Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Can You Start an Internet Business?

By Louise Collins

For people who are afraid their jobs aren't going to last until they retire or are finding a hard time making ends meet, the dream is always some extra cash in the household and one possibly option for making that happen is to take a chance and start up your own online business. It's certainly one of the better choices available.

You have lots of business types to choose from, you can be a single product retailer or open an online store with a theme. You can use the internet to promote and extend a business you already have and best of all, because you can reach around the world with your idea, you can build your business around a niche interest that would never have survived as a brick and mortar business.

There are probably a lot of people who just can't picture themselves running an online business and I'm not sure if it's the online part of the equation of they just can't picture themselves running a business of any kind. If it's just that they can't see the internet part, that's too bad because other than not needing the same kind of money to start, the traits you need are pretty much the same.

Oh yeah..you're wondering about that internet, programming, html thing? I'm guessing that a lot of people are and it holds them back, but it really shouldn't if you have any experience working on a computer already. So many new pieces of software are available to help you start an online business that you don't need to be a 'webmaster' any more.

If you're worked with the programs in Microsoft Office - like Word and Excel and maybe even Power Point, you'll have enough experience and general know how to work with the site building software. It helps if you're also good at searching for things online, because it's a wonderful way to find answers.

First and foremost you have to be willing to learn. Because you need to learn how to build your site, you'll need to learn how to promote your site and you'll need to acquire enough of the basic business skills to know when you're making or losing money.

You need to be disciplined and persistent " good things don't come easy" at least I've never noticed that they do and although there are no tasks in setting up and running an internet business that I have found to be insurmountable, there is a lot of work over a long period of time before you get a payoff. If you're lucky some money will start to drip in about 3 months after you start- and I do mean if you're lucky. And if you're going to set up an internet business in addition to a regular job, you have at least 6 months of late nights and non-existent weekends ahead of you.

To make it work you need to be smarter than your average bear. You don't need to be a genius though. Determination, discipline and persistence are your allies. If you've never taken a risk in your life, chances are you're not about to start now. If you know a little bit about a lot of things and you'd like an attainable challenge, an online business start up might be for you.

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