If you do a search online, you'll find thousands of opportunities just waiting for you to sign up. Where did these all come from? How do you know which one will give you all the tools, help, and support you need to get up and running?

I recently went through this entire process. It can be truly overwhelming without knowing some of the questions you should ask before you make a decision. As a Christian I wanted to work with a company that not only talked a good game, but was able to show me they were an honest company who would truly do what they said they would do.

Where Do I Start?

My first concern was that I had very little experience building a website. I was able to check my email and search for something online, but that was the extent of it. I read countless ads for companies claiming to "build a website in 15 minutes" or "be making money in as little as 24 hours."

The trouble was....I couldn't see any backend support. I couldn't see anything except a template that someone built and now they were trying to convince me this should be the basis for my online business.

What about all the continuous building and changing that happens on a website? Did I have to take a bunch of HTML classes just so I'd know how to do all this stuff?

My second concern was whether the search engines would find me. I remember wondering how the entire process worked and who was going to teach me. There are alot of companies that promise they can help in this area. I just didn't have a clue about which one to use or how to go about evaluating these kinds of companies.

And then of course, I wanted to know if my business would be profitable. Finding the right niche is a huge part of your ultimate success, or lack thereof. Of course, there is never a guarantee, but at least I wanted to know I was on the right track. I couldn't imagine where to even start looking for answers about this one.

And the Answer is...

After it was all said and done, I arrived at some very specific things to look for as you're choosing the right company:

Tip: Choose a company that can handle everything from start to finish, no matter your own strengths or weaknesses. Trying to piecemeal the site hosting and building from one company and then the search engine optimizing from another, and the other things you need like building a newsletter from yet another, will most certainly make your life alot more complicated.

Tip: Choose a company with a proven track record. What kind of results are their current clients getting? Are they willing to show you the number of their sites that are succeeding? You can bet they have an idea about how many of their sites fail and why.

Tip: Choose a company that gives you the tools to build your site that doesn't require you to have a PHD in website building. There is a tremendous learning curve in the very beginning, so just make sure you're working with a company that provides the structure to build your site as you learn so you're not stuck for long periods of time in that learning curve.

Tip: Choose a company that allows all their site owners to talk to each other in an open forum. Check to see how often their forums are frequented. Ask for a guest pass so you can get the real flavor of the company.

Tip: Choose a company that gives you 24 hour/7 days a week, online technical support. There is nothing more difficult than trying to resolve a problem and your only option is to pay some expert somewhere to give you the guidance you need.

Tip: Don't purchase unless you are very sure about the company's refund policy. Choose a company that will let you try things out on a trial basis. Get your feet wet and see if the company you've chosen is really the one that will help you get where you want to go.

While it's true that no company can do it for you, it's also true that you can certainly help increase your odds of success if you choose the right company to help you. Working with a company that is honest and will stand behind you, helping every step of the way, is truly the Christian way of doing business.