How to Make Money Online: The Basics

Let’s say you’re a newbie to the world of online sales and are looking to make money online, but you’re starting with a small startup budget. With the blinding wealth of information available for new business owners, knowing how to spend your limited funds can be a bit intimidating. 

Here is a five-step checklist to help get you started and guide you toward success. 

1. Spend time getting feedback on what you’re selling before launching.

Don’t rely on affirmation from friends and family to validate that you have a unique and salable product or service. Chances are, these people are emotionally attached to you, and they’re more likely to think every idea you share is the greatest thing since Nutella. Getting feedback from people who are emotionally attached to you is a “disaster from the start,” says Adam Callinan, founder of BottleKeeper.

Get market validation from potential customers who aren’t in your social circle. Some entrepreneurs use the “will they pull out their wallet” test before investing money in a business. Callinan, who’d come up with a prototype for an individual beer bottle cooler, ran a crowdfunding campaign on Fundable to gauge pre-orders for his product. His campaign raised nearly $14,000, 280 percent of his $5,000 goal.

Besides Fundable, there are a number of crowdfunding platforms to choose from including Kickstarter, Indiegogo and Rockethub.

Other ways to get people’s feedback, says Sujan Patel, vice-president of Marketing at When I Work, is using customer insight survey tools, such as Qualaroo and Client Heartbeat. If you’re just starting out, surveys are a chance to find out what the customer is hoping the product/service will solve or do for him or her. If you’re already in business, surveys can ask how the customer found out about the product or service, whether the customer is willing to be a return customer and why.  

Or if you’re in a job in the industry you plan on starting a business in,get feedback from the people at your job -- your manager and clients -- says Steve Tobak, founder of Invisor Consulting. 

Related: 4 Tips to Use Crowdfunding to Make Startup Dreams a Reality

2. Have a website.

You must have a website, says Joel Widmer, founder of Fluxe Digital Marketing. Not only for the obvious -- to have something to refer customers back to -- but having a website builds your brand’s digital footprint. Keep your site simple and copy-driven with opportunities for email captures on every page.

Three easy steps to having your own website to sell products without spending a lot of cash are:

• Select a content management system (CMS), such as WordPress, which is popular for its user friendliness and is free.
• Register a domain name and subscribe to a hosting service, such as GoDaddy or Bluehost.
• Customize your CMS with ecommerce-enabling plugins and themes. WooCommerce offers free ecommerce themes for WordPress, such as Storefront. Also, WP eCommerce andMarketPress are additional free ecommerce plugin options.

Related: How to Make Money As An Expert

3. Know your competition and customers.

Study up on both competitor and complementary brands (i.e. if you are selling a fire alarm, then look for “house safety” websites). Widmer says your customers will be hanging out on websites for both competitor and complementary brands. He recommends using search tools such asSimilarWeb and Google’s related-search results (located at the bottom of every Google search) to see what sites your prospective customer may be visiting.

Other free research tools to get to know your market, suggests Brandon Schaefer, CEO of MyVirtualSalesForce, are LinkedIn (to see who competitor brands are connecting with and what types of updates they're posting), Google Alerts (for brand mentions and keywords) andGoogle Trends.

Related: The 5 Basics for Building an Online Business That Actually Makes Money

4. Create an action plan for sales and marketing.

To earn your first million in sales, says Patel, work backwards and put a number on what it takes in monthly revenue to get to a million your first year -- meaning how many units, subscriptions or services must be sold. Create benchmarks to reach. Even if you don’t reach them, you have a blueprint.

One way to reach your goal is to figure out which marketing avenues to leverage. Given the wealth of social-media possibilities, start with one or two social-media outlets where you know your audience is. In general, for new products the best channels are Facebook and Pinterest, says Widmer. For expertise and services, try LinkedIn.

Also, two effective and free marketing strategies are blogging on your own site and guest blogging on complementary sites. This strategy helps build content and a digital footprint for your brand, says Widmer. For guidance on what hot topics to blog about, Buzzsumo, a free web service, allows you to input any domain or topic and get a list of the 10 most popular related posts at the moment. It can also inform you of what popular sites to hit up for guest blogging.

