online store

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	THE SETTING UP OF AN ONLINE STORE
The Webcentre for Electronic Commerce in Business A website dedicated to the promotion of e-commerce in South Africa	Webcom is the initiative of and is sponsored and maintained by the Electronic Commerce Section of the Department of Business Management at Unisa.
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PAGE INDEX

This week we will look at the first two elements of setting up an online store

Millions of people just like you have access to the World Wide Web (Internet) and thousands more are gaining access daily. No matter what type of professional you are, you cannot ignore the power of the Internet to reach people interested in your services. Having a website allows you to share information with current clients, potential clients, associates, and anyone in the world with an Internet connection.

OVERALL VIEW

The diagram below contains an overview of all the components involved in setting up a store online as well as different factors that must be taken into consideration in this process. Click here to go to a page with and enhanced interactive diagram. When the mouse pointer moves over a particular component in the diagram, a more detailed window will open and when you click on the component you will get a full text version of that particular component. Read the diagram from the bottom upwards brick by brick and look at the role of the role-players and other factors and the integration with other business activities by integration mortar.
CLICK HERE FOR INTERACTIVE VERSION each component as the mouse moves over them.
FOR A FULL TEXT VERSION OF THIS OVERVIEW e-mail me at bothajar@unisa.ac.za and include the words online store in the subject area. It will be automatically sent to you by e-mail.

CLICK HERE FOR INTERACTIVE VERSION

BUSINESS PLAN
Before any online business can be started
or added to an existing business, some
form of business plan needs to be created
based on the basic business purpose and 
objectives. The business plan should 
include components such as the following:

Description of business 
Purpose and goals
The market and competition 
Assumptions 
Marketing plans and strategy
Operating procedures and 
resources
Financial data 
Balance sheet and breakeven
analysis
Contingency plans

IDENTIFICATION OF ROLE PLAYERS
When an entrepreneur wants to set up a new business or shop, he first of all has to be aware of the different role players involved in the process. In many instances he has to consult business consultants, so a feasibility study and a SWOT analysis (SWOT is an acronym for the analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats). The entrepreneur also has to decide on the size of the business and the location thereof. He will have to search for premises and decide on the layout. For the layout he will probably need to make use of professional people such as shopfitter, interior designers, architects, builders and other technical people. The following are some of the most important people that will play a role in the setting op of an online store.

Business consultants,
Web page designers
- Artists
- Programmers
- Database experts
Service providers
ISPs
Commerce service providers (CSPs)
legal experts

Planning an online business is very similar to planing a conventional one. Planning must still take place. The store must for example be planned, fitted and decorated in a cyber world on the World Wide Web. But for the cyber shop there will be a different the type of professional person involved in rendering these services. There will not be any builders, building materials, shopfitters, interior designers and architects as we traditionally know them. Instead, cyber consultants and designers will now be used. A Web site designer will probably design the Web site, or if it is fairly simple, the entrepreneur might decide to try doing it by himself. However, the commercial aspects and the setting up of the cyber store on the website will probably be planned by an e-commerce specialist.

In the case of e-commerce the following persons will especially be needed: the website developer, the e-commerce service provider, the Internet service provider and the host of the website.