"People use the internet for information."

When people hop on to the internet, they primarily use it as a source of information. And in this day and age, the Internet is becoming the main source that people use, especially Google.

But, like any good source, it will only give you the information you are looking for or, by extension, information that you might be interested in.

For example, if I'm searching for dogs, I might be a dog person, and if I'm searching for suits, then I might be a person who wears suits. Now, as a person who appreciates suits and dogs, without searching for it, I might appreciate coming across this handsome devil right here:

Or not, depending on what I'm interested in or would be interested in. Meaning this could peak my interest in searching for canine-related clothing. Afterwards, I might go on a 'searching' spree of Dog Suits.

This is the backbone of what online marketing is.

First, figuring out what your customer wants to find out, providing that information.

Next, predicting what your client might want to find out and providing that information, and then some.

Some of the best websites out there present predicted content to searchers on Google, Bing, Yahoo, or any other site. The people click on it, absorb the content, reflect on what they have learned. But, what they don't know is that every good article or piece of information that's optimized for the business, doesn't have all the information located on one page, or else it would be an encyclopedia set. Even Wikipedia, the Internet's premier encyclopedia with it's 4.5 million plus articles is organized by title.

With that being said, every good piece of information on the internet doesn't have all the information contained within it. However, what it does is make finding new information extremely easy, especially if those new pieces of information keep you on that website.

This varies across businesses and your strategy will be different. A local coffee shop's online presence is going to be drastically different than a lawyer's or a restaurant's firm.

Marketing, alone, consists of buying ads, spending money, researching competition, and figuring out your market. Online marketing is all of that, except the foundation in which you start, is your content and online presence.

What information you choose to create your online presence is important, but how you choose to present that information is just as important.

I'll cover the how in my next post.

Until next time,
Josh

Disclaimer: By no means am I saying you should follow these guidelines when starting a business, just food for thought. Please ask me as many questions as possible, as I am learning as well.

Today I'm going to write about one of my favorite topics: entrepreneurship. And why it should be your favorite topic as well. I'm going to split this up into a three-part series beginning with some introductions.

Recently, I've been given a task. I'm suppose to set-up a financial advice service in the form of a blog, initially. And treat it as a business along with a business model of growth. With that it means, I have research the industry, find a niche market, research the competition, and apply that to the blog.

It's on a much smaller scale, but it is a form of entrepreneurship. Because I'm satisfying a demand.
That's the difference between a hobby or a method of venting. With the content product, or idea I'm putting out there, I am providing a service to a a separate party. Which may or may not be for-profit.

This applies to both non-profit and for-profit areas of businesses. Each business is used to meet a demand, be it a social, a industry, a personal, private, or public. And each business is started by an entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurs are the individuals who see there is some problem that exists. And they find a solution. They see what can be improved and set out to do it.

However, starting a new business isn't simple nor easy. Renting a building, putting up a sign, and expecting customers to show up is a very quick path to failure. According to the WSJ, three out of four start-ups fail. In fact, 95 percent of all start-ups fail to meet a specific revenue growth rate or date to break-even on cash flow. It is a very daunting profession.

As a reference:
The Venture Capital Secret: 3 Out of 4 Start-Ups Fail

Daunting, I know.

Don't worry, "Code and Capital" will attempt to give you guys some light on this monumentous task.

Week 1, February 9-13.

Summary of week 1.

I'll admit, I wasn't quite sure what I would be doing at the law firm. I had a tentative thesis/outline. I had various information from here and there. But, nothing along the lines of "this is what you'll be doing for the next 3 months."

That still hasn't changed.

But, I wouldn't have it any other way.

I was introduced to a new project that the members of this firm had not yet embarked on which means, at least to a certain extent, I am able to learn with them. They can teach me and I can teach them, or at least try to. As my time here progresses, I learn a little more about the job description and what my workload will consist down the road.

So far, I have these in mind:

Marketing manual:

I will create a manual with marketing techniques and information tailored to this firm's business makeup for future marketing managers.

Corporate Structure:

This will be on my own time. I will supplement the research I conduct on marketing techniques and analyze how large scale corporations perform marketing.

Okay now onto my project. I can't give too much information as like I said in my first post, it has to remain confidential, but I will try to include as much as I can.

Project #001

Had initial meeting with the head manager at the firm. We began by outlining each company under my bosses' name as well as their respective histories, how they were started, how they were set-up, and how they were doing.

Next, we discussed the industry/competition of each individual company. We covered everything from outlines of mission statements and business plans to corporate drama and power struggles.

Again, like I said not too many details but I'd be more than happy to answer any questions.

Okay, what I've learned this week:

The world of online marketing is HUGE and is only getting bigger.

The amount of information that is out there is enormous and I know for one thing is that if any business wants to become successful, they better implement some kind of online marketing.