I guess it is just another hat that you have to wear being a web designer, but you really can’t afford to ignore basic business principles. No matter what website you are launching or involved in, from the smallest blog to the biggest community mammoth. The basic business principles all apply. I would always suggest as a starting point to treat any website like a business in itself.
The first point you can start off by doing is to concentrate on the business model and plan. Go through the traditional: what are you? what are you going to do? How will you do it? What resources do you need? Then later move onto the marketing, funding and actual practical variables. If you give any project this solid foundation it will only serve to aid your endeavour. The degree and time it will take of course depends on the size of the project. It helps both to focus and aim any project if you go through this sort of process.
