Starting a Social Media Website

**Ryan.King1809** · 12-01-2011 01:48 AM

I'm looking into starting and educational website based off wikipedia's model, generating revenue based off advertising. I do not know much about starting my own business but I'm learning a few things from an entrepreneurial podcast series written by Mark Juliano. I have a few questions for you if you'd be willing to give some advise.

I'm pretty tech savvy and should be able to get the website up and running mostly by myself, so I think I'll start it as a sole trader, then if things kick off, work up to a company (I really don't have the money to register a company). Would this be the best way to start out?

I don't intend for this business to be geographically specific so I would prefer a '.com' web address. However, the my favourite name for this website so far isn't available in '.com' or '.net', however I can get in '.net.au'. This may be fine as I am from Australia, however I would prefer a non-region specific name. The current plan would be to take the '.net.au' and worry about buying up the '.com' if the website becomes successful. This isn't very smart in terms of expenditure, however the name of the website is very important for the business identity. Do you think this is wise?

One more thing. How important do is having a registered trademark?

Thankyou.

**JanaeK** · 12-01-2011 08:57 PM

Hi. Im starting a website too which will be promoting my country as a guide of sorts, you can visit at Bahamas Spot Buzzer - Ultimate guide on living and loving Life in The Bahamas. I also felt that the name of my website is an important branding feature so I purchased additional extensions for my domain name. I did not go overboard with buying the domains with dashes and other ways one may still be able to use the actual site name but stuck with purchasing the main extensions. I think it is wise for you to purchase the extra extensions.

Good Luck on all your endeavors.

**Orissaplot** · 12-02-2011 07:41 AM

Hi,

If you'll start wikipedia like site with no business intention then ok , otherwise don't do that.

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**DigitalPalette** · 12-02-2011 07:38 PM

Unless it is niche you will get eaten up by wikipedia's traffic. Also note that wikipedia can easily cover niche topics and is why it has such a huge traffic base.

**Ryan.King1809** · 12-02-2011 07:57 PM

Don't worry I'm not trying to be wikipedia or compete with wikipedia. That's beyond stupid. Wikipedia does have a successful social model that I learn from however. Anyway I'm not really asking whether you think my business model would be successful, it doesn't really matter to me if it is. I think your Roosevelt quote does express what I'm trying to achieve here.

I guess what I'm saying is that I could release this project within a year for very little money, I could then simply pay for trademark and company registration and a proper web address if the website becomes successful. However the business identity will not be protected in this instance. Should I save some money and postpone the release of the website in order to protect its identity? The former situation plays it risky with the business identity, the latter risks the cash. I'm just not sure which one is best.

**DigitalPalette** · 12-02-2011 09:25 PM

Hmm, well a good establishment can be done for around $100 total Ryan. This can be done through registering a fictious name(also known as "DBA" or Doing Business As name) which will run around $75 and a domain can be had for less then $10 at some places. Protecting the idea early is helpful if it you believe you can be easily reproduced.

Good luck.