Depending on your situation, the success you have with your online business may be the difference between being able to pay your bills and put food on the table, or not being able to do either. If this is the case in your situation, there are five basic components of your business that you need to have absolute control over. If you let others retain control over these components, you risk losing your business in an instant.

The Five Areas You Must Control

1. All Original Web Site Content

This includes all images, photos, logos and page files. If you don't have control over these things, you are asking for trouble. Perhaps your web designer decides he or she loses interest in your project and loses or deletes the files? What if they move away and you can't contact them? What if they sell these items to a competitor? The bottom line is that you must maintain control of all the original files to your site.

2. Web Hosting Access Information

When you have a web site, you'll have a web hosting account. This is were all of your files are stored that make your web site function. If you are using a web designer, never, and I mean NEVER use their hosting company or one that is recommended by them. Some designers will offer you a "deal" if you have them design your site and host it on their server. This isn't a good idea because they will have control over your site. If you were to have a falling out with your web designer, they could make life very difficult for you by refusing to provide you with access information to your hosting account. Some web designers will have all their clients on one hosting account. If one of their other clients does something illegal, such as using spam to market their business, all web sites in that hosting account could be shut down, putting you out of business. You need to maintain complete control over user names and passwords.

Sure, you can set up temporary passwords for those your hire to help you with your web site, but just remember to delete them when those they complete the work you need done.

3. All Backed Up Content, HTML code and pages

If you ever find the need to make a change in hosting companies, web site designers, sales page copywriters or in house staff, it's critical that you personally maintain all the back up files to your web site. This way, if you ever move to another hosting company or decide to make a change in any of the people above, you won't be at risk for having your entire business be put out of business. If you change hosting companies for example, it's not uncommon for the original company to delete files immediately upon cancellation of your account. If this were to happen to you and you didn't have the back up files, you'd be cooked. But, with the updated back up files in hand, you'd be back in business in a matter of a few minutes.

4. All Domain Names and associated log in information.

Your domain is your business identity. It never ceases to amaze me that so many people allow others, such as a web designer or employee to register their domain name for them, in the other persons name. This is a recipe for disaster. If you allow someone else to register your domain name in their name, you are essentially taking on a partner. If your business takes off like a rocket, this other person will be in control of your business identity and could choose to demand a huge sum of money to transfer it to your name. Or they could shut your site down and open one of their own, using your domain name!

Even if you allow someone else to register your domain name using your name as the owner, be sure that you are the only one who has access to the log in information. Don't allow others to have this information as they could make changes, such as pointing your domain to another site.

Also - never enter into a package deal that has a web site building program tied into a domain name. You need to have the flexibility to move your domain and hosting account wherever you want to. In many cases, the package deals will prohibit you from doing so.

5. Any And All Passwords

In addition to the passwords associated with the operation of your web site, you'll also have many user names and passwords for many other accounts you'll use to run your business. Sites like Google Adwords, article submission services, web site logs, email accounts, email marketing services such as Aweber will all require user names and passwords. Be sure that you have all of this information - even if you hire outside services to handle all of the work associated with these accounts.

There are times that you'll want to provide access to these and other business related accounts to people you outsource projects to, but be sure to change the log in information once the project they are working on for you is completed.

If you retain control of these five key areas, you'll always be in control of your business and won't have to lose sleep over someone coming in and wiping you out in the blink of an eye.