TechTV's Starting an Online Business

The title of Starting an Online Business may be better proof of a post-Internet-bubble economic recovery than anything else. In the book itself, readers who are thinking about doing business online--particularly by means of a Web site--are informed of the sorts of challenges they'll face as they work toward that goal. The style and nature of coverage seem particularly well suited to wholesale and retail companies that are already doing business offline and want to add online catalogs and order-taking capabilities to their offerings.

Don't expect to find many technical details in these pages. Though you will, for example, find information about software for creating Web pages, there's no detailed coverage of how to use such tools. The author likes to refer his readers to Web resources, and most readers probably will learn about previously unknown services (like fulfillment contractors and trust authorities) from his research. Fie on Frank Fiore for furthering the flawed fantasies that fueled countless failed Internet start-ups. A whole chapter deals with funding sources, including angel investors and the initial public offering (IPO) of shares. True enough, these are potential sources of money, but the kinds of businesses that run their sites on free hosting services--one of the subjects Fiore covers nicely--are just not going to be doing that sort of thing anytime soon. Mentioning them here has greater potential to distract business owners than to serve any useful purpose. Better to devote the entirety of this book to further coverage of the practical issues of online commerce. --David Wall

Topics covered: How to bring your existing business to the Internet--or start a new one there--by setting up a Web site that promotes and sells the company's products. Writing a business plan, finding a hosting service, establishing an order-taking mechanism, and promoting your offerings are all covered.