Should you guest blog, use the opportunity to lead users back to your site and capture emails, says Widmer. One way to do so is to use a “call to action” -- where you offer the reader something of value, such as a free how-to eBook or a must-have checklist -- that the user can get or download by going back to your website and providing an email address.  

Some other marketing tools? The free KingSumo app allows you to capture email subscribers through giveaways; Facebook Ads start at $1; and the e-newsletter tool MailChimp has a free option and is drag-and-drop easy.

Related: The 4 Basics of Making Money on the Internet

5. Do as much yourself as you can.

The DIY mentality will usually save you money if your budget is limited. Also, it allows you to control the process and brand, explains Callinan, who built his ecommerce site from scratch by talking to others who’d already done ecommerce sites successfully. Don't farm out jobs you can do yourself, especially in the beginning. 

If you need on-demand expertise from entrepreneurs with a track record, try Clarity, says Widmer. The service allows the user to get specific, consultant-level advice for a fee.

All startups are a gamble -- but as Patel advises, whose company will hit $10 million in revenue this year, “Hone in on where your strengths are and double down.”

Source: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/247393

How to thicken curry gravy?

Ground onions and coriander powder are key to thickening gravy

In Chinese cooking a slurry of corn starch and water is used as a thickener. In American cooking, the flour is most common item used as a thickener. The secret of thick curry gravy in India is ground onions and the dried coriander seed powder. Coriander powder acts like an emulsifier keeping the onion particles suspended in gravy. In tomato based curries, ground tomatoes add to the body. In Korma, ground almonds and cashews make creamy thick sauces. For other creamed sauces, whipping cream, yogurt, and milk of coconut are added. Also see: How to extend curry gravy?

Corn Starch

You can make the slurry (thin paste) of corn starch (1 Tablespoon corn starch to 4 Tablespoon of water) and add to curry after the cooking is near complete. The curry must again come to a full boil to properly thicken. Making slurry prevents formation of lumps.

The citric acids such as lime juice in the gravy will need twice as much corn starch.

Over cooking the gravy will lose the thickness. The slurry should always be added near the end of cooking.

The corn starch does add to after taste, and is not stable for leftovers when re-heated.

1 Tablespoon of corn starch will thicken 1 Cup of curry liquid.

All purpose flour (Maida)

Blend 2 Tablespoons of Maida with 2 Table spoons of cooking fat (Ghee, oil, or butter). Blending will prevent formation of lumps. Heat a pan to low, add the blended Maida. Cook till it starts to turn brown. Add a cup of broth from the curry. Mix well. Return to curry. Bring it to a boil and simmer for 4 to five minutes.

2 Tablespoons of Maida will thicken 1 Cup of curry liquid.

Arrowroot

Arrowroot is used in the same fashion as corn starch. It is more stable than corn starch without any after taste. Neutral taste does not hinder with Curry spice aroma. 1 Tablespoon of arrowroot will thicken 1 Cup of curry liquid.

Sources:
http://www.indiacurry.com/faqhints/tfaqgravythick.htm

   

Hyderabadi chicken biryani recipe, how to make chicken biryani

Ingredients


1 KG basmathi rice (Half cooked & drain water and set aside)
½ kg or 1 lb chicken with bones or boneless
1 tsp. biryani masala powder for sprinkling in between layers
Fried onions from 2 large onion (Learn to make Fried Onions for Hyderabadi Recipes )
Fistful of finely chopped coriander leaves
Fistful of finely chopped mint leaves
2 to 3 tbsp. Sunflower oil or ghee
¼ tsp saffron strands soaked in 3 tbsps. hot milk or water


Marination for hyderabadi chicken biryani recipe
1 tbsp. ginger garlic paste
1/2 tsp turmeric
8 green chilies slit (adjust to suit your taste)
1 cup yogurt / curd
2 tbsps. say 2 Large Lemon juice (adjust)
1 tsp Kashmiri / byadgi red chili powder
1 tsp biryani masala powder
1/2 tsp green cardamom powder
Salt to taste
½ tsp pepper corn
1 tsp shahi jeera / caraway seeds


Dry Spices for rice( to be added while half cooking rice)
1 tsp oil
2 small strands of mace
1 large or 2 small black cardamom
4 green cardamom
3” cinnamon stick
6 cloves
1 large or 2 small bay leaf



1. 

