Starting an Online Business All-in-One For Dummies®, 3rd Edition

Chapter 6: Hiring Experts to Get Business Rolling Again

In This Chapter

• Knowing when to seek a consultant to guide you
• Finding an advisor who knows your business
• Choosing the right professional to work with you
• Creating binding contracts to define the rules of engagement
• Approaching change with realistic requests and firm goals

Several early e-commerce pioneers founded in the mid-1990s — Amazon and eBay — are online powerhouses still going strong, today. However, not everyone on the Net found that same success. Many recognizable online brands folded, and plenty of unknown online businesses, like their offline peers, simply couldn't make it. Other businesses managed to stay around but continue to struggle.

Is your site one of the smaller online businesses that has been around a while but has never taken off? If so, you might need a new strategy and a little kick in the pants! Or perhaps your site is among the well-established and formerly lucrative e-commerce sites whose sales have recently stalled. You're a good candidate for bringing in expert advice and revamping your game plan. In this chapter, we explain how and when to bring in professional advisors, set realistic goals, and make a new plan.