This is a guest post by Frank Angelone.

I have been listening to a lot of keynotes lately by entrepreneurs, especially ones by Gary Vaynerchuk. He’s accomplished so much and his philosophy is to do what you love, work your tail off, care about your customers, and you will be able to monetize. Hearing this from someone who came from Russia with no money to build a 60 million dollar company in Wine Library is very inspirational advice. Its advice I myself have taken, but many people still question how they can do the same thing he did with their business? Like any business, becoming successful takes time and it’s not going to happen overnight unless you work for it. Granted, people here this all the time and it’s obvious, but does anyone truly understand where businesses are headed today?

Gary has stressed the starting an online business is so easy that anyone can do it. There’s no cost to start up like there used to be. So, what better way to get a company started? Free to start and you don’t need a facility. I think anyone can appreciate the simplicity in that. Businesses are headed in a direction where the old way we remember businesses being are becoming no more. Now you may be wondering, what does this mean?

Well, with everyone having the ability to start a business online, you take a business like newspapers. Most people are reading the news online and the need to buy a physical newspaper isn’t in demand like it was 10 years ago. When companies put coupons for discounts off their products in both the newspapers and online, where do you think most people are going to get that coupon off of? Quite simple, it’s the internet. The internet business is taking over physical businesses to be as straight forward as possible. This doesn’t go for all businesses, but with customers being able to purchase products online, they are less likely to go to the location of the business. Why would they? It’s easier to do things online.

Online businesses become more and more accessible as the internet grows by the years. I think businesses that aren’t making a presence online are seriously missing out. There’s so much potential revenue from companies online just as there is at their current location. Today, the money is predominantly coming from their online business. Having an online business is being served to practically the entire world as more people each day engage with each other online. Those companies that are hesitant to bring their company online aren’t only limiting themselves from making more money, but they are being ignorant! The internet is a space where we as people live. Your company will have more luck converting your customer to a sale online than doing it at a location. This isn’t to say that physical businesses can’t make money anymore because they definitely can, however they need to realize the direction businesses are heading. If they fail to acknowledge this, they will be eaten alive by the competition.

So the question is, where is your company positioned in the marketplace? Can you be found online as well as at current location? Please be aware that this is a fact with where companies are heading. It’s not a joke and it’s where many individuals are making their careers off of. My three takeaways that any new or current business should be aware of are as follows…

1. You are not a dominant company today if you don’t have a presence online. The world we live in is changing and growing. You must understand that even though your company may make millions of dollars at your facility, you have the potential to double that with an online presence.
2. Your cost to startup up your business online is NOTHING. For those that run their business through a facility, think how much you paid to start that and business and compare that to ZERO.
3. Listen to keynotes by Gary Vaynerchuk to get an even in depth description of why online businesses are the way to go and why anyone can do it!

Frank Angelone is the founder of Social Tech Zone. He provides individuals and businesses the news and tips they need to better interact with social networks and technology.