2. METHOD

3. 1. Add all the marination ingredients to a bowl. Mix them well to make a paste.
   2. Marinate the chicken with the prepared yogurt and masala paste prepared in step 1. Allow it to sit for overnight in the fridge or for at least 2 hours.
   3. Add dry spices to a pot of boiling water along with few drops of oil. You can add the dry spices to a muslin cloth and make a knot if u don’t like to get a bite of the spices.Add soaked rice and cook till 3/4 cooked. The rice must be grainy.
   4. Add the marinade to a heavy bottom pot. Sprinkle fried onions, chilies, coriander and mint leaves. Add oil and mix it.
   5. Layer the rice over the chicken.6. Add fried onions, mint and coriander leaves. Sprinkle biryani masala.
   7. Layer the rice again.
   8. Sprinkle fried onions, mint and coriander leaves and biryani masala. Pour the saffron milk.
   9.Use a foil to cover the rim. You can also use a thick clean kitchen cloth. or make dough and stick to the rim of the pot.
   10. Cover the pot with a lid. If using dough. make sure the lid sits on the dough.
   11. Place the pot over a hot old tawa. Cook on a medium high for about 15 to 20 minutes.
   12. Lower the flame to very low and cook for another 15 minutes. Switch off the stove and let it rest for sometime
   13. Flavorful dum biryani is ready.
   14. Fluff up the rice gently and serve with raita..
4. Instructions

   1. Marinate the chicken with the ingredients mentioned under marination and set aside for at least 2 hrs and overnight is best.
   2. This step is optional. Tie up all the dry spices for rice in a muslin cloth.
   3. Wash rice till the water runs clear. Soak for 20 to 30 minutes. Heat 2 ½ cups water in a utensil to cook rice. Add 1 tsp oil, dry spices and salt, let the water boil rapidly for 5 mins, this way the aroma released is best. Add the soaked rice and cook till it is ¾ done. Remember this is very important. Do not make the rice mushy. Drain off if any excess water is left.
   4. While the rice cooks, transfer the marinated chicken to a heavy bottom casserole, handi or non-stick. Add fried onions, green chilies, ½ of the mint, coriander leaves and pour in the oil or melted ghee. Mix well and level the surface.
   5. Layer the cooked rice evenly, add fried onions, mint and coriander leaves over the chicken.
   6. Sprinkle ¼ tsp to ½ tsp. biryani masala powder.
   7. Repeat steps of layering rice, coriander mint leaves and then fried onions.
   8. Pour the saffron milk all over.
   9. Cover the rim of the casserole with foil to trap the dum or use a cloth. Rinse a thick kitchen cloth and squeeze off the excess water, it must be just moist and not with dripping water. Make a double layer. Spread this cloth over the rim and cover the lid over the casserole.
   10. Place this over a thick hot tawa, set the flame to medium high such that the flame reaches all over the diameter of the casserole. Cook this way for exactly 20 mins. After 20 mins, if you have a see thru lid you can see the vapour filled.
   11. Now reduce the flame to min (as low as in Indian stoves or burners, where the flame barely touches tawa). Cook this way for exactly 10 to 15 mins. You can see the vapour dripping on the moist cloth. Off the flame and leave it as it is for at least 20 to 30 mins. Garnish chicken biryani and serve.
   Notes

   If you do not like to use a cloth for trapping the steam or dum, you can use dough to seal the lid of the utensil, but cleaning up the mess is difficult. An aluminium foil too works ok.
5. happy Biryani making...
6. You can also watch vidz on Utube few links given here:
7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bX0Js2IkvA
8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJUdcbCoIcA
9. Source: http://indianhealthyrecipes.com/hyderabadi-chicken-dum-biryani-recipe/

Compiled by : joshua joel