Ignorance is no defence in the eyes of the law so make sure you don't overlook any legal requirements when running your business. If you are in England, Vision2Learn offer a free online course about starting a business entitled "Entrepreneurship", which leads to the accredited qualification NCFE Advanced Certificate in Preparation for Business and demonstrates your professional skill to your bank manager, business associates and customers. This course is made up of ...

There's little point having a website and spending hours promoting it if you don't know whether anyone is visiting your site and where they're coming from. If your own webhost doesn't supply you with this information, there are many companies that supply this information for free, or low cost. In most cases you'll need to accept a banner ad or small icon on your site in exchange for the service. ...

If you already have merchant facilities to enable you to accept credit cards, check with the company whether this includes online sales, as usually this requires a separate agreement. Once cleared, there are several options available to you, to operate your own online shop, depending on your budget, either using the services provided by your hosting company or by using stand alone software. 1&1 provide comprehensive eShop hosting packages from under ...