Do not Say ‘Internet Business,’ Say ‘Business On The Internet.’

Everywhere you turn to on the Internet, you’d see and hear people, including those who should better, say: “I want to start Internet business,” “I love Internet business,” “My Internet business is flourishing,” and so on and so forth.

The same thing happens offline. Everywhere I go, I often hear people talk about ‘Internet business’ whenever they should be talking ‘business on the Internet.’

My question to such people is: Is there any type of business called ‘Internet business?’

The answer is a CAPITAL NO! There’s no type of business that is specifically called ‘Internet business.’ There’s simply nothing like ‘Internet business,’ but ‘Business on the Internet.’

Why did I say so?

Because almost, if not all, the business done offline or outside the Internet can also be done on the Internet. For example, cars, houses, jewelry, plane tickets, toys, kitchen appliances, clothing, and any other products sold at street shops and stores can also be sold effectively on online shops and stores.  The possibilities are endless.

A good point of reference is the great Amazon store on the Internet. If you visit Amazon on the Internet, you’d discover that most of the things sold at physical shops and stores are sold there.

Somebody might, on this note, ask: How about software and other downloadable items?  The fact that some digital products like software, downloadable books, audio, and videos, are best sold online do not make them exclusively Internet businesses, because they can also be sold offline.

This is not an English language class, yet it is very important that I make this clarification. This clarification has become necessary since many people ignorantly believe that there’s a particular type of business called ‘Internet Business.’  And because of this misinformation or ignorance, they have not been able to leverage the power of the Internet to succeed in life.

If you wouldn’t mind, please, let me share the story of the young man, who inspired me to write this article.

The young man deals on android phones.  He called me on phone a few weeks ago to complain of his present business not doing well, as well as to ask me for ideas on the alternative type of business he could set up for himself.  When I requested him to tell me the names of the businesses that appealed to him, apart from his phone business, he said something very remarkable to me.

This was what he said: “I have a small shop where I sell phones at Computer Village in Ikeja, Lagos, but I am planning to go into a bigger and better, preferably an Internet business.  But because I do not know much about the Internet as you do, I would like you to come to my aid.”

While listening and interacting with the guy, I discovered that he knew a lot about Android phones.  For example, he could pick up any android phone and tell you it benefits and its features. He was also good at troubleshooting any problematic android phone that was brought to him, without any formal training on phone repair.

However, there were two things that he didn’t know.  One, he didn’t know that there was nothing like ‘Internet business; but ‘business on the Internet.’  And two, he didn’t know that his business of selling and troubleshooting faulty phones could also be done on the Internet.

At the end of our discussion, I advised him not to quit his phone business, but to take it to the Internet. That led me into creating a free blog for him on Blogger.com.  After that, I taught him how best to sell his phones on the Internet, with the help of the blog.  Finally, I also taught him how to maintain and manage the blog for effective performance.

And today, the guy has moved on to the proverbial ‘Next Level.’ He now sells more phones on the Internet more than he used to sell at his Ikeja, Lagos shop.  Above all, most Nigerians who go online to look for phones to buy, now prefer to buy from him.

Do you know why? Because he writes previews and tutorials on android phones, as well as answers questions posted by readers and visitors on his blog.

As at the time of publishing this article, he’s currently discussing with some foreign phone manufacturers on how he could become their agent here in Nigeria.  He’s also making plans to upgrade his blogging platform, from Blogger.com to WordPress.org, as well as making his blog a full-fledged e-commerce site.

In conclusion, I want to restate that it is wrong for anybody to say ‘Internet business,’ except as a joke. The best thing to say is ‘Business on the Internet.’

Do not Say ‘Internet Business,’ Say ‘Business On The Internet.’