A Guide to Working from Home: Selling Software
The home computing revolution
and the advent of the Internet has made the dream of “Working from Home”
a very real and lucrative possibility for millions of Americans. And
this does not only apply to those who have found they can now
"Telecommute" in their chosen professions. Many have been bitten by the
next wave of entrepreneurial spirit that is sweeping the nation, and are
actually leaving their jobs to start their own home based businesses.
But choosing the right home based business can be a challenge.
Selling Software
online is a great way to enter into the hugely profitable world of
E-commerce as a home based business. What one thing do all home-based
businesses have in common? – home computers – and what does every home
computer need? – Software!
AT A GLANCE
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Expected Hourly
Income |
2000 –3000.00 Month
Potential |
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Start-Up Costs
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High,
Moderate, Low
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Start Up Degree of
Difficulty |
Easy,
Moderate, Difficult, Very Difficult |
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Potential Problems |
Suspension of
Accounts/Associates |
Getting Started
Selling or actually reselling
Computer Software is a great home based business. It allows you to
leverage many of the other techniques we have talked about: like using
eBay and Amazon and AdWords and Adsense to drive, build and maintain a
profitable Software business. You can use eBay Auctions and Amazon to
start a lucrative home-based business selling Software. The wonderful
thing about eBay and Amazon is that you will be leveraging an
infrastructure that is already in place, and when used right with the
most popular software products, such as those dealing with security and
personal finances it can set you up for life. Reselling software or the
licenses for software, you will not only have the opportunity to sell
your products on Amazon and eBay, but you can partner with Amazon as an
associate and sell their products off of your software websites, - and
use AdWords to drive traffic to your site to make software purchases.
Then you can also leverage Adsense to run compatible ads on your
software sales site, making software sales a multi-channeled approach to
successful home based business.
Start-up costs
Since starting a home based
business Selling Software basically makes you an e-commerce retailer you
need to set yourself up as a legitimate retail business to avoid any tax
or fraud issues. This at the very least means selecting a business name
and a dba – or better yet incorporating. To get started even in the
simplest way possible you should expect to lay out about $2500.00 in
start up costs. This should cover the name searches, registrations,
licenses, and incorporation fees if you choose that route, and the cost
of a mail drop address and box. In addition if you do not already have a
digital camera; you should consider purchasing one to take quality
photos of the covers of the Software packages you will be selling. Easy
to use high quality digital cameras can be purchased for about 300.00.
Of course you should have a computer with a high-speed Internet
connection and a website. While the total start up costs for a Home
Based Business Selling Software can be somewhat higher then some other
simpler Home Based Businesses – they are still significantly less then
starting a similar “real world” retail business or purchasing a
franchise. As in any Home Based Business – if you have left work to
pursue Selling Software as a full time income, and do not have access to
health benefits through a spouse, you need to include the cost of health
benefits in your monthly budget. More information on Insurance for the
Self-Employed can be found at
www.insurancebudget.com or
http://www.nase.org/
Hours and Income
As we have been saying, starting
a Home Business Selling Books and Movies using Amazon and eBay is much
like starting a retail business. Expect to put in full-time hours, and
expect to reap fulltime rewards. Following the suggestions made here and
at the links provided throughout this page, you can build a primary
income stream selling books and movies that can result in six figure or
greater profits.
Potential Problems
The greatest pitfalls with
becoming an On-line seller of Software occur with those looking for the
“short cut” or trying to buck the system. Do not try to defraud the
state in terms of Taxes. Any profits you make from eBay Auctions or as a
reseller or on Amazon must be reported as income. Don’t mess with eBay.
Do not falsify any claims about software posted in your listings – and
forget about getting a “shill” to falsely pump up your auction prices,
not only will it likely result in your permanent suspension from eBay-
you may face criminal charges. There are also somewhat more costs
involved in retail software selling then other On-line business as you
may be paying out of pocket to obtain software or original software
licenses, however there are many bargains to be found if you follow some
of the links on these pages.
Other Resources
Affiliate Marketing Software
Sales Programs
http://www.nulidex.com/affiliates/index.shtml
http://www.socketmail.com/site/home/affiliates.php
http://www.itsalestraining.com/?gcid=C1188x012
Conclusion
Selling Software and Software consulting is a great way for someone with
little or no experince and a modest amount of start-up capital to enter
the multi-million dollar market of e-commerce, Internet retailing and
Independent Computer Consulting.
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Fed
up with the rat race?