I’ve been thinking about online businesses recently, but as of now most of my plans have been imitations of existing business models. But numerous real world business models have not been “ported” to the net yet, and doing so would probably create a very successful business.
An online business would be great due to the lack of limitations such as distance, location, and time. Physical businesses need to hire workers, can only be open certain times of day to maintain profits, and must pay money for the store and countless other things. Online stores are free from all of these limitations and are thus much easier to maintain.
A great business model is the franchise. This is probably one of these best business models because people essentially ask you to make you money, and it is likely to be easier for the franchisee to set up shop due to the establishment of the brand name. Not only that, but expansion and brand recognition is much faster than with nonfranchises. There is also the added benefit of making your business look like an evil empire due to the numerous locations (Starbucks, McDonald’s, College Prep type businesses).
Some online stores are in fact online franchises of sorts. Cafepress is similar in that sellers set up shop under the Cafepress name, and create their own products, while a (massive) portion of profits is paid to Cafepress (making it impossible to sell thus making it useless). In fact, it is probably easier to hand print shirts and set up your own store. Basically, it’s better to print your own shirts instead of using Cafepress. But to make some money, forget setting up a Cafepress shop. Set up your own net franchise. The basic pattern seems to be create some template product (Cafepress uses mugs, shirts, underwear, etc.), allow franchisee (user) customization, reap your (the franchiser’s) profits. There are some disadvantages to franchises, but these are all real world limitations that exist due to distance. With the internet, everything is under control because distance simply does not exist, making this the perfect online model. Here is also a list of some other business models.
