TalkIsCheap
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| Starting a new website |
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I am currently in college and already over whelmed with student loans. I saw a site where a guy sold ad space online. it was called "the million dollar homepage".
It got me thinking and I don't want to be like most people and have to be paying off student loans 10-15 years after I graduate. I am thinking of selling wristbands for a dollar along with the ad space that would be sold in 10x10 pixel blocks for 100 dollars.
I had a few questions though. I am looking into Ipage for the web hosting. Are they a good choice? I will be selling product online so will I be responsible to put this onto a tax return depending on what I make and if I sell them for a dollar will I actually make that full dollar or will I have to pay some fee's?
My mom recommended the idea of doing a charitable organization instead of the business because of taxes.
combined by coaster
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Tue Sep 13, 2011 4:16 am |
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coaster
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You mean yourself as the charitable organization? No. In the first place, that would be basically begging. In the second place, you'd have to qualify for tax-exempt status. Which requires an incredible amount of paperwork.
I think it's great that you're thinking of going into business for yourself; but don't go off half-cocked or you're just setting yourself up for failure. Learn about the best ways of going about it. Search Amazon for "start web-based business" and you'll find plenty of material to get your going.
Best wishes and good luck.
Oh, BTW, I think that's a brilliant idea. If that's your own original idea, I have no doubt that you have the makings of a first-class American entrepreneur.
~Tim~
Eye Candy : Why Whimsy
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Tue Sep 13, 2011 6:27 am |
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TalkIsCheap
New Member
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the ad space was not my original idea but selling wristbands was. Over the last few days I have been doing lots of research on web based businesses.
I didn't really like the idea of non-profit because I though of it as begging too.
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Tue Sep 13, 2011 10:29 pm |
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eastmn
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Hosting for $50 year and domain name $20. If you can get good traffic, then you can make money by placing adsense & amazon advertising on your site. Use sitepoint's forum for good advice, design and config help, and to ask for 'free hosting'. The key is traffic... need a trick, a niche, a secret sauce (keywords)... If you can't get traffic, then I'd just put it on hold for now...
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Wed Sep 14, 2011 10:50 am |
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Gary Barzel
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| Re: Starting a new website |
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quote:
Originally posted by TalkIsCheap
I had a few questions though. I am looking into Ipage for the web hosting. Are they a good choice? combined by coaster
I've never used Ipage but some of the reviews I've come across doesn't seem too good. Have a look at HostGator, hostmonster,network solutions, and blue host for some other options.
Gary Barzel
FastUpFront | Business Loans Made Easy
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Wed Sep 14, 2011 11:51 am |
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coaster
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I have an account with Hostmonster, and I'm under-impressed. As far as a registrar goes, I have an account also with GoDaddy, and so far so good with them. My hosting service is Fluid Hosting, and they're top-notch (though you do pay for it)
~Tim~
Eye Candy : Why Whimsy
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Wed Sep 14, 2011 3:39 pm |
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eastmn
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GoDaddy was too intrusive (sticky) for me;
I've always used directnic:
http://www.directnic.com/
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Wed Sep 14, 2011 4:25 pm |
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myinvestmentinsight
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Try to stay away from Godaddy. I've heard horror stories.
I use Namecheap to buy my domains (they're usually under $10) and Hostgator or BlueHost for my hosting. I've never had any problems with them.
Starting a website/blog to make some money is a great idea for a college student. Many former college graduates have seen their side-project site turn into their career.
Just keep in mind that you're not the first person with this idea. In fact, college kids with the right know-how have been doing this for the better part of the last 10 years.
You'll need a website that provides value to the market, does something in a way that hasn't been done before, and has potential for a lot of traffic.
There are tons of ways to monetize your site once you have traffic flowing to it on a regular basis. Ad space, text ads, Google Adsense, affiliate products, your own product, and newsletters are just some of the ways you can cash in.
Best bet is to start doing your research and get ready to build traffic for the better part of a year before you start to see significant income.
Visit Investment Insight Wealth Management!
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Wed Sep 14, 2011 6:08 pm |
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johnysumner
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I would take the tips of myinvestmentinsight as the best one!
Hostgator is a great hosting site as well as Bluehost. Though I haven't heard any of those horror stories yet about Godaddy. I hope I'll never have to. lol!
Anyways, if you have a great idea for your website and able to provide continuous quality content for it, I would go for it. But if you can't regularly update your website then I would think twice.
It is important to keep your website always up to date. People will get bored of visiting your website if they keep on reading the same content for a week.
Toronto Internet Marketing
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Thu Sep 15, 2011 12:55 am |
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coaster
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quote:
Originally posted by eastmn
GoDaddy was too intrusive (sticky) for me;
I've always used directnic:
http://www.directnic.com/
Hmmmm....thanks for the advice (also above) and recommendation. I only have one site registered there (no hosting); I thought I'd given them a try after Hostmonster screwed up my account. So ...... maybe I'll check out that one instead. Good thing I didn't switch registrars yet. 
~Tim~
Eye Candy : Why Whimsy
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Thu Sep 15, 2011 6:04 am |
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coaster
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PS - BlueHost and Hostmonster are two faces of the same company.
~Tim~
Eye Candy : Why Whimsy
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Thu Sep 15, 2011 6:07 am |
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eastmn
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Directnic made the news (historical) during hurricane Katrina. They were bragging about their servers being on the 10th floor in New Orleans with backup generators. They never went down, made famous by the incident. Directnic was streamiing live webcam videos of the city, Katrina destruction and the looting going on. Jewelry and Electronics stores got hit hard.
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Thu Sep 15, 2011 7:25 am |
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TalkIsCheap
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Location: Mesa
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Updating the content on the website. Would that be considered like my personal blog about whats going on with the site? Media coverage. things like that?
I was thinking about making a Facebook page for the website to gain interest but what I am not sure about was when I should start building the site it self?
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Thu Sep 15, 2011 8:23 am |
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myinvestmentinsight
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quote:
Originally posted by TalkIsCheap
Updating the content on the website. Would that be considered like my personal blog about whats going on with the site? Media coverage. things like that?
I was thinking about making a Facebook page for the website to gain interest but what I am not sure about was when I should start building the site it self?
Get your site built and operational before anything else. Consistent content generally means you will have a blog or news section that you update a few times a week. Write about current news, how to articles, or just unique insights on the topic.
A Facebook/Twitter page is a must, but it is only just 1 part in overall traffic generation.
Do a few Google searches for 'making money with a blog/website'. You'll start to find some of the authoritative sites on the subject and realize how much work needs to be put in to make money.
Visit Investment Insight Wealth Management!
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Thu Sep 15, 2011 3:32 pm |
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coaster
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Cash: $ 1357.80
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Joined: 11 Oct 2005
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quote:
Originally posted by myinvestmentinsight
Get your site built and operational before anything else. .
The best and easiest way to do that is on your own computer at home, not on a hosted account. You can set up your own local Apache server. The software is all free. On Windows, I recommend XAMMP by Apache Friends; On Mac, Apache and PHP are already installed ... you just have to activate PHP and install MySQL, which is also free.
~Tim~
Eye Candy : Why Whimsy
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Thu Sep 15, 2011 4:15 pm |
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