I came across the CashMakingPowerSites.com opportunity in my daily research for business opportunities to present to my readers. Honestly, I’m hesitating to purchase this system for review because I want to do some more research. I’ve read a few reviews that say it’s a great opportunity, and others that say it’s a scam. That’s why I’d like to hear from you to get your opinion. If you have used the CashMakingPowerSites system, I’d love to hear what you think of it. If not, take a look at their landing page and give us your first impression. Is CashMakingPowerSites.com a scam, or is it a great business opportunity?

I’d like you to visit their site directly to get your first impression, but here’s the high-level overview of their offer:

• You get 5 turnkey websites that they have optimized to drive action from your visitors.
• You basically need to do nothing except market these 5 sites.
• They are affiliate websites where your goal is to direct visitors to a final purchase page via your ClickBank affiliate ID. (Which is free.)

The websites are:

• PickAndClickCash.com – Has to do with Real Estate and possibly Buying Foreclosed Homes.
• UltimateAdvertisingSolution.com – Secrets to advertising. (Get $10,000 in Ads for 1% of what everyone else pays.)
• UltimateDiabetesSolution.com – A Cure for Diabetes?
• UltimateCancerSolution.com – A Cure for Cancer? (Probably an herbal remedy or lifestyle change, but I’m curious.)
• UltimateHealthyHeart.com – Secret to a healthy, strong, and powerful heart.

So take a look at their sales pitch and let us know what you think. If the reviews aren’t all negative, I’ll purchase the system and do a more thorough investigation.

Click here to visit CashMakingPowerSites.com.

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1. SaleHoo.com – Wholesale Resource Review

Liquidation.com has received a less than warm welcome from the readers of our wholesale blog, according the comments in our previous review of Liquidation.com. Nonetheless, I’m still on the search for someone that has had a fantastic experience with them.

I’d like everyone to check out this video and let us know what you think. The video portrays Liquidation.com as a great source of wholesale HDTVs. One guy bought 6 LCD TVs for $1300 and expects to resell them for $1800 each. Is this possible with the prices and selection at Liquidation.com? I would love to hear from someone that has visited one of their warehouses. As always, I’m trying to give Liquidation.com a fair review. However, all of the comments on our previous review told of horrible experiences or average experiences where the customer was able to break even. I have yet to hear a real success story, but I am optimistic. I can’t believe that a publicly traded company (Liquidity Services – LQDT) can be as terrible as everyone is saying and still be in business. According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), Liquidity Services Inc has a B+ rating and they are BBB accredited. It looks like they have about 100 complaints per year, but most of those get resolved. If you’ve been burned by Liquidation.com, you may have some success if you file a formal complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Here’s a link to Liquidation.com’s BBB report. They show lots of customers leaving happily with their fully functional merchandise. Does this video accurately portray your experience with Liquidation.com?

If interested, Liquidation.com is having a huge open box HDTV sale.

Related posts:

1. Liquidation.com Review
2. Win $500 from Liquidation.com
3. LCD TVs at Liquidation.com

There seem to be two groups of people when talking about starting a business online. There are the people that think the internet is easy money, and you just have to come up with one interesting idea to become a billionaire. On the other hand, there are the people that think it’s too hard, or you have to be a computer geek, or there’s already too much competition. The list of 10 myths below about starting an online business isn’t meant to convince you one way or the other. It’s simply information from experience that it may not be as easy or hard as you think.

Let’s start with 5 myths that make you think it’s too hard to start an online business:

Myth #1: You Need a Professionally Designed Website

The truth is that you can find endless amounts of free or very cheap templates. For example, Smashing Magazine has a list of 100 free standards-compliant website templates. You may need to learn basic HTML, but you do not need to pay an expensive web developer to build you a custom site.

This is especially true if you’re opening an ecommerce website. With free ecommerce platforms like OSCommerce and Magento, you can basically load your products and have the platform take care of the rest.

Myth #2: It’s too Easy, So Everyone’s Already Doing It

You should find a way to bring value to the market with your individual skills, but being totally unique is not necessary. There are many millions of people online. All you need to do is stand out from the crowd a bit and you’ll be in a position to enjoy your piece of the pie.

Myth #3: You Need Funding or an Otherwise Enormous Budget

It is absolutely possible to start an online business with no money. (or at least very little) A domain costs about $10, and hosting between $50 and $100 per year. There are free alternatives to these, but you’ll be forced to advertise someone else’s services. Beyond that cost, there’s no requirement for spending a lot of money. If you’re savvy with the computer and don’t mind learning some new tricks, you can absolutely do all of the work yourself.

Myth #4: You Need to Update Your Website Every Day

At first, you’ll have a lot of updating/customizing to do. However, once your site is finished, there’s rarely a need to make daily updates. Of course, unless you’re running a blog or have daily product updates. Most websites can be launched and left alone for extended periods of time. Is it better to update your website often? Yes, but it’s not essential.

