Online Business

Dear Karen: How do I bootstrap an online business start-up? Answer: Start simply and build slowly. "Don't get tied up in creating a store with all the packages and multitude of options," said Robin Kohli, founder of E-junkie, a software provider. Create a blog where you can publicize your product or industry. List your products on Internet shopping sites such as EBay, Kohli said, but don't link from your site to those larger marketplaces. "You are paying their fee so they can generate sales for you, not the other way round," he said.

Richard Schulze, Best Buy Co.'s largest shareholder, missed his window this week to attempt a takeover of the electronics retailer. But if its fourth quarter financials are any indication, the struggling company may not need him. Best Buy, beleaguered by several quarters of slipping earnings, narrowed its loss to $409 million, or $1.21 a share, from a loss of $1.82 billion, or $5.17 a share during the same period a year earlier. During the quarter, which ended Feb. 2, revenue was mostly flat at $16.7 billion.

Struggling electronics giant Best Buy Co. said holiday sales fell despite strong results online and in U.S. stores. For the nine weeks ended Jan. 5, the Minneapolis-based retailer posted revenue of $12.8 billion, down from $12.9 billion in the same period a year earlier. Sales at stores open at least a year, considered a key gauge of a retailer's health, dropped 1.4%. International comparable stores sales plunged 6.4%, while domestic sales were flat. Best Buy has been trying to implement a turnaround strategy as it combats increased competition from online retailers such as Amazon.com.

Struggling electronics retailer Best Buy Co. Inc. said Tuesday that it is cutting 400 employees at its Richfield, Minn., headquarters in an effort to save $150 million. Most of the savings won't come from salaries, according to a company statement , and for now, the so-called Blue Shirt sales associates are protected from the ax. No store closures are planned ... yet. Why all the caveats? Tuesday's reductions -- Best Buy's way of “enhancing the focus on the company's core business, removing management layers and eliminating operational inefficiencies" -- is just the first phase of several.

Question: I need real-world assistance for setting up, developing and launching an information-services business online. Where can I find comprehensive help? Answer: There are a number of resources and packaged services that can help get your online business started. Yahoo sells a comprehensive e-commerce service (smallbusiness.yahoo.com) that can be used by businesses of any size, said David Cieslak, principal of Information Technology Group Inc. of Simi Valley.

Gudjon Mar Gudjonsson, the man behind the curtain at Oz Interactive Inc., is taking online chat rooms to a new level, one where visitors can choose their own digital personas and even shake their booties on the Internet. Don't worry if your metallic pants are at the dry cleaners. Club-goers at this joint dress online. Log on, select an avatar--or digital persona--and then come to the party as a shirtless punk with a green Mohawk, a space girl in bell bottoms or a devil in a red jumper.

Dear Karen: I researched several available domain names for my website. How do I choose one? Answer: Your domain name should reflect your company and what it does. Try to include industry keywords in it. Keep the domain name short and easy to remember, said David E. Ross, a retired software engineer and expert on domain names. "The exception is if you come up with a longer domain that's pronounceable and easier to remember than a short acronym," he said. Spaces are not allowed within a domain, but hyphens are. "All other special characters should be avoided," Ross said.

IN the last 10 years, travelers have witnessed nothing short of a revolution in how they research and plan their travel. Not long ago, travelers relied primarily on printed media for information. They searched guidebooks, magazines, brochures and newspapers for reviews, recommendations and inspiration. Today, most travelers say they get this information online. Websites such as TripAdvisor and VirtualTourist.

Staples Inc. is speeding up store closures, shaking up management and boosting its online business as the office-supply chain implements a multiyear plan to cut costs. The Framingham, Mass., company is looking to save $250 million annually by the end of fiscal 2015. At that point, Staples said, it intends to have shaved its retail square footage 15%. For now, the chain is looking to accelerate the shutdown of 15 U.S. stores. By the end of its fiscal year, Staples said it expects to have 30 net store closures and 30 downsized or relocated stores in North America.

Mercury Media, the Santa Monica advertising company behind the television commercials for Ronco products, Shark vacuum cleaners, Zumba Fitness and Hoveround wheelchair-styled automated vehicles, said it has acquired iMarketing, a boutique Internet ad firm. Financial details were not disclosed. About 30 employees of the Princeton, N.J.-based iMarketing have been absorbed by Mercury Media, said John Barnes, chief executive of Mercury. The transaction closed Dec. 31 and was officially announced this week.

