Help me out here please. Starting an internet business, working from home or variables of these concepts are all the rage right now. But I'm confused. What exactly is an internet business?

Here's my simple analysis of possible businesses [in broad groups]:

* Selling a service ? your own, or someone else's

* Selling a product ???..ditto????..

* Selling methods on how to sell a service or product ???.ditto????.

That's it. Just three groups to choose from. So what's the problem really? Choose one or all three internet businesses, and then go sell? How difficult is that, huh?

What can you sell on the internet?

Literally anything. From esoteric information to how to make French Toast Italian style. From books to software to cars to magic tricks; even canned genuine Californian smog. Services could include dog-walking, crud collecting [for subsequent resale], elephant paintings [yes, paintings actually done by elephants - and they are very artistic, believe me] or Brad Pitt's old discarded sneakers.

Take your pick. Think up new unique items. I read some time ago about someone who started a business selling pet rocks [which he picked for free from river and stream beds.] These were hugely saleable as conversation pieces.

Make onion juice palatable and convince people it is the elixir for eternal youth, and you'll be the first internet business billionaire.

There's no limit to what you can sell on the internet. That's not the problem. The question is..... how?

If you don't know how to actually administer an internet business, or have no time or inclination to learn, hang on to your conventional job for dear life and auction off your computer. The gurus who sold you the system that will cause trillions of dollars to barrel their way into your pocket are not going to market the business for you. Take my word for it. Why should they anyway -- they would rather do it for themselves.

Back to your internet business and what you can sell. Most people prefer items that are small, light and easy to ship.

The majority prefer items that do not need shipping at all, and which weigh nothing.

...Digital products. Ebooks [information products] and software.

...Downloadable products which let you run a 24/7 internet business; or preferably an internet business that runs itself while you groom the scales on your pet fish.

Information is marketable, no doubt about that. People will pay you for how-to information. How to toilet train your cat; or how to teach your dog table manners. More conventional topics will possible be on how to bake up a storm in 45 minutes, or secret recipes with durian.

There are mountains of information readily available on the Internet and free too. But these are scattered all over and need an awfully long time to collate and string together into a cohesive whole. And the majority of internet wanabes are lazy and want everything fast and easy.

So most people are more than willing to pay you money, if you can give them the information they want already arranged nicely and conveniently.

And, bless my soul, once I've got the information together -- created an information product -- it self-replicates itself a million times. No need for stock control, or shelf life or any of those nasty considerations that make running an internet business or home based business a pain in the lower regions. I really don't have to do anything more with it ever again.

Ideal, yes?

Not so fast. There are four problems that need to be addressed.

* Because this type of internet business is so easy to run, there is a glut of providers all chasing the same consumer dollar.

* How do you differentiate your product from the masses? And what exactly is unique about your creation?

* How do you convince prospective customers of the superiority of your product?

* How do you market it? Market it? Market it? {This is not a typo.}

Are you targeting a new niche market? Going head-on into an established market? Intending to swim upstream in a saturated market?

95% of internet marketers can come up with a new, and probably unique product. Less than 5% know how to market their offering, of even are aware of the importance of knowing how.

which is why less than 5% of internet businesses flourish and live beyond the crucial first year.

Without proper knowledge of internet marketing, whether your own product or as an affiliate, and without a network of peers and mentors, an internet business will fall victim to the dreaded SIBDS - (Successive Internet Business Death Syndrome.)

Copyright: Dan Jeremiah. This article may be freely reproduced provided the contents and all links are unedited or unchanged.