBuySell.com, SitePoint.com or even Ebay.com is because they are like that and not making money so they are selling it. It’s not because they didn’t work hard enough and it’s not because they didn’t originally want it to succeed. It’s because they are on bad equipment and didn’t do enough research on what shopping cart platform to use!

It does not take 6 months to get listed in Google, it does not take 6 months to get ranked and it is not that hard to own and operate a successful business. You just need the right tools. I have already done it all for you. The system is perfect, the backend management is idiot proof, the drop shippers have all been found, the blog is already working. That’s another problem with other businesses that are being sold. If 1,000 other websites use the same drop shipper as you do and they all use the same product image and description as listed on the manufacturers’ website, how would your pages or content be any different from the other 1,000 sites using the same info? That fact is, IT WONT! This is another reason people tend to sell their business and another thing you need to watch out for.

I don’t have time to take the calls and spend time on the site so I figured I would just help someone else. If you did a site from scratch, it would cost you at least 10-15k just to get a site built and designed. Add in the fact that I have done all that plus found the drop shippers, plus added a blog, plus added all the products, plus formatted all the images, plus added all the content, plus all the extra programming…my sites have sold for over 50k. It’s a no brainer if you are looking for a solid business to jump into.

So whats for sale?

COMING SOON

The last couple of years have been a true blessing for me. As most of you already know, I quit my fulltime job and stopped running down the corporate treadmill in May 07 and have not looked back. Since that time, my goal was to duplicate my efforts and build multiple online stores. I have always felt it was easier to build niche stores and make a little money on each store rather than spending so much time and energy into one single online website. With that said, since May of 07, I have designed and created 11 websites.

Its funny, I had not realized how many I had actually created until I just took the time to add them all up. Its hard to believe I could do so many. Now my goal was to build niche websites and generate 4-5k per month in profits each. 10 sites doing 5k each is not a bad monthly income. Its still my goal however it seems there are so many people looking for a good website and niche, these sites keep selling. Let me break it down for ya.

1. ReplicaDungeon.com
2. RecyclingSupply.com - SOLD
3. PokerStarsDirect.com - SOLD
4. GiftFavorBaskets.com - SOLD
5. YStoreTutorials.com
6. YTutorials.com
7. BrightNeonSigns.com
8. LEDSignWorks.com - SOLD
9. PremiumOfficeChairs.com - SOLD
10. Sploodles.com - In the Works
11. AlchemyDungeon.com - FOR SALE
12. ScooterBarn.com - In the Works
13. SkullBoxBoards.com - In the Works
14. Semiologic-Skins.com - In the Works
15. BrittTaylor.com
16.TaylorMadeNetShops.com
17. HomeTapestries.com

 

O wow…thats 16! 16 Websites in16 months. Thats busy! 12 Yahoo Stores doing ecommerce, 2 Blogs, 1 Membership site and 1 Wordpress Design site.

As you can see, its no wonder I have sold off some of my projects. I am so busy with other things, I didn't have time to do the ones I finished so I sold them…and for some nice money too!

Now I wonder if I am in the wrong business. Am I more suited to designing, programming and building ecommerce Yahoo stores and selling them? Is that a real business model?

I just dont know…but for now, I am happy doing what I am doing and the best part is that…I don't rely on being employed by someone else. I am truly living the American Dream.

Everyone knows that when you do a search for anything on the web, you will get thousands or millions of web pages to potentially look at but we all know you won't go past the first couple of pages in the search results. If your business website happens to be in those coveted top spots on the search engines, good for you! That is a feat all by itself as you already know. But could you be offering a better experience for your customers?

With millions of websites selling the same product offerings as you, using the same pictures and sometimes even using the same descriptions, you simply must do something to add to the WOW factor for your visitors. Take advantage of your sites position. You have worked hard to get the traffic and now its time to convert those shoppers into buyers! So try some of these things to make sure your customers not only buy from you but remember you and tell their friends.

1. Free Shipping or Shipping Specials - With the rising costs of fuel and transportation and the outrageous shipping costs, you should go out of your way to help offset those costs with your customers. Offer Free Shipping or Specials from time to time. If you cannot give away shipping, at least don't over charge your customers. Savvy shoppers are not stupid and usually they are shopping online to get a better deal than going somewhere locally. Remember that fact and you will get more sales.

2. Coupons - Your Yahoo Store has a built in coupon feature so use it! Surely you can run specials on products or offer a 10% off weekend. Instant discounts make shoppers act now. Take full advantage of your Yahoo Store by offering coupon codes to your shoppers. Always remember to make it worth while. Giving a 5% off coupon is ok but a 15 or 20% off coupon would get me to buy a lot faster.

