How to Start an eCommerce Store in Illinois (4 Steps)

Perform some preliminary market research about starting an ecommerce store in Illinois. Determine the probability of profitability for your online store by finding out what key terms typical web searchers use to find the products and services that you will be providing. Choose a name for the online business according to your findings after verifying that the name you will use has not been taken. Check the name by visiting most any web hosting or domain name registration service. You can also use the whois.net website, a lookup service for domain names, keyword searches and deleted domain names.
Research Illinois ecommerce web hosting companies. To do business online, it will be necessary to invest in the right kind of technology solution that includes an ecommerce component or shopping cart solution. Find a local partner that can help find the kind of ecommerce store solution that best suits your needs. Research reputable ecommerce hosting companies in Illinois by checking web hosting forums for remarks on companies you will consider. Check the Better Business Bureau for information on various hosting firms. Ensure that everything you will need to start your own ecommerce store online will be included in the hosting plan. This can all be very critical and may ultimately determine the success or failure of your online business. An ecommerce web hosting company that is based in or does business in Illinois may also have helpful resources concerning state requirements and particulars for doing business in Illinois.
Determine specific Illinois business requirements by checking with the State of Illinois Business Portal. Review the information assembled across the state government website and make a list of what is necessary to accomplish, such as registering a business name after determining how the business will operate. For example, a sole proprietorship will need to be registered with the local county clerk. Check with the online listing of county clerks at the State Board of Elections website for procedural details.
Develop an ecommerce business plan that includes registering the business. Use the links provided at the State of Illinois Business Portal website to find the necessary resources so that all of your responsibilities are met as a new online business owner. Submit questions as needed through the website, or call the Secretary of State's Department of Business Services at 217-782-6961. Also check with the Small Business Administration to ensure that you meet all of the legal requirements to start a business.
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How to Make Money Giving Parties at Home (5 Steps)

Start researching home party businesses by attending home parties and looking up party companies on websites such as the Home Party Plan Review. You will need to see what kinds of products are available to sell at home and which ones you would be interested in selling.
Examine the offerings of the companies that interest you to see what your initial investment would be. Find out what each home party company's start-up kit comes with, what kind of support it offers, what it charges for products, what kind of purchase discounts you get and what its return policy is. It is important to have a comprehensive understanding of how the home party company does business before you get involved.
Designate one of the rooms in your home to be your product party room. It should be one of your larger rooms with plenty of center floor space. Make sure your product party room has a television and DVD player in case the party company offers video demos that you can show to customers. Be sure your room is easy to walk around in, and is clean. You can add to the experience of your party guests by investing in some new curtains for your room and putting a fresh coat of paint on the walls.
Decide on a date for your first party and begin circulating informational fliers to your friends and family. Be sure to advertise the home party as a casual event. Most people are familiar with home product parties and may come out of curiosity. It would help to schedule your first party close to a holiday such as Christmas when people may need quick and easy solutions to their gift-buying needs.
Create a feedback form for your party and ask each attendee to fill it out anonymously. Include questions about the quality of the product, the quality of your party room and how interesting your presentation was. Make adjustments to your next party based on the feedback you receive.
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How to Create a Free Web Show (8 Steps)

Decide your show's format (i.e., video or just an audio recording?). Record a practice segment and play it back to assess the recording quality. Compare the quality of other podcasts and decide if you are satisfied with your set-up or if you want to upgrade your equipment.
Set a publication schedule. Decide if it will be a monthly or weekly show, or published on some other schedule. Let people know when to expect a new episode and then try to keep on schedule; that is the best way to get subscribers to keep coming back.
Plan your first episode. Decide the format for each episode. You may have opening music, you might have one segment that is just you talking, followed by another segment with an interview, and a third segment with listener or viewer comments or questions. Put some kind of music or sound effect in between, to help listeners know you are transitioning from one segment to another.
Record your first episode. You can use software you already have, such as Windows Sound Recorder, or you can get a podcast recording program such as Audacity or iPodcast Producer.
Add in any special effects and transitions, and edit out mistakes. It's usually best to record each section separately because it's easier to go for short periods without making a mistake than it is to record a long show with perfect content. Save the file in a format that is easy to share, such as MP3 for audio or M4V for video.
Publish your podcast. The best option is to create an RSS feed and upload it to a Web service that specializes in hosting podcast files. You probably want to host your podcast files separately from where your Web site is hosted, because many Web hosts don't allow video and audio files. Also, podcast servers often have options your regular Web host won't have, such as an RSS feed generator.
Set up an RSS feed for your podcast. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication, and it is an easy way to allow people to subscribe to your podcast. Subscribers are notified when new episodes have been uploaded.
Test your podcast. Go to the hosting Web site (e.g., YouTube or your blog), or subscribe to the feed and download it to iTunes or another podcast-aggregating application. Play it to make sure the sound quality is adequate and that the entire file was transmitted.
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How to Write a Sleepover Party Invitation (5 Steps)

Title your invitation with a clever phrase or catchy saying. Typically the title is used to explain the reason behind hosting a sleepover, whether it's a birthday party, New Year's or for the sake of just getting together. Think of the invitation title as a newspaper headline that is used to set the tone for the rest of the invitation.
Add all the necessary basic details such as who, what, when and where. The 'who' is the name of the child hosting the sleepover party. The 'what' outlines what kind of sleepover party it will be or if the party is themed. The 'when' outlines when the sleepover begins and also what time the children need to be picked up in the morning. The 'where' is the address and perhaps detailed directions for those unfamiliar with the area.
Advise the children as to what they need to bring to the sleepover party. Write this after all the basic details. For example, do the children need to bring their own sleeping bag and pillow? How about flashlights if it's an outdoor sleepover? Do they need to bring gifts or games? This allows the guests to properly prepare for a night away.
Outline briefly what kinds of activities and food the guests will enjoy at the sleepover party. This gives them some idea as to what other optional items they may need to bring. It also gives kids a chance to let the host know if they have any allergies to specific foods. If the sleepover party is a theme party, the activities will be coordinated in correspondence to that theme.
Include an RSVP date at the end of the invitation as well as the contact name and phone number.
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