when starting an online business, you need to have a system that is time tested and flexible enough to grow with the coming changes of the Internet. The web is very unpredictable. We tend to think otherwise, and there are many things that one can predict about the Internet such as – one day images will be able to be crawled for content for the search engines. That is a tangible objective technological advancement.

What is much harder to predict is what the online culture will come up with, this is much more subjective. Facebook and Twitter seem somewhat obvious now, but they were not so a few years ago.

We cannot expect search to always work the way it does or that it will be the preferred way to find information online in the future. I guarantee you that people are trying to come up with data scraping and sequestering technology that will undermine Googles hold on search.

A flexible, scalable and tested online business system built on code fundamentals is the key to secure and long lasting success on the Internet.

A proven Internet business guide is a must these days. Entrepreneurs know that setting up a website has a lot of benefits. But when they don’t have a clue how, don’t want to learn and are not inclined to start an online business such as a social network site like Facebook or Multiply, they have a hard time looking for people that can do the job for them. Internet business models that rock

Alfredo the Snowman

Oh, the weather outside was frightful. Online, business was delightful.

Our internet business model just kept humming along as usual. Not so for local businesses.

The worst blizzard in over a decade shut down our mountain town last weekend. The storm, now referred to as Snowpocalypse, kept shoppers from their usual holiday buying frenzy on Super Saturday, the weekend prior to Christmas.

Heavy wet snow, sleet, ice and wind ravaged our region, breaking thousands of tree limbs that fell onto power lines. 67,000 people lost power. Although rumors were circulating that some parts of the neighborhood had gotten its power back, tweets from the power company couldn’t promise when ours would be restored.

However, where business was concerned there was a rainbow overhead, even though the storm was still raging. Because the heart of our internet business model is automated, it didn’t skip a beat. On the user end, our Web sites continued to look and behave as usual.

Evan and I curled up on leather sofas, watching the snow fall and socializing with the neighbors. Great people.

What about giving customer support?

I hear you.

We were worried about that too, because normally we respond to our clients over email every day, including weekends.

Luckily, our laptop operated with back-up power from a generator, and we were able to pick up a wireless modem signal from our next-door neighbor.

On Monday when the power was restored, we discovered we had a very good money weekend, while unable to get online much or work at all.

Friends who own retail stores and businesses downtown had no choice but to close shop early Friday when the storm hit. They were able to open by Monday, but many roads throughout the mountains were not plowed as yet, and shoppers were slow to return.

The storm left us without heat and power for three days

We were snowed in. But the fierce Snowpocalypse didn’t affect our internet business model. It didn’t cause the loss of even one penny due to missed work.

Three days later, from the comfort of my warm perch, I can say I had a very good time last weekend. We forged new friendships, bonded over Scrabble, storm stories and tuna sandwiches. We played Farkle and chess. One of us knitted. We generally managed to laugh a lot and keep each others’ minds off the lack of heat and power, the frigid temps and the snow piling up outside.

Thankfully, all because of our ever-growing online business, we were not stressing over a work load piling up equally high inside.

Blizzard-enforced days off would have created anxiety for someone with a typical job. Getting behind and having to hustle to get caught up after several days can be as stressful as the storm itself.

So in case you’re wondering, I’m not exactly looking forward to the next storm. It was fun and all, but hey, I can knit while the sun is shining.

However, I have learned how easy it is to get online and check in with the business, even without access to cable or a phone. BlackBerries, iPhones, the Droid and other gizmos all operate via cellular service. If necessary, you can use Twitter to alert clients to a problem or delay.

And finally…

One of the nicest benefits of operating an internet business model is self evident during a blizzard. No driving in life-threatening conditions.

I love Quicken. One nice thing about the internet business model is the accounting. It’s so easy.

Not that long ago, doing my books meant sorting through shoe boxes-full of receipts. It was a time-consuming task that always made me queasy with worry that I’d overlook something significant.

I don’t miss the days when I had to do the math by abacus (that’s right, I’m five thousand years old).

A guy we know operates a store downtown that sells little things, trinkets, hats, key chains, the usual tourist fare. I am loathe to think about the detail this guy’s got to track on a daily basis.

When we talk, I’m ever so grateful that somehow I was smart enough to start a Web business. Inside, I say a little prayer of gratitude while he’s kvetzing about foot traffic and the miserable lack of visitor parking spaces downtown.

And, I know that Mrs Riddle, my ninth-grade algebra teacher, would find it outlandish coming from me, but I actually enjoy doing my books now. Quicken and my Internet business have helped put the fun back in fund.