Success with Online Retailing : For Small Businesses

Rating:
Summary: Proper Preparation Spells Online Retailing Success
Review: Entrepreneurship has been at the top of people's list of "dream jobs". With the age of PCs and the Internet came the idea to operate a successful online-business. Whether providing a service or offering a product for sale, having the "whole world" out there as a potential customer base is a thrilling thought.

Before you quit your day job and dive into the wonderful world of online retailing, reading Patrick Tan's book is an invaluable investment of time and money. Tan offers a "to do" list, but also warns of many common mistakes to avoid. A good example of this is advertising your business; many ways to advertise prove ineffective because the cost out-weighs the benefits. Focusing on one aspect of your business while neglecting other important angles can prove disastrous.

Operating your own online business requires a lot of common sense. Many of Tan's suggestions seem logical, yet some people out there really need to be reminded of such common sense ideas as *do you enjoy your business? *is there a steady demand for the product/service you offer? *is your goal a realistic one? *do you anticipate enough profits to sustain your business?

Like the recent "dot.com bubble", many dreams burst quickly because the ideas were slapped-together without much preparation or thought, while expectations of success were unrealistic. As an Internet entrepreneur who survived the 2000 bubble-burst, I highly recommend this book to fellow entrepreneurs, especially the ones who are taking the first steps to success. Patrick Tan's guide will certainly be of help along that path.*****

Rating:
Summary: Proper Preparation Spells Online Retailing Success
Review: Entrepreneurship has been at the top of people's list of "dream jobs". With the age of PCs and the Internet came the idea to operate a successful online-business. Whether providing a service or offering a product for sale, having the "whole world" out there as a potential customer base is a thrilling thought.

Before you quit your day job and dive into the wonderful world of online retailing, reading Patrick Tan's book is an invaluable investment of time and money. Tan offers a "to do" list, but also warns of many common mistakes to avoid. A good example of this is advertising your business; many ways to advertise prove ineffective because the cost out-weighs the benefits. Focusing on one aspect of your business while neglecting other important angles can prove disastrous.

Operating your own online business requires a lot of common sense. Many of Tan's suggestions seem logical, yet some people out there really need to be reminded of such common sense ideas as *do you enjoy your business? *is there a steady demand for the product/service you offer? *is your goal a realistic one? *do you anticipate enough profits to sustain your business?

Like the recent "dot.com bubble", many dreams burst quickly because the ideas were slapped-together without much preparation or thought, while expectations of success were unrealistic. As an Internet entrepreneur who survived the 2000 bubble-burst, I highly recommend this book to fellow entrepreneurs, especially the ones who are taking the first steps to success. Patrick Tan's guide will certainly be of help along that path.*****

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Details of Inexpensive On-Line Retail Operations
Review: Success with Online Retailing is a practical guide for how to inexpensively implement your great idea for offering inexpensive products that people want in a unique way with delightful service. The author, Mr. Tan, brings a lot to the table from his experience as a former e-Business Manager for Tangs Department Store in Singapore and his recent work in creating low-cost Web store software. This book will be particularly valuable to potential e-retailers located in the Far East due to his many suggestions for that area.

Although this is an average length book, it is quite exhaustive in the subjects covered including how to:

identify a business that allows you to capitalize on your unique qualities and interests; create a strategic perspective on what advantages to seek in serving customers; develop a business plan to implement the strategy; brand and position your business; find the right e-commerce solution for an inexpensive start; avoid fraud losses; get order fulfillment done well; build an appealing site; establish an on-line community; market to attract new customers and draw old viewers back; work with partners and outsourcing services; and expand into a multichannel strategy that may include mail-order catalogs or connect to an existing physical store.

As you get closer to the details, the book gets better and better. Much of the overview on the industry is a little dated . . . looking at information from 2001 and 2002. But you are given lots of on-line resources to get more recent information.

Some may be troubled that Mr. Tan frequently refers to his software product. I didn't find that distressing because it gave a sense of reality to what would be involved in establishing an on-line retail business.

My biggest concern about the book was that it didn't give enough detail about how rapidly one can expect to succeed, how much capital will be involved, and how hard it is to avoid operational problems. As a result, I came away feeling like on-line retailing is not such a great opportunity . . . unless you are already a catalog or physical store retailer. The book, however, gave me a sense from its tone that almost anyone can succeed. I suspect that the majority will fail instead, as most new retail businesses do.

Before you decide to pursue this direction, find some live examples to study that will give you a better sense of what you can accomplish with your time and resources.

Good luck!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Details of Inexpensive On-Line Retail Operations
Review: Success with Online Retailing is a practical guide for how to inexpensively implement your great idea for offering inexpensive products that people want in a unique way with delightful service. The author, Mr. Tan, brings a lot to the table from his experience as a former e-Business Manager for Tangs Department Store in Singapore and his recent work in creating low-cost Web store software. This book will be particularly valuable to potential e-retailers located in the Far East due to his many suggestions for that area.

