In this third of our six part series, we start putting our revenue streams in place.

This is the third of a six part series covering the step-by-step process of building a profitable web business on a shoestring budget. A new step in this series will be presented each week for the next six weeks, until the process is completed.

Where we are

We are in the third step of building our profitable web based business. For the sake of this learning series, we will assume the following:

• You don't have your own products to sell
• You don't have a merchant account
• You don't have a web site
• You can't afford subscription web site software
• You don't have an 'app on tap' to offer clients
• You don't have products to sell on eBay
• You don't have any products to offer affiliates
• You don't have much of a budget (less than $100 a month)
• You do have a little free time

The above assumptions limit what directions we can take with this business, but surprisingly, we still have quite a few proven profit models available to us. That's what we will focus on this week, building toward those profit models.

Our Strategy

When working on any project, it is good to continually review and when necessary, refine the strategy you are using to reach your goals.

Our strategy in this project is to create a web site business with at least four different revenue sources. The web site will not be selling physical products, and the web site owner will not need a merchant account. Furthermore, once the web site has been created, only minimal effort will be required to keep it up and running and profitable.

The Web as a Vending Machine

It will help to understand where we are going with this project to think of the web as a giant vending machine.

Think about how vending machines work.

You look for a vending machine when you want a product. You find one that is convenient to you, and has the product you want.

You put your money in, and out comes the product.

Immediate payment, and immediate satisfaction.

Now, think about what would happen to the vending machine business if when you paid for the product, instead of getting your candy bar immediately, you got a message saying the candy bar you just purchased would be shipped to you sometime in the next week or ten days.

That delayed delivery of the product would pretty much kill the vending machine business.

For the most part, the immediate delivery of the product is the only reason the vending machine business model works. People buy from a vending machine because it is easy to do, and the product is delivered immediately.

Another big reason vending machines do well . . . most vending machines sell food (human fuel) or tools.

Vending machines sell products that are needed just to survive the day or get the job done. (How many times have you heard it said, "I gotta run down to the vending machine for a candy bar and coke so I can get some work done.)

The vending machine model works - when all the elements in place.

To use the vending machine model on your web site, you want to offer:

• Products that serve as either fuel or tools for your customers
• Products or services that can be delivered immediately
• Products or services priced within the 'quick decision' comfort zone of customers
• Products that can be paid for with universal currency

If you can achieve this, and can attract customers, you can probably do well.


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