Mark Schwartz asked:


How to start a successful online business has until now been something that has evaded me, but not because of lack of effort. My past efforts to launch a successful business have failed (not counting the two eCommerce startups I worked on) primarily due to a lack of focus, plus the fact that I floated from system to system and from this hot internet marketing scheme to another.

The result of my lack of focus was that I ended up with a hodgepodge of approaches, spent thousands of dollars on the latest fad internet marketing gimmick and ended up with nothing but some piddling Google Adsense and Commission Junction money to show for it.

Quite frankly, I have been disappointed with my previous lack of results. But, Who’s to Blame? Me of course. I was the one without focus, without a plan, without a system.

So I decided to forget the mistakes of the past and press on to greater achievements of the future. This meant starting all over again and throwing away all of my misguided past attempts. This time my I was going to have FOCUS and clear all the noise out of my life so that I could focus. I unsubscribed to all the zillions of “Make a Billion $ in 2 Hours” newsletters and offers that were flooding my email (and that I was wasting time reading).

This time I was going to find the right business model, settle on ONE system and concentrate on it. Period.

I started my planning and searching for a new way of doing business by combing through a hundred of different opportunities posed on the internet. When I started to look at the internet business opportunities available online, it quickly became overwhelming. I found thousands upon thousands of moneymaking opportunities and hundreds of millions of websites dedicated to the subject.

I found every thing from online gambling, paid to read email, paid to complete surveys, affiliate marketing programs, freelancing opportunities, multi-level marketing (MLM) programs ? on and on and on. I also found thousands of websites promoting online business schemes that promised great riches, all you had to do is sign up, pay the sign up fee and then sit back and rake in millions in profits while bikini clad babes waited on you. Of course the majority of these are scams with ridiculous come-ons.

Whenever I saw a business promoter bragging about their ClickBank or Google earnings (with photocopies of their big checks) or they guaranteed a profit I quickly ruled them out. I believe that the more the hype, the less trustworthy the source. It was disappointing to find that the majority of business opportunities out there are from self professed gurus that are only willing to take your money but offer no benefit or real service in return.

Most seemed to offer a snatch, grab and run approach.

In conducting my due diligence and research one thing that amused me was the so called independent product/business reviews. I found so many postings claiming to be an independent review of a business it amazed me. Of course, they were really disguises meant to get you to sign up to a new Internet Marketing system, or some other program, using their affiliate links buried somewhere in their “independent review”.

All in all, I’d guess that 99% of the opportunities I reviewed were pure, adulterated crap!

I am pleased to say though, that there are real business systems out there, sponsored by people that really do want to help you succeed online. Of course they would gain by you signing up for their “system”, but that’s really a good thing if you think about it. The best business model is one where your sponsor has a vested interest in your success. There’s a lot to be said for someone that is vested in your success, because if you make money, he/she makes money. Now that’s a good thing - you succeed, they succeed.

During my search for a business opportunity I realized I had to set some guiding principles or rules to guide my decision making process. I wanted to end up with a winner. Picking a winner has to be a business decision with no guesswork involved.

You can come up with your own rules for picking a business. The important thing is that you have some, you stick to them and that they fit your personality, goals and your business plan. You do have a business plan, don’t you?

So here are the rules that I established to guide my decision in picking a home based internet business opportunity. These are just some guidelines - please add your own criteria to fit your situation.

It must be a business where I can help others succeed. The more people that I can help to succeed, the more I succeed. It must embrace a culture of “enthusiasm about the success of others”. It must be based on a System that offers a proven roadmap that has already been tried and proven to work. The roadmap should be something that anyone, regardless of expertise can follow and master. Anyone who wants to succeed can succeed as long as they put in the effort. It should be a business that can be done part time. The majority of people that want to start a home business need to do so on a part time basis. The sponsors of the system must already have a good record of success and be vested in my success. If you want to succeed, hang around with successful people. The really successful people in life have learned that helping others is a key to success. It must offer a person with a small budget the opportunity to join in, succeed and profit. By eliminating the cost of joining the business, more people can join in, become successful, and realize their dreams. Residual income is critical in order to building a recurring stream of income. Wealth is built on recurring income, not on one-shot sales. It must offer multiple streams or ways of generating income and not be reliant on just one approach or product. Staying power and lifespan are important in that a business being built today will still be a viable business model in the future. It cannot rely on the latest Internet fad or a single strategy as the primary way of making a profit. It needs to be something that any potential business owner can do regardless of technical or business expertise. The vast majority of potential business owners have limited technical expertise and/or they have never run a business of their own before. 10. Training and/or mentoring are critical components of the program. Business owners need to know they will have access to an outstanding training program, be supported and that there is always someone available to help them ANYTIME they need it. The business must be replicable - if I can do it, anyone can do it. And perhaps the most important to me is that the business needs to offer its owners/participants a sense of community and foster involvement, success and a giving attitude. Working with others is a far better way of ensuring success than working in solitude.

