With so many rubbish programs, get-rich-quick schemes and other scams, it's often very easy to get misled and end up with nothing more than a huge bill on your credit card.

However, there is no reason why it needs to be the same way for you. There are some simple steps you can take to start your own online business today.

1) One thing you must not do is join all those Matrix, Downline, M-L-M Dollar programs that promise you'll wake up with a million bucks in your account by morning. If they really worked, we'd all be multi-millionaires by now!

2) The best step to take first of all is to create your own product that you can sell off your own legitimate website. If you don't know how to program software, just write an eBook. If you know something about anything, you can create an ebook and sell it on your site.

3) A website is 100% essential for selling online. And its no good going with one of those free hosts that displays pop-up ads and takes people away from your site. Get a professional domain and a proper host. It needn't be expensive to run a website - if you go and visit www.CheapHostGator.com you can get your site set up for less than 25 cents a day.

4) If you want your site to really take off, you should consider having an affiliate program. Clickbank.com has over 100,000 affiliate who could be selling your products for you, and all the payments are taken care of for you.

5) Stay focused and committed! The key to success is to never give up. Every person on the planet goes through tough times, but the really successful people at the end of the day are the people who stick it out.

Running your own business online can be immensely fun and satisfying. But you do need a good solid base to start from. Formulate a plan and stick to it. Don't give up and I guarantee you there is no reason you can't be successful!