Internet company

maka_2

hi all
i was looking for a few things online then all of a sudden i think i came across a gap in the market.
so i guess my quesstion is what next?
Do i seek help in setting up a web page as i have no idea how to build one myself. Or do i put my idea to some one who knows about internet businesses and if they like the idea we come to some sort of arrangement IE they own a % of the company.
i guess if i dont try it out i will never know.
for obvious i can say what is is just in case someone gets in there before me.
any help would be great.
Thank you
maka.

Pennywise

Start talking to people.

First, get a few "free intitial consultations" with local accountants - most will spend 30-45 minutes with you to talk about really anything to do with the business, including business plans, raising finance, etc.

Then talk to your local business link - you can follow the link from the dti website https://www.dti.gov.uk

You are right not to mention the actual product. Think of a similar product, similar customer profile, similar cost, similar retailers, etc., so you can tell people about "product x" which is "like a spanner, car radio, freeview box, whatever".

Whatever you do, don't rush into spending money with advertisers, web-designers, marketeers, etc. Do you research first, so you call the shots when the time comes. Keep yourself in control at all times.

innovate

If your business idea works on the internet and you have no idea about setting up web pages, you definitely want an expert to set up the pages for you. Once they are set up, you should probably be able to manage things yourself, but if you aren't it shouldn't cost the earth to keep your original designer on a retainer.

Can't see any reason really why you should offer the designer a %age of your company - just hire them to do a job for you, and make them sign a confidentiality agreement that assures they don't nick your idea.

Depending on your requirements, between £1K and £5K should give you an awful lot "of website", with very high standards.

Unfortunately, I am not a web designer, so can't offer you my services

Best of luck with your venture!

choosewisely

I've setup a few e-commerce sites and whilst just hiring a designer is good having one as a partner or in-house is a lot more flexible. The sites I designed needed almost daily tweaking as you (and the management!) monitor sales and visitor statistics and look at areas of improvement and simply drop things that don't work and try other options - this can be costly if you're using a hired designer and going back to ask for changes all the time but this depends on how you see the site developing - maybe if it's a simple idea a designer can deliver a complete finished solution which works perfectly from day one.

Websites can take a while to build up momentum too so if you're income initially isn't going to be great sharing the risk with a partnership deal might be better than spending 5k of your own money up front.

At the end of the day though if you want someone as a partner in the venture you have to know them well and trust them as you are giving up some control I suppose whereas with a hired designer you call the shots and if you have real faith in your idea and think it could be a real winner then you have to decide if you want to share that success and profit!