But I'm a good student, so I did what I was told. Surprisingly, I found that if you're willing to invest the effort, it's easy to turn almost anything you're passionate about into an online money making opportunity.

Now if your passion is studying the mating habits of the Blue Ringed Octopus, you may be out of luck. But really, there's got to be SOMETHING you're into that a few thousand others are also into.

So, take 15 minutes and make a list of things that interest you. Then start with your favorite and let's take three steps to turn it into an online money making opportunity for you.

Your first step is to find a starving crowd. This is where you determine whether you can really make money online with your hobby. No reason to go further if no one is hungry for information and products in your niche.

To determine if there's a starving crowd, do three things. First, run a search using a couple of different free keyword tools to determine how many people are searching for information in your niche. Second, run a Google search and see how many people are using adwords to advertise in your niche. Finally, go to the bookstore and see how many magazines are available related to your hobby.

So let's assume there are others searching out information on your hobby. And people are paying to advertise in your niche. And people are buying magazines on the subject. Great, you're in business.

But, you can't stop there. If you want to really make money online, you have to take the second step and identify your specialty within your niche. Some call this "drilling down" into your niche.

For example, there are a lot of ways to make online money if your passion is house pets. But house pets is a huge market. Too huge to go after. You have to focus. Maybe you really like dogs. And you really really like doggy health and nutrition. And you believe in natural and organic solutions.

Great, you've gone from being an expert in house pets to being an expert in holistic and organic solutions for dog health and nutrition. This is a targeted market. Much easier to tackle than house pets in general. As you determine your specialty, you will of course want to return to step one and confirm that other people have interest in this area of house pets too.

The third step is the hardest. And, not surprisingly, it's the one that's crucial if you want to REALLY make money online. You must brand yourself as an expert in your specialty. You must create an online presence that causes people to trust you when you speak on your subject. If people trust you, they will like you. And, ultimately, they will buy from you. Again and again.

Many people have a real desire to start an online business. Most can't get past wondering what business is a fit for them. Others dive in head first without taking the proper steps to make sure they can succeed, and then quit in frustration. Following these three steps will insure that you get started, and get started right.