Myth #5: You Need a Huge Advertising Budget

You don’t need to spend a dime, but you will need to spend some time. If you have products with descriptions and features, your site will naturally be “picked up” by the search engines. You will need to do some advertising on your own, but it’s not necessary to shell out a bunch of money to have a banner on someone else’s site. (btw…banners are very 1995) The name of the game is search engine optimization (SEO). You’ll need to get in good with the search engines and I promise you will receive traffic. How you get in good with them is the center of an entirely separate industry known as internet marketing.
Some good SEO / Internet Marketing blogs are: SEOMoz, SEOBook, and Awesome-SEO.

And now to pull you back to reality, because everything you just learned above isn’t really that easy.

Here are the top 5 myths that make you think starting an online business is easy money:

Myth #1: Just Launch a Website and Start Collecting Your Money

This is probably the longest-running myth of starting a business online. Simply putting up a website does not mean anyone will ever see it. You may be able to get 50 or 100 visitors a month by accident if you have a decent amount of content on your site. However, you need to write quality content, offer quality products, and you’ll still need to do some advertising. You need to build links from other websites to rank higher in the search engines, and you need to optimize your site so your visitors do what you want when they get to your site.

Myth #2: You Can Buy an Online Business Plan or System and Become Instantly Successful

That eBook or seminar is NOT going to be the key to your internet riches. In the decade that I’ve been doing this, I’ve seen hundreds of these offers, and even purchased quite a few. They’re just like any other business. You need to work at them and have your own plan for making them succeed. The only people making money from these systems are the ones selling them.

Myth #3: A Home-Based Online Business Will Give you More Free Time

Until your home business gets really successful, don’t plan on quitting that day job. And since you’ll be working a day job and moonlighting with your online business, you’ll have LESS free time. This may go on for 6 months, a year, or many more than that. You will need to sacrifice some free time if you want the future benefits of owning your own business. (So I guess this isn’t really a myth because you will eventually have more free time if you’re wildly successful. Unfortunately, many of us aren’t successful right away, so it may be a grind for a very long time. *It’s after midnight as I write this.)

Myth #4: You Can Get a Grant or Loan to Start Your Business

There are government grants to aid local businesses, and the Small Business Administration (SBA) does help people get loans, but you cannot expect to get much help from either of these sources. The government and SBA are interested in creating jobs. They will help you out if you expect to create X number of jobs in your region, but for a home-based business, you really need to assume everything will come out of your pocket. (See the first 5 myths if you’re scared about not having enough money.)

Myth #5: You’ll be able to Claim Everything as a Tax Deduction

This is one where you can get into big trouble if you don’t take it seriously. Business and personal expenses must be tracked separately. Now remember that I’m not a tax advisor, but if you claim your tickets to the Steeler’s football game as a business expense, you better be able to prove it was a legitimate business-related activity. You can absolutely write off parts of your house and your utilities, depending on your local tax laws, but if you start writing off personal expenses, expect a call from the tax man.

I hope this list helped you to better understand what’s really involved in starting an online or home based business. If you thought it would be too hard, I hope this inspired you to give it a try, and if you thought it would be easy, I hope you take a second look at your plan before making any crazy decisions.

There are so many more myths about starting an online business that I’d like to discuss, but let’s leave it up to you what we talk about next. Please comment with your own myths or ideas you have about working from home.

Related posts:

1. Sell Wholesale Products Online
2. Let’s Start a Wholesale Business
3. Update – Starting a Wholesale Business

I was doing a review of my site’s traffic with Google Analytics and Alexa, and was surprised to find that more than half of my traffic comes from Pakistan. ( 57% Pakistan, 27% United States, and 15% Other +/-)

This site is based in the United States, but I welcome all of my Pakistani visitors. Is there anything that I can do or offer that will help you get more out of this website? Are there any wholesale suppliers based in Pakistan that I could review? I’ll keep this short, but I was extremely surprised to find that Pakistan was a dominant source of traffic for this website. If there’s anything I can do to improve your visit, please let me know.

(The same courtesy is extended to my fellow Americans as well as anyone else on Earth that would like to leave a comment.)

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1. Why SellWholesale.com?

I have been frustrated more than once at the fact that DOBA.com can accept my membership via electronic means, but absolutely won’t allow me to cancel my membership with the same method.

For anyone searching for ways to cancel your DOBA membership, I give you the text from their help file:

To cancel your account, please call 1.877.321.3622 to speak to a Member Services Representative who can help you cancel your account. Member Services is available between the hours of 7 AM and 7 PM Mountain Time, Monday through Friday. Please note that, at this time, we are unable to process cancellation requests via email.

