Starting in e-business general considerations: Checklist

Target market

• What goods or services do you intend to supply?
• In which countries will customers in your target market reside?
• How will you reach your target audience?
• Do you need to exclude potential audiences? (e.g. in countries with which you do not wish to do business).
• What legal/regulatory provisions affect your trading/advertising in your target markets?
• What risks do you run in non-targeted markets? (e.g. if exclusion methods do not work).
• How much will advertising cost?
• Do you have the necessary distribution channels to deliver goods to your customers?
• How will your target market wish to pay?

Revenue stream

• What are your main revenue streams?
• • Sale of goods?
  • Sale of advertising?
  • Commission?
  • Other?

Data protection

• Will you be acquiring personal data?
• When and where will you obtain it?
• What do you want to do with the data?
• What about in three or five years time?
• Do you have the necessary consents or registrations?
• Do you intend to transfer personal data overseas?
• Will personal data be accessible via your web site?
• Do you have the necessary consents?
• Is any of the data which you are collecting "sensitive"? (See our guide on )

Domain name

• Have you decided on your domain name?
• Is it short? E.g. "books.com" and not "buyyourbooksonline.com"
• Is it easy to remember/obvious?
• Have you checked to see if anyone else has registered the same or a similar name in the relevant domain name registries?
• Have you undertaken a trade mark search in your chosen target markets?
• Have you registered or applied for registration of a trade mark?

Tax and regulation

Will your web site/server:

• Expose you to tax in other jurisdictions?
• Require you to seek authorisation from regulators in other jurisdictions?