There you have it, my 12 guiding principles for selecting an Internet Business Opportunity that will be a winner. Perhaps 1 in a 1000 businesses - be they the brick and mortar type or a home based Internet business will be able to meet these requirements.

But, I am happy to say I have found one and you can check it out at GensPlan, which has merged with Rags2Riches.net.

It’s time to move ahead and take action.

Joseph Lizio asked:


One of the biggest struggles I had in starting my business was actually coming up with the idea.? I wanted something that was scalable as well as needed in our society.? I combed through hundreds of ideas before settling on my current venture.? Through this discovery period, I uncovered what I believe are the five most important concepts in determining what makes the perfect business idea.?

So, what is a perfect idea?? Each individual entrepreneur has their concept of the perfect business.? While Google is a great business for the founders of that company ? it may not be a great business for others that are non-tech savvy or who do not want to run such a large organization.??

Therefore, each perfect business is defined by the business owners.? Keeping this in mind, let?s start on my five concepts of finding the perfect business:?

Number One - Understanding your customer:? This might seem strange to start here as how do you know your customers before you have a business idea in place.? The answer is simple ? your customers make the business, therefore without customers there is no business.? If you have a business idea don?t try to develop the idea around what YOU think potential customers will like or need, but find out what your customers actually desire.? Too often business owners get an idea in their head and jump right in with both feet.? However, they soon find out that their target market does not want what they are offering.? Spending both time and money on a project just to see it languish is not the perfect business idea.?

Moreover, let?s say you don?t already have an idea ? getting out and understand consumers (those who will eventually become your customers) may lead you to the perfect idea.? Knowing what potential consumers need and building products to meets those needs will get customers beating a path to your door ? that is a perfect business idea.?

Number Two ? Passion:? Passion here does not mean being fanatical about your product or service.? But, it does mean having some interest in what you do. More times than not, you will be spending 15 to 18 hours a day working on your business in the beginning ? usually for the first 12 to 18 months (more like 2 years in this economy).? You have to constantly be thinking about ways to improve and grow your business as well as be out talking about it to everyone, everywhere. If you end up starting a venture that you don?t have passion for, something that does not make you jump out of bed each morning, it will be very hard to put in the hours and energy to make it successful ? thus not a perfect business idea.?

Number Three - Understand Your Competition:? Every business has competition ? either direct or indirect.? Think about movie theaters.? They have direct competition from video rental stores or at home television.? They also have indirect competition from any other activity that consumers spend their disposable income on like bowling, paint ball, golf, etc.? Anything that people do in their spare time.?

Further, some competitors are ruthless.? Meaning that if you promote and offer a product that is similar to theirs but at a lower price, these competitors will just lower their price to match or beat you.? If they are already established businesses ? they may be able to undercut your price enough to drive you out of business.??

If you don?t know your competition ? what they are willing to do to keep you out of their market ? you may be spending more of your time in a pricing war then growing your business ? not the perfect business idea.?

Number Four - Cash Flow:? Lots of entrepreneurs enter the business world with great ideas but very poor understanding of the capital it will take to get their venture off the ground.? Most will prototype their product or service and understand what it takes to make the product or provide the service but they don?t understand the capital it takes to manage the rest of the organization ? including marketing (very expensive but extremely necessary), employees (more than just salaries or wages), insurance or supplies and all the little miscellaneous expenses that add up very quickly like phone, internet, computer services, etc.? Knowing your total cash flow will help ensure that all of your costs (variable and fixed) can be covered by the business ? the perfect business idea.? I have seen way too many businesses with great products fail because they could not cover simple