The document discusses the foundational aspects of starting a website business, emphasizing the importance of a strong business idea over technology. It provides several suggestions for success including being effective, first, findable, local, different, wise, and fun. Notable examples such as Craigslist, the Million Dollar Homepage, and Grindr are highlighted to illustrate these principles.

1. The Information Super-Highway Is it paved with gold…? Roger Greenhalgh National Rural K E Is it paved with gold…? Roger Greenhalgh National Rural K E November 2009

2. (Humble beginnings in 1976)

3. You’d like your first website business to run like a well oiled machine…

4. In reality, your first website will be a bit like your first car. A good workhorse… yet something to learn on…

5. You can get started with something pretty humble… You can get started with something pretty humble…

6. You may choose to start with something mass- produced and boringly reliable…

7. You may get a techie friend to hew something custom, from the wood…

8. Something designed to be changed or updated on the go…

9. … or something that looks great…

10. …despite the build quality .

11. In time, you’ll find some features just don’t scale…

12. … and nailing on new upgrades and features isn’t always easy…

13. and eventually, you’ll start again…

14. But that’s OK… The beauty of the technology mostly isn’t important . The business idea is important .

15. You may have a fantastic product You can use the web to make it visible across the globe

16. You may have some specialist knowledge or skill You can use the web to share it with people worldwide

17. Maybe the internet lets you connect new things in new ways…

18. Maybe the internet lets you connect new things in new ways…

19. Suggestion 1 Be effective… (it just has to work… )

20. It just HAS to work: The Ebay no-frills approach… February 23 rd 2000

21. And it still does… exactly what it said on the tin… November 17 th 2009

22. Simple ideas… Craig Newmark’s no-frills approach… February 28 th 2000

23. Simple ideas… are timeless… November 17 th 2009

24. (They just get bigger…) East Midlands… November 17 th 2009

25. As of 2009, Craigslist operates with a staff of 28 people Its sole source of revenue is paid job ads in select cities – $75 per ad for the San Francisco Bay Area; $25 per ad for New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, Boston, Seattle, Washington D.C., Chicago, and Portland, Oregon – and paid broker apartment listings in New York City ($10 per ad).

26. What’s it worth? annual revenue estimates: $10 million in 2004, $20 million in 2005, $25 million in 2006 $150 million in 2007 Wikipedia

27. Traffic? The site serves over twenty billion page views per month, to over fifty million unique monthly visitors in the United States alone. 30 th place overall among web sites worldwide 8 th place overall among web sites in the USA

28. Suggestion 2 Be first… (if you want to be newsworthy)

29. Alex Tew just got there FIRST : The million-dollar homepage… The website of Alex Tew, a 21-year-old entrepreneur, who hoped to pay his way through university by selling 1 million pixels of internet ad space for $1 ...

30. Suggestion 3 Be findable… (if you want to be found…)

31. 477,000 pages are One Click away : How do you become obvious on search engines…? This listing costs nothing… …except some thought and effort

32. Suggestion 4 Be everywhere… yet Be local… (how wide is your niche…?)

33. On your doorstep, and just One Click away : A global service …? A local service …? Grindr. It’s a guy thing. Whether he’s Mr. Right or Mr. Tonight, your man is hanging out on Grindr, a killer location-based social networking tool for the iPhone or iPod Touch.

34. Grindr. It’s a guy thing. Whether he’s Mr. Right or Mr. Tonight, your man is hanging out on Grindr, a killer location-based social networking tool for the iPhone or iPod Touch.

35. Suggestion 5 Be different… (if it’s all part of getting noticed…?)

36. Joel Veitch and the Spong Monkeys : An internet ‘meme’…? www.rathergood.com meme: catchphrase or concept that spreads quickly from person to person via the Internet … brilliant, fun, and so out of the ordinary that they made you sit up and take notice. And “SubWay” rolls did do...

37. Suggestion 6 Be wise… (even wisdom has a price…)

38. You only need to ask : Knowhow has £££ value… “ AskJennie” The ultimate on-line enquiry point for municipal waste management matters....

39. You only need to tell : Knowhow has £££ value…

40. Suggestion 7 Be fun… (it sort of helps if you enjoy it…)

41. My seven rules ? Being effective… it just has to work… Craig’s list… Ebay… Being first… 1,000,000 pixel page Being found… on Google Being everywhere and local… “ Grindr” Being different… rathergood.com Being wise… using the wisdom of crowds… Wikipedia / AskJennie… Being fun…. ([insert <your website> here!])