Various Notes on Online Business

Budi Rahardjo <http://budi.insan.co.id>

This note documents various aspects of online business.

Two biggest expenses for an online business:

• Marketing (this is interesting fact since I thought the Internet reduces the cost of marketing)
• Infrastructure

Many people are worry about the fundamental of online business, since it is based on nothing more than ideas (thus it can't be stable, can it?). Besides, all the goods idea are already taken (aren't they)? That's the reasoning. It is true that ideas are the asset these days, since they can lead to innovation.

Cash is like oxygen. You need them.Yes, it is essential. However, this is not a competitive advantage since everybody has access to oxygen.

On Regulation

Should electronic commerce be regulated? Some countries put restriction on e-commerce, such as through prohibitting foreign investment ini multimedia, Internet, and other related areas. Here is a list of related articles:

• Will Beijing ruin the Net by trying to control it?
• Restriction in investing in multimedia services in Indonesia
  • Comments in Kompas