Although this is an average length book, it is quite exhaustive in the subjects covered including how to:

identify a business that allows you to capitalize on your unique qualities and interests; create a strategic perspective on what advantages to seek in serving customers; develop a business plan to implement the strategy; brand and position your business; find the right e-commerce solution for an inexpensive start; avoid fraud losses; get order fulfillment done well; build an appealing site; establish an on-line community; market to attract new customers and draw old viewers back; work with partners and outsourcing services; and expand into a multichannel strategy that may include mail-order catalogs or connect to an existing physical store.

As you get closer to the details, the book gets better and better. Much of the overview on the industry is a little dated . . . looking at information from 2001 and 2002. But you are given lots of on-line resources to get more recent information.

Some may be troubled that Mr. Tan frequently refers to his software product. I didn't find that distressing because it gave a sense of reality to what would be involved in establishing an on-line retail business.

My biggest concern about the book was that it didn't give enough detail about how rapidly one can expect to succeed, how much capital will be involved, and how hard it is to avoid operational problems. As a result, I came away feeling like on-line retailing is not such a great opportunity . . . unless you are already a catalog or physical store retailer. The book, however, gave me a sense from its tone that almost anyone can succeed. I suspect that the majority will fail instead, as most new retail businesses do.

Before you decide to pursue this direction, find some live examples to study that will give you a better sense of what you can accomplish with your time and resources.

Good luck!

Rating:
Summary: Success with Online Retailing For Small Businesses
Review: They say that "Time flies when you are having fun", and if that is the case, then finally, there is an easy-to-use e-commerce guide available that gives you a lot of fun simply by reading it. For those who is going to start a new business online and has every intention to build it successfully, this is the book you must not miss!

The book's author shares his hands-on knowledge and experience in both the business and e-commerce developments, presents you with practical tips and skills so as to prepare you for a cost-effective start right through the managing of your e-business operations strategically and efficiently.

Unique, inspiring, well paced and neatly concluded in a language that all can understand and enjoy. More importantly, the book is everything you need.

Rating:
Summary: Practical, realistic and valuable
Review: This book takes a no nonsense, straightforward, practical approach to developing and managing an online retail business. Given the plethora of books about this subject that are little more than gushing testaments to achieving success, with more fluff than meat, it's refreshing to find one that is sober and factual.

The author sets the tone in the beginning of the book by citing a few short, compelling success stories, then leading you through steps designed to determine if you are ready to sell online, the realities of an online business and how to approach creating a successful business model. He then leads you through all of the critical success factors, ranging from positioning your business to sourcing to credit risk management. These important topics are treated in surprising depth considering that the entire book is less than 225 pages. More importantly, statistics, tables and supporting information are provided to reinforce concepts and back up statements made.

Chapters 10 through 15 cover the actual development and marketing of your web site. This material is presented in the same factual, straightforward fashion that characterizes the first nine chapters and is filled with excellent advice and information.

In Chapter 17, E-Business Management, the author provides realistic advice about what it takes to effectively manage your online retail business. This advice is based on his extensive experience as an operator and consultant, and is on the mark. The final chapter wraps up with advanced tips on multi channel strategies, profit assurance and operations.

If you read one book on online retailing I recommend that it is this one. The writing is crisp, the information is practical, and the approach is viable.

Rating:
Summary: Practical, realistic and valuable
Review: This book takes a no nonsense, straightforward, practical approach to developing and managing an online retail business. Given the plethora of books about this subject that are little more than gushing testaments to achieving success, with more fluff than meat, it's refreshing to find one that is sober and factual.

The author sets the tone in the beginning of the book by citing a few short, compelling success stories, then leading you through steps designed to determine if you are ready to sell online, the realities of an online business and how to approach creating a successful business model. He then leads you through all of the critical success factors, ranging from positioning your business to sourcing to credit risk management. These important topics are treated in surprising depth considering that the entire book is less than 225 pages. More importantly, statistics, tables and supporting information are provided to reinforce concepts and back up statements made.

Chapters 10 through 15 cover the actual development and marketing of your web site. This material is presented in the same factual, straightforward fashion that characterizes the first nine chapters and is filled with excellent advice and information.

In Chapter 17, E-Business Management, the author provides realistic advice about what it takes to effectively manage your online retail business. This advice is based on his extensive experience as an operator and consultant, and is on the mark. The final chapter wraps up with advanced tips on multi channel strategies, profit assurance and operations.

If you read one book on online retailing I recommend that it is this one. The writing is crisp, the information is practical, and the approach is viable.

Rating:
Summary: Useful, detailed, comprehensive, well-written
Review: This one-volume, easy-to-read introduction to selling your wares online ranges from strategy -- keep average order size high and costs low -- to practicalities -- how to efficiently orchestrate the fulfillment of orders.

The book includes several interesting topics I did not expect in a book of this type, including the pros and cons of drop shipping and how to minimize credit card fraud.

If you want a solid guide to setting up an online store, this covers everything you need to know to get started and make money at it. Well done!