This policy is also outlined in the Terms of Use. See the Terms of Use by checking on the following link: http://www.doba.com/site/fees.html

~~~~~

Basically, you have to call during their normal business hours. They will not accept your cancellation via any other means.*

*I was able to cancel electronically several years ago by making this same argument. Unfortunately, I recently created a trial account and tried to cancel it the same way, but it was a no go this time.

DOBA might be a good way to get your wholesale business started, but be warned that it’s not as easy to cancel as it is to sign up.

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1. Doba.com Review

After a long and difficult research process, I’ve gone full circle and decided to go back to selling sunglasses. I can’t give too many details just yet, but the plan is to sell wholesale sunglasses from our new website, RebelSunglasses.com.

We still haven’t decided on the exact product line, but just about anything related to sunglasses is on the table. We’re looking into premium sunglass brands, replica sunglasses, and even importing sunglasses from other countries. As I mentioned above, we’ll be selling the sunglasses at wholesale, by the dozen. We may dabble in individual sales, but I think wholesale will be our primary business model.

We’re still in the business planning stage, setting up bank accounts, finding wholesale suppliers, getting partnership agreements in place, but we plan to officially launch by May 1st, 2009! If you’re interested in selling sunglasses in your shop, at flea markets, or at events, leave us a comment and we’ll be sure to contact you once everything is up and running.

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After reviewing the site searches this week, I have chosen Zippo Lighters as my wholesale research product.  I started out by searching on Liquidation.com and found many auctions for “zippo type” lighters.  Unfortunately, all of these auctions were closed and there weren’t any active auctions for Zippo lighters.

I found one site that seems to carry wholesale Zippo lighters, named Siskiyou Fine Pewter and Gifts.  They have over 100 styles of Zippo lighters.  They have a minimum order of $200 and you must sign up for an account before you can make a purchase.  The signup process requires you to have an active website and agree to their dropshipping rules.  Nothing out of the ordinary here, but to get the actual prices, you’ll have to test them out for yourself.

For a more official source, you might choose to contact Zippo directly.  To become a Zippo retailer, just visit the official Zippo Retailer website.  Just fill out their information request form and supposedly they’ll have someone contact you about becoming a Zippo retailer.  If you’re looking to sell wholesale Zippo lighters, this is by far the best route to take.

[If you'd like to have us research wholesale sources for a product, simply search for it at the top of our site.  We review these searches weekly and report our findings here.  Don't forget to subscribe to our feed so you don't miss any of our updates.]

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1. Sell Wholesale Products Online
2. Starting a Wholesale Business – Finding a Product to Sell

My friend that I mentioned previously in the Webstore Chronicles post, asked if he should form a corporation for his business.  I fairly quickly told him no, that he doesn’t need to incorporate.  However, the reason for this response might not be so clear to some.  Hence this post…

Please remember that this is my personal commentary on whether or not to form a corporation.  If you’re getting serious about your business, I recommend you read a few books on the topic and possibly even talk to an attorney.  (Just about every “guide to starting a business” will have a section explaining the different business structures.)

Before we move on, let’s review the various business structures:

1. Sole Proprietorship

Basically, anyone that performs a service is automatically considered a sole proprietorship unless they specifically set up another business structure.  Generally, a sole proprietorship consists of a single person or a few employees.  However, there is absolutely no limit on the size of your sole proprietorship.  Technically, even a company the size of Wal-Mart could be a sole proprietorship, but it usually makes sense for larger businesses to use a different business structure.

2. Partnership

When two people start a for-profit business, it’s considered a partnership.  There’s usually, *and should be*, a written agreement covering the distribution of revenue, as well as what would happen if one or both of the partners chose to leave the business. In most states, disputes are handled under the Uniform Partnership Act (UPA).  A partnership is basically a sole proprietorship, but with 2 people.  If you go into business with a partner, no matter how utopian the initial arrangement is, please make sure to write up a detailed partnership agreement.  You’ll appreciate it if things ever turn sour.

3. Corporation

When you form a corporation, you’re actually creating a new legal entity.  This new entity can do just about anything a person can.  It can get credit, make a profit, and get sued.  To form a corporation, you need to complete several incorporation documents specific to the State of incorporation.  When the corporation is created, shares of stock are issued to shareholders.  These shareholders trade something of value, such as money or expertise, for their shares.  These shares are created regardless of whether the corporation is public or private. If your corporation is private, all of the shares could be owned by yourself, or maybe by some close friends and family.  Once your corporation goes public, anyone may buy shares of your company at the going price.

Corporations are also divided into C-Corporations, Subchapter S Corporations, and Limited Liability Corporations (LLC).  Large companies generally form C-Corporations, while smaller companies usually choose an S Corporation or LLC.  There’s less paperwork and regulation on the latter two as long as they follow certain guidelines.

