Since I commonly get asked what services I use for my online store, I thought it would be useful to create a resource page that details every product, tool and service I recommend. If you are thinking about starting an online store in the near future, you should bookmark this page for your reference and convenience. Enjoy!

Web Hosting
Blue Host – Blue Host is the shared host that my wife and I used for 2 years to run our online store before we switched over to dedicated hosting. BlueHost is inexpensive, reliable and offers a wide array of free services. Highly recommended for new shop owners.

ServInt – ServInt is the dedicated webhost that I use now for every website I own including my blog and online store. Service and uptime are top notch and I’ve never had any problems ever. If you are looking for …

Every now and then, a reader offers to write a guest post in which I have absolutely no clue about the topic at all. In this case, Matthew Bruns of SuretyBonds.com is here to tell us about Surety Bonds. Most small online businesses probably do not require the use of a surety bond but it’s good to understand what they are and what they are used for.

Starting a business is hard work.

Make your life easier — spend a few minutes ensuring you understand the world of surety bonds. These key risk mitigation tools have become an integral part of the business world, from construction and finance to car dealerships and travel agents.

Bonds can make the difference between a thriving venture and a flailing one.

The Basics on Surety Bonds
Surety bonds are often mistaken for insurance, but they’re actually more like a form of credit. They’re basically an agreement between …

Based on several emails that I’ve been receiving lately, it seems that a few of you are hesitant to start a business because you’re hung up or stuck on selecting a business idea to pursue. And the number one concern seems to be whether there is enough demand or too much competition in your niche to succeed.

Photo By Soller

I received an excellent email in my inbox a few weeks ago that pretty much summarizes where a lot of people are getting stuck so I’ve decided to dedicate a blog entry to the topic.

I just came across your site and it seems like an awesome resource. I have a question for you, that might make a nice blog post. I did a search of your site, but could not find the answer to my question, so here it is:

My wife has an idea for an ecommerce store. It seems …

When I first picked up “Built To Sell” by John Warrillow, I wasn’t sure what I was going to get out of reading the book. After all, even though my wife and I run a business together, we have no intention of selling it anytime soon. And because we aren’t selling, I never really thought about how much our business would be worth to a third party buyer.

But as I started reading the book, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this book is less about how to sell a business as it is about how to create an autonomous and scalable business that has a high growth potential. I guess these two things naturally go hand in hand, but I didn’t make the correlation based on the title of the book alone.

It just so happens that my wife and I are currently trying to scale …

As many of you who follow my email newsletter are aware, I recently switched my email marketing provider from Mailchimp over to Aweber and I thought that it would be interesting to compare the two services. For all of you who are not doing email marketing for your business, you really should consider doing so. Having an email list or newsletter is the best way to mobilize your audience to take action. It’s also a great way to maintain an active community of readers/customers for your site. In any case, this post is not about trying to convince you to use an email marketing provider, but if you are in the market for one, this review may help you out.
What Initially Attracted Me To MailChimp
Honestly, what attracted me initially to Mailchimp was that they offer a trial period in which their service is free for …

Close to 99% of our customers pay either by credit card or by Paypal and usually the payment transaction goes perfectly smooth. Customer enters credit card and/or Paypal information, hits the ‘confirm’ button and we deliver their goods on time. It’s like clockwork.

Photo By MSMail

But every now and then, someone pays for an order by echeck. And it’s a royal pain in the arse because one, the customer expects us to ship out their order right away even before the check clears and two, their check sometimes bounces. This particular customer had her check bounce on us and called us in a fit of anger.

Customer: You owe me 22 dollars!

Me: I apologize ma’am. What did you just say?

Customer: You owe me 22 dollars and I demand that you pay me back.

Me: I’m sorry, can we please take a step back? Did …

Many of the questions that I receive in my inbox at MyWifeQuitHerJob.com are related to opening a dropshipping store and I can certainly understand the appeal. When you run an online store that only offers dropshipped products, you don’t have to worry about inventory and you don’t have to worry about product fulfillment. All you have to do is sell the product, take orders and make a decent profit. Alas, if only it were that easy…. As with everything that sounds too good to be true, there are always gotchas.

Photo By Suzanna

In theory, dropshipping sounds like a great idea because it’s inherently scalable without you having to do a lot of work up front. But when you dig down a bit further, it becomes obvious why dropshipping isn’t so great. Most people try to open up a dropshipped shop expecting it to be easy, …

It’s been quite a while since I’ve done the last mailbag, but things have been pretty hectic. For one thing, our online store store has been experiencing some growing pains. Currently, we are getting more business than we can handle which is causing us some amount of mental strain and fatigue.

We are now debating how much additional help we need to hire without blowing the budget. At the same time, my two year old daughter has become a handful and my son is just starting to become mobile. In any case, don’t want to bore you too long with mundane family details. Onto the Q & A.

I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada and am looking at starting an online business selling virtual strategic planning tools to Canada and the USA. My question is about paying sales tax on online sales. I have been doing research …

I’m happy to be reviewing GreenAndChic.com today which is an online store selling organic bath and body products. Writing up this case study is particularly special to me because it is run by one of my earliest readers, Carla. Carla was a supporter of this blog from the beginning back when I first started in 2008 and when I had very few readers. So when she asked me to have her online store critiqued, I jumped at the opportunity.

Carla’s main problem is that web traffic is not where she would like it to be. In addition, she’s having trouble converting the customers that she is attracting to her store. Let’s take a look.
First Impressions
I’ve been to Carla’s store several times in the past already so this isn’t exactly a first impression for me per se. But having undergone a few major …