I have had a lot of people asking me lately if they really should consider starting an online store in this economy. 
The answer is a loud, resonating YES!!!
Now is the best time to start a store and here is why:

Your other income opportunities are becoming much less stable – layoffs, a down employment market mean [...]

Hey Everyone, I’ve got a guest Blog today from Regina Baker of Wahmcart.com.
She’s got some awesome information on shopping carts . . .
Moms who stay at home are the biggest group of people who try to earn a living by working at home. They don’t have to worry about daycare costs and they can volunteer [...]

Now we’ve chosen an online store (my personal preference is Yahoo! Merchant Services).
It’s time to start building.
Here are some considerations in organizing your store.
Categorizing
First, you need to think about how to categorize your products. Think about User Experience first and SEO second. From a usability perspective, you want your users to navigate your [...]

As you may have been following on the Media column here in Sparkplugging, we had an AMAZING trip to Vegas to Video Blog the sessions and speakers BlogWorld Expo 2008 – sponsored by Epson.
One of my goals at BlogWorld was to help my readers understand how they can use blogs and social media in order [...]

The next big step you need to take is choosing an eCommerce Platform.
There are several requirements and aspects to consider during this process.
But first, let me make one point – nothing you do here is permanent! Many people get stuck in this phase and take way to long to analyze the pros and cons of [...]

Okay. Now you have found your profitable niche. You researched the market. You found suppliers for your product line.
You are FINALLY ready to get started building a store.
As I mentioned in the last article, you now need to get your financial and legal ducks in a row.
You should spend some time learning about the different [...]

Once you’ve found a solid market and possible product line, it’s time to find out whether you can source this product at a profitable margin. 
This is the part many people skip – because it isn’t always easy.  But this step is the key to success for all businesses.  You’ve found a solid market segment.  You’ve [...]

Okay.  Finally - the “How To” title that I promised!
By now you have come up with several product ideas.  Hopefully, you started with a market and discovered their needs – checkout my article on Choosing a Market First if you missed it. 
There are three main components to understanding the potential success of a product or product line. 
1. [...]

Let’s talk about some ways that you can generate your product ideas.
Some of you are looking for the overall idea for a new business. Others are looking for idea after idea as to what products to sell on a platform like eBay. And as I mentioned in my last post, you should really [...]

In determining what to sell, people tend to start brainstorming on individual products.  Not necessarily a bad thing to do – in fact, in the next few posts, we are going to talk about different ways to drum up product ideas from the world around you. 
However, let me give you some food for thought that might [...]