Ok, so why shouldn’t I form a corporation?

There are several myths out there as reasons one should incorporate a business.  The top 2 are tax savings and personal liability.

Ok, now to disspell those incorporation myths:

1. Tax Savings
I’ve read so many times on the Internet that I should form a corporation for the tax benefits.  They usually go something like this: “If you form a corporation, you can write off business expenses, business meals, and even a portion of your mortgage!”

However, you can do all of these as a sole proprietor!  I have owned my own business in one form or another for the past 10 years.  Every year, I was able to deduct business expenses. (Always consult a tax attorney.)  I wrote off equipment, meals, travel expenses, part of my mortgage, part of my utility bills, even some supplies to spruce up my office.  The key is that a sole proprietorship is a business.  As a business you can deduct your business expenses from your income. (Again, I’m not a tax expert.  This is just my experience.)

I did form an LLC a few years ago and the only difference was that I paid a bunch of money to fill out a bunch of forms and follow a bunch of rules.  Then, at tax time, I got a penalty because I didn’t dot all of the i’s and cross all of the t’s.  Thank you, I’ll choose a sole proprietorship every time.

2. Personal Liability
First, I will admit that this is mostly true.  Technically, the corporation is a separate entity, and if it is sued, your personal assets cannot be taken.  If you are running an honest business and someone slips when leaving your house after a meeting, this business structure should stop them from being able to take your house.  I’d say an exception to this entire post would be if you are running a brick and mortar business.  You could absolutely have a slip and fall situation and you’ll be glad to have this layer of protection.  On the other hand, if you’re starting a wholesale business, or other venture that is almost entirely online, you’ll have a tough time convincing me to incorporate.

HOWEVER…This does not mean you are exempt from all responsibility.  If you personally are negligent or dishonest in your business dealings, a judge will come after your personal assets every time.  Many judges are looking to determine why you formed your corporation.  If they find that it was so you could rack up huge debt and/or scam your customers, expect the corporation to be sued, but you can bet you’ll be named as a co-defendant.  Yep, that means YOU are personally responsible for everything.

One more note…

For me, I initially wanted to start a corporation for every business I started.  There’s something about forming a corporation that makes if feel like you’re running a business.  I thought if I had a corporation, it meant I was big-time and it would help the business to be a success.  While it does feel that way, I must stress that it doesn’t matter how much “like a business” your business is.  It’s the goods and services you provide to your customers.  If those are good, then it doesn’t matter if you are a corporation with your own office building, or a sole proprietor working out of your cold, dark, unfinished basement.

So, if you’re running an honest, online business, you really shouldn’t have very much risk of being sued.  So why go through the hassle and expense of forming a corporation?  I’ve done it once, and will never do it again unless I absolutely must.

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I know I’m always pimping Liquidation.com, but so far they’re one of my favorite resources for wholesale merchandise.  Free to get started.  No commitments.  It’s almost as easy as Ebay, but with the intent of buying things to make money.

Liquidation.com has a Hot Deals section where they list the auctions that are ending soon.

One product that stood out was the Stix 400 game. While it’s getting mixed reviews as a Wii remote knockoff for your PC, there seems to be a market for them. (ie. anyone not fortunate enough to have a real Wii yet) I’ve seen the Stix 400 version online for $20 to $40. At this moment the bidding is at $175 for 96 of them. (ie. a pretty good price) They also make a Stix 100 and Stix 200, but both of those got very negative reviews from gamers.

Before you buy anything from Liquidation.com, always make sure to check the condition of the product. It will be labeled, New, Returns, Shelf Pulls, or Salvage depending on the source of the merchandise.

Take a look at Liquidation.com’s Hot Deals as soon as you get a chance.

Related posts:

1. Liquidation.com Review – Video Followup
2. Liquidation.com Review
3. LCD TVs at Liquidation.com

Over the past few months, a friend of mine has had a lot of questions about different ways to start a business online. More specifically, he wants to start a webstore of some kind.  He’s been looking at quite a few turn-key solutions.  Unfortunately, I don’t have experience with them yet.  Until I have time to do a proper review of these turnkey websites, has anyone else used them?

• StoresOnline.com
• BigLeaguePlayersClub.com
• HeadWebmaster.com

I have taken a brief look at each of these sites, but I don’t want to skew anyone’s opinion just yet. If you have experience with these websites, or even if you’re just looking at them now, please let us know what you think in the comments. Do you have any other suggestions for turn-key websites? He’s not into programming, so he’s looking for something that’s basically a flip of the switch.

Actually, after going through some of his emails, I’m thinking it would be best for him to use Doba.com for his dropshipping, and pair it with Magento eCommerce as his website platform. I think it might be a little more technical than what he’s looking for, but Doba.com offers a million products, and Magento is free. He could create different web stores based on each product category without any additional cost. That’s my opinion, what do you think?

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