The World Wide Web has literally transformed the world and changed perceptions and ways of doing things in multiple spheres of life including trade, commerce, communication, and business operations. The number of Internet users in the world is only growing by the day. In this kind of a scenario, an online business offers far more potential than a traditional physical business. While physical businesses are limited by the local environment, online businesses have unlimited geographical boundaries and a wide exposure.
If you are contemplating starting your own online business, what you will need is a solid internet platform and the ability to earn the goodwill of the Internet population. If the methods and processes are in place, there will be virtually no looking back for you.

So how can you get started with your online business? A good starting point would be for you to study some successful online business models. This will provide you with some ideas which you can use while crafting your own business model.

Three popular and successful online business models are:
B2B (business to business) models
B2C (business to consumer) models
C2C (consumer to consumer) models

B2B (business to business) models
A B2B model is an online store in which goods or services are ordered and dispatched between two business setups. A business between a web hosting company and a web hosting sub dealer or that between a content service provider and a company requiring content are examples of B2B business models. Another example of a B2B model is an automobile or home appliances spare parts company with an online store to fulfill the requirements of its retailers.

B2C models
A B2C model is an online store in which goods or services are offered directly to consumers. Examples of B2C models are an online music store selling CDs or DVDs to consumers or an online book store selling books to consumers. Perhaps the best known and by far the most successful example of a B2C model is amazon.com which sells a variety of products from books to videos and even coffee machines for consumers.

C2C models
In a C2C business model, a website allows consumers to place their products, projects, or services for sale. The website may charge the consumer a fee for displaying the product or project or may charge a commission when the sale is made. For example e-bay offers an online platform for trading goods on a local, national and even international basis. Another example is Elance, a freelance market place where service buyers can post their projects and service providers can bid on the same. The site charges a fee for registration and a commission for fulfilling the project.

Miscellaneous Revenue Models for Online Businesses
Apart from the three main business models mentioned above, an online business can also generate revenue from other supplementary sources such as advertising.

Many websites generate revenue by placing ads on their web pages. These revenue models may be in the form of:

PPC or pay per click where the web site charges the advertiser based on the number of clicks the advertisement gets

PPL or pay per lead where website charges the advertiser for every successful lead that the ad generates

PPS or pay per sale where the website charges the advertiser for every successful sale that the ad generates.

Learn more about this author, Zia Marshall.
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