Anyone can start a business.  It’s easy; write out a few things, set up a website and domain and you are good to go.  Really, even the out of pocket expense is minimal.  One can easily find $10 hosting with a domain, and with that comes a large abundance of business ventures.

Due to this easy nature, there are of course a lot of business out there vying for customers.  Most will sink quickly, and others may falter a bit but still succeed, or maybe if there is a lot of luck at play they will succeed right off the bat and keep growing.

Having a good business, is a huge undertaking. One may be tempted to buy into one of the many fly by night operations or even employ some shady business practices, but that would signal the death knell fairly quickly. Especially considering that many of the shadier practices will do little more than alienate any customers you already have.

While there is no ‘secret’ to a business’ success, at least nothing guarded by armed men and only told to a select few, a surprisingly large portion of people will quickly become frustrated and turn to a fairly shady avenue that they may hope will bring them success.

So, what is the solution?

Patience:

It takes time to get a business to grow.  If your product or service is worth it, it will be able to last, of course you do need good marketing methods in place and some tenacity as well,

Effort:

The more effort you put into your business the more you are giving it a chance, don’t simply ‘set it and forget it’ but work on it, write up blog posts and refine your overall networking, social, and marketing approaches.

Customer Service:

It don’t take too much to lose customers and faith in your business.  Heck, a simple search can reveal a lot.  Good customer service and an approach based on the customer and their satisfaction can help you get further than anything shady can.  A good customer will stick around and come back.

1) Answer your phone.

2) Don’t make promises unless you WILL keep them.

3) Listen to your customers.

4) Deal with complaints.

5) Be helpful – even if there’s no immediate profit in it.

6) Train your staff (if you have any) to be ALWAYS helpful, courteous, and knowledgeable.

7) Take the extra step.

(Source: About.com)

I’d like to add in: Believe in your product. No matter what it is, if it is something you aren’t sure about yourself, you shouldn’t be selling it.  No matter if it is anything from furniture to eBooks, if it isn’t of any actual use- avoid it.

In a nutshell: If it is something you wouldn’t use, or even believe in- don’t push it to others.

What would you like to see in a business?  Is there something that should be avoided (or even encouraged) that isn’t mentioned? Tell about it in the comments!

Update: for those looking to buy the Yellow Damask Paper Below please visit the new shop here: Yellow Damask Shop Page

This wonderful download is one of my newest and personal favorites.  Admittedly, I do have some favoritism going on here anyway as this was created by me.

Just in time for those nicer months ahead comes this fabulous yellow and white damask printable craft paper.

• $1.99 for unlimited use!
• Printable .pdf format
• Prints out to 8 x 10 inches

From the shop page.

There are so many different uses for the printable goodies, and especially the fabulous Yellow Damask Paper above.  From general artistic endeavors to crafting projects (and of course, a ton other than that).  I hope you enjoy it!

The printable below comes in an easy to use .pdf file (same as all my other items) and can be edited in Photoshop as well as printed as-is.  It can be bought through this page, or the shop itself.

Are you thinking about selling your artwork?  Many website developers and designers need high quality artwork, and while there are some free places to get them, sometimes the ‘free’ part of the quality abounds in those, making the process harder.  That’s where you come in, many people are willing to purchase your artwork in order to help design websites, programs, clothing, and more.

The problems are where to go.

There are a few graphics websites that I adore, from both the artist and the designer’s perspective.  They don’t cost much (or, in these cases anything) for those looking to sell their artwork and a lot of the harder parts are things they will take care of (pricing, marketing, etc).  While the go it alone route is great, at times it may payoff to have someone else to worry about the selling, so you can focus on the creating.

Depending on the types of designs you make, different markets may prove better than others.

For Images (Digital, Photography, ETC):

iStockPhoto: iStock is the primary graphics marketplace.  It seems that everyone and their uncle have heard of them.

GraphicsRiver: Graphics River is a part of the Envato market, they have a rather nice collection of websites directed at artists and coders selling their work.  Depending on how exclusive you decide to sell your work, you can earn more.

Threadless:  Your designs can win some prizes and earn you some money.

Spreadshirt: You don’t have to make apparel only, you can also sell your designs (for a fee you choose).

 Red Bubble:  You can sell your design on a few products (tshirts, cards, prints, and I *think* a couple of others).

If you have another place that you can sell your digital art online, post it up in the comments and I’ll add it in.  I plan on updating this post as I find more websites that focus on designs.