It aint easy bein' green

We live in one of the most exciting times. Never before have there been so many opportunities - so many different paths to create wealth. Traditionally, getting rich required certain prerequisites to be in order. You had to be in the right place at the right time and have the resources to take advantage of the situation. For instance, maybe you were given a large inheritance. This money could be spent on an investment, an education, or a new venture. Perhaps you had a product or an idea that had just the right timing and it took off. Maybe your family had a business, and it was handed down to you. It could be a connection that you have. A friend who knows someone that gets you a job, or gets you recognized for something. But these days, there are more and more ways to be successful. And its the internet that makes these opportunities available for the rest of us. For most, the saying "It isnt what you know, but who you know," really rings true. This is because it's what they are told and it's what they believe, fundamentally. But it is exactly this mindset that is holding you back from achieving success.

Chances are you have found this site because you are unhappy with your current situation. Maybe you are stuck in a dead end job, maybe you are even between jobs. Perhaps you have a family to support and are looking for alternative options. We all share a common goal here. And that is to improve our current situation.

Finding a niche

To get started making money online you have to establish a plan. If you already have some type of business in the real world, this plan could involve setting up your website to represent your business. You could either use it as a type of "face" for your business online, or a store with which to broaden your customer base. More and more people are using the internet instead of the phone book. A business without a web presence is a business that is struggling.

But chances are you are starting from scratch. And in many ways this can be even more exciting and profitable. Selling products definitely has its place. After all the world is dependent on goods. But in terms of starting out and making money for yourself, your best strategy would be to sell information. Especially if we are concerned with keeping start up costs low.

So ask yourself some questions. What am I good at? What are some of my hobbies? What is it that I know really well. If I had to engage in conversation, what topics could I talk endlessly about? These are the areas that you should really concentrate on. Once you have an idea of what interests you, start brain storming. How do you want to go about sharing this idea with others? Remember, you don't always have to have a product or service to offer. Many websites, such as this one, offer information and if you are able to attract a group of people and create a community, you will begin to profit. I will show you how this works in Profiting 102.

An example of this is blogging. Blogging has taken the world by storm and there are many successful bloggers who live off the income from their site. We will talk more about just how they do this a little bit later. Blogging is a more personal type of information sharing. It is often succesful because even as they grow in popularity, they still retain a personal touch. The thing to remember here is, keep things unique and personal. Convey your enthusiasm to your audience! If you are truly passionate about something, you will get people excited.

Finding your online identity

Of course in order to have a web presence you must have a domain. Getting a good domain name is imperative because it will represent your business, and often, it will have the largest impact on conveying your business message. Your domain should represent what you are all about. Unfortunately though, domains are few and far between these days. Take the time to sit down and come up with many domains. On paper, write down all the domains that you could actually imagine yourself using for your business. This is an important step because you don't know what is going to be available. Of course few of the domains you come up with will be available, so try to be creative. There are actually several "Domain Name Generators" on the web that you can use. You simply plug in your business ideas, and they spit out domain names.

Another option would be to go with a free website. The only downside is that you would have to share your domain with the service provider and it will reduce your brand image. Image is certainly important, but if start up funds are critically low, this is a viable option. Later after your make a little money, you can re-brand your business. One of the places you can get a free website from is Angelfire/lycos.

Grabbing your piece of the virtual world

Take your list of domain names and sit down at your computer. Go to a site such as DomainSearch, and begin checking for domain name availability. Most of the really good "dot coms" are already taken so don't be afraid to experiment with other types of urls, such as .net, .org, and even .tv. It is common that these alternative domains are even cheaper than the .coms. Once you find something that is available, grab it! Domains are snatched up all the time, so this isn't the kind of thing you want to put off. Some sites, such as BlueHost (www.bluehost.com/track/pfti), even offer a free domain for life with the purchase of hosting (which you would need to buy anyway). This is a particularly good deal because after the first two years, the price for your domain goes up significantly. And you have to renew it annually. Locking in your domain for life (assuming you keep your website that long) will end up saving you thousands of dollars.

Now that you have decided on a concept and domain, we will discuss ways to begin generating revenue...

continued in Profiting 102...