3. Guaranteed Low Price - You may not have the lowest prices but you should offer a price match guarantee. Doing this tells your shoppers that you really want their business. So what if they happen to find it somewhere else cheaper. If they are willing to email you to get that same price so they can buy it from you is priceless. That is a loyal customer that will continue to shop from you in the future.

There are other things you can do but this is a good start. Remember, the customer is the hardest thing to get in any business. Don't let them get away once you get them on the hook. Do whatever you have to do to get the business and keep the business. A satisfied shopper will buy from you again and tell 2 friends. An unhappy shopper will never buy from you again and will tell 8 of their friends. Negative press spreads faster than good stuff…its just how it is. If you need Yahoo Store help we offer live video tutorials and if you are looking for a Yahoo Store designer, we can also help.

Hey folks!

Glad you are checking up on me. This may be your lucky day! Why? Well, I have been doing website design and programming for years but since I have started taking on my own projects and ecommerce stores, I have dwindled my clientel drastically. I am only taking on about 10 new clients this year and there are only 5 spots left!

So whats that mean to you? Well, for all you Yahoo Store owners, I am doing webmaster services for only 450.00 per month! Basically, you get 10 hours per month for consultations, design work, SEO fixes or whatever you want done really. There is a 6 month minimum contract but thats it…no catches. Spend the 10 hours however you want. I am here for you.

Better act fast though if you are interested because slots are filling up quickly. As a matter of fact, while writing this post, I just filled another slot. Only 4 more.

Feel free to contact me directly at 252 442-4672 or
email info [at] taylormadenetshops.com

All you Yahoo! store owners, I have some really bad news for you today.  If start searching around for ways to add Google checkout into your Yahoo store, you may run across a site called The SuperManager.  They are in the top spots on Google and even do some pay per click advertising.  Now I don't want this to go the wrong way because they really are some nice guys and I think they came up with a genious way of being able to actually add the Google checkout code to a live Yahoo store.  But, there is a problem… and it's a big problem according to the higher ups at Yahoo.

Now before I get to the point here, let me tell you what happened to me.  I was searching around trying to find a way to add Google checkout to my website, Replica Dungeon and came across the aforementioned folks above.  I was excited to find such a thing and immediately purchased and even paid the extra to have them add it all to my store for me.  One less thing for me to screw up if you know what I mean.  Anyway, the only reason I really wanted to get Google checkout was because I wanted to have my PPC ads show up with the little Google checkout icon and therefore get a little more attention over my competition.  Having Google as another payment option was actually just the icing on the cake.  So anyway, I paid and within 2 days the folks at The SuperManager had me all squared away.  I ran a couple tests to make sure it was indeed working and sure enough, all was well.

If you are a Yahoo store owner like myself, adding Google checkout to your site and having it work seamlessly for your customers is not an easy task.  Basically the customer has to go through the ENTIRE checkout process, choose Google checkout as the payment option instead of Visa or Mastercard, etc and proceed to the confirmation screen.  Basically at this point, the order process is 100% done and then its up to your confirmation page to have the Google checkout button and instructions on what to do next.  Its pretty sad and its definately ONLY a last resort work around.

Now, after I get all my stuff up and running and send back to Google for approval so my PPC ads can get the the little logo under my ads, I get an email back saying "Sorry, your site does not meet the standards, bla bla bla and therefore we cannot allow the Google checkout icon on your ads but thanks for contacting us" .  What a bummer!  This was the whole reason for doing this.  O well, at least I have another payment option, right?  WRONG!

The next day I get a call from a good friend of mine that says "OMG, you are gonna get your Yahoo store banned if you are not careful!"  So after my brief chat, I decided to call Yahoo tech support directly.  I waited for the normal 15 minutes before I get someone on the line and explained what I did and this nice gentleman, the name I forget, tells me that I am ok.  He said that they have seen other Yahoo stores using it so it must be ok.  I thanked him for his time and of course called my friend back so I could go "Nah, nah, na-na nah!".  My friend was still adament that I was in the wrong and said they would make a call to Yahoo buddy that was higher up the food chain than the normal first tier tech support.  I said OK and waited to hear back.

The next day I got the call.  It was my friend and it was bad news.  Apparantely it is huge NO NO to add Google checkout to your Yahoo store and the higher ups were going to immediately get the word down to the first line ASAP.  They had no idea this was going on and the whole "we see other stores doing it so it must be ok" rubbish I got from the tech guy was not the right answer.  So I immediately contact The SuperManager people and they were extremely nice and refunded my money and I removed all the Google checkout stuff from my site.

And that my friends is the real deal with Google checkout.  Maybe one day this will be ok and work better with the Yahoo! Merchant Solutions account but for now, I guess we are stuck with Paypal ;-p