Struggling electronics giant Best Buy Co. said holiday sales fell despite strong results online and in U.S. stores. For the nine weeks ended Jan. 5, the Minneapolis-based retailer posted revenue of $12.8 billion, down from $12.9 billion in the same period a year earlier. Sales at stores open at least a year, considered a key gauge of a retailer's health, dropped 1.4%. International comparable stores sales plunged 6.4%, while domestic sales were flat. Best Buy has been trying to implement a turnaround strategy as it combats increased competition from online retailers such as Amazon.com.

Mercury Media, the Santa Monica advertising company behind the television commercials for Ronco products, Shark vacuum cleaners, Zumba Fitness and Hoveround wheelchair-styled automated vehicles, said it has acquired iMarketing, a boutique Internet ad firm. Financial details were not disclosed. About 30 employees of the Princeton, N.J.-based iMarketing have been absorbed by Mercury Media, said John Barnes, chief executive of Mercury. The transaction closed Dec. 31 and was officially announced this week.

Staples Inc. is speeding up store closures, shaking up management and boosting its online business as the office-supply chain implements a multiyear plan to cut costs. The Framingham, Mass., company is looking to save $250 million annually by the end of fiscal 2015. At that point, Staples said, it intends to have shaved its retail square footage 15%. For now, the chain is looking to accelerate the shutdown of 15 U.S. stores. By the end of its fiscal year, Staples said it expects to have 30 net store closures and 30 downsized or relocated stores in North America.

Staples Inc. is speeding up store closures, shaking up management and boosting its online business as the office-supply chain implements a multiyear plan to cut costs. The Framingham, Mass.-based company is looking to save $250 million, before taxes, by the end of fiscal year 2015. At that point, Staples said it intends to have shaved down its retail square footage by 15%. For now, the chain is looking to accelerate the shutdown of 15 U.S. stores. By the end of its fiscal year, Staples said it expects to have 30 net store closures and 30 downsized or relocated stores in North America.

-- Home improvement chain Home Depot Inc. will close its remaining seven big-box stores in China after a slowdown in the country's economy depressed sales. The retailer will continue to operate two specialty stores in Tianjin, China, and concentrate efforts on expanding its online business. About 850 jobs will be cut, the company said Friday. Home Depot stepped into China six years ago after acquiring a small, locally grown chain of stores called the Home Way. “We've learned a great deal over the last six years in China," Home Depot Chief Executive Frank Blake said in a statement.

Not happy with NBC's coverage of the Olympics? There's an online alternative that's commercial free, more international in scope and does not feature Ryan Seacrest. It's at the BBC website, where the British broadcaster streams the Games live and offers clips in high-quality video just a tantalizing click away. The catch? That click will not work outside Britain. Or at least it's not supposed to. Some viewers have found a way around the BBC restriction by using a common online business tool — a virtual private network that can cost as little as $10 a month.

Staples Inc. is speeding up store closures, shaking up management and boosting its online business as the office-supply chain implements a multiyear plan to cut costs. The Framingham, Mass.-based company is looking to save $250 million, before taxes, by the end of fiscal year 2015. At that point, Staples said it intends to have shaved down its retail square footage by 15%. For now, the chain is looking to accelerate the shutdown of 15 U.S. stores. By the end of its fiscal year, Staples said it expects to have 30 net store closures and 30 downsized or relocated stores in North America.

Dear Karen: Last year I started an online business for ladies' apparel, but I have yet to sell an item. Where can I buy products? Answer: If you're having trouble sourcing product, you haven't done enough research into the apparel industry, said Ilse Metchek, president of the California Fashion Assn. "Locating manufacturers is not a problem in Los Angeles. There are thousands of them in the Fashion District" downtown, Metchek said. "I suggest that writing a business plan is in order."

Microsoft Corp. will record a hefty $6.2-billion write-down in its fourth quarter, mostly related to the disappointing performance of an online advertising business it acquired five years ago. The charge will probably mean a loss for Microsoft in the quarter, which ended in June. The company plans to report its fourth-quarter and fiscal-year earnings July 19. Analysts polled by Bloomberg had estimated that Microsoft would earn about $5.3 billion for the quarter. The Redmond, Wash., software behemoth said the accounting adjustment, known as a goodwill impairment, was "substantially the result" of buying Internet advertising firm aQuantive for $6.3 billion in August 2007.

Yelp Inc.'s first quarter as a public company was, if nothing to yelp home about, not worth a bad review either. The online business review website brought in $27.4 million in revenue during the quarter, a 66% jump from $16.5 million during the same quarter last year. Yelp's 2012 projected revenue also beat analysts' expectations, with the company predicting it will make $128 million to $132 million -- higher than the $124.4-million average from...