Saturday, December 16, 2006

How To Start Your Own Internet Business

In this brief article, I hope to start you on your way to an Internet business that is ethical, honest and legal, and that can still make you millions of dollars, using primarily free resources. You can start your very own business with very little startup cost!

Today I would like to help you with the first step: the decision to start a business at all. I know what you are thinking at this point--"well, who wouldn't want to make a million dollars?". However, starting a business takes more than just the desire to make money. Starting any business requires that you learn how to run that business. It requires some time and effort. An internet business is no different. There are some key concepts that you will have to learn, but it does not require that you are a business wizard or that you even have a college degree. The resources for learning how to start and build a business are literally at your fingertips--they are available on the Internet for FREE. Yes, for free. I am not trying to sell you anything!

Let's get back to deciding whether or not beginning a business is right for you. Doing the following exercise is a crucial step before making any large decision. We are literally starting at assessing the core strength of your business, which is you. If you do this exercise, you will learn what money means to you. If you ask anyone of the street if they want to make more money, they would probably say yes. But if you ask them why, that it is harder to explain. This exercise will help you to know what money means to you, which is a very valuable lesson. If you do this exercise before you get started, you will have it to motivate you thoughout the rest of your life, really, even if you do not start a business at all.

This exercise is simple, and only requires a paper and pen. Sit down in a quiet place and think about what money means to you. Envision yourself with all the money you desire. Where are you? What are you doing? Where do you live? For most people, money means security first, then freedom. Security means that we can easily afford our basic needs, like housing and food. Freedom is all the other stuff. Usually it means:

Freedom from: a boring job, working for someone else, a low wage, worry about paying bills. Try to come up with other examples that are meaningful to you. Freedom to: buy new things, take trips, own your own home, have the best for their kids, live where you like, make your own working hours, relax more, spend more time with the people you love, give to charity. Hopefully the "freedom to" list is longer than the "freedom from" list, because it is the "freedom to" list that is the one that is more important. Even though you may be in a situation that you want to improve, you need to see where you want to be and think about that, not focus on what you don't want. (This is called the Law of Attraction, which I hope to discuss more in another article).

Perhaps you are one of the lucky people who has everything that you feel that you need. Congratulations to you! I hope that you have found some benefit in doing this exercise. Most people find that although they are not in a bad situation, by allowing themselves to dream a little they can visualize their ideal situation, which usually does not match exactly where they are. They see a situation in which some more money would be helpful. There are many ways to solve that dilemma. You can get another job. You can cut down on spending. You can repay debt. All of these are ways to increase your income.

However, most people that are making lots of money have their own business. That is a fact. Read "The Millionaire Next Door" by Dr. Thomas Stanley and Dr. William Danko to prove it to yourself. (This is not a plug for that book. Use your local library!) As I wrote in the beginning, an Internet business is a way to start a business with very little startup cost. It does take some time and effort, but the potential is there to achieve your dreams.

I wish you success!

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