With each click of the calculator my demeanor took on a rather noxious shade of green. You see I had also envisioned new walls, tub surround and flooring.

Home remodeling is not for the weak of heart and thin of wallet. It should also not be entertained by weekend warriors with only rudimentary tools and skills.

It's always interesting to me to watch as people move forward into projects that they never really plan out very well. Remodeling projects are left undone because the individual ran out of time, patience or money to complete the project. Landscaping projects sit in various stages of disrepair, and business sites feature the fa?ade without a proper structure underneath.

In some cases it would seem an ecommerce site is simply tossed together, made to look nice and left to topple at will.

No one wants their business to topple, but there are far too many that build on proverbial shifting sand. The role of the business leaves the few site visitors that find it to wonder how the site can succeed.

You wouldn't be considered a professional carpenter if you used a table knife for a screw driver, yet many online businesses want to be taken seriously when they haven't taken the time to learn how to prepare their business for serious success.

Part of that success comes when a business owner picked up the tools of marketing to create a foundation for the business to grow on.

Proper marketing is a close cousin to advertising. Businesses advertise because they want those who encounter their ad to experience the products of their business and make regular purchases. The same is true for marketing. Individual business owners must learn to use effective online marketing techniques in order to give their business the best opportunity to succeed.

You cannot simply make a nice looking site and expect it to succeed. Proper marketing is the plumbing, heating and electrical part of your marketing house. The customer doesn't necessarily see it, but they see all kinds of evidence of its existence.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) should always be first on the list for best results in online marketing. Your ability to rank well with search engines can take you much further than virtually any other form of online marketing.

You will also find success in things such as list building, email marketing and Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising. Internet marketing is the infrastructure that supports every facet of your online business.

It is true that customers may be able to find you without your willingness to use marketing, but chances are the visitor will chalk it up to dumb luck.

Is your business a weekend warrior project or have you collected all the tools needed to get the job done right and then to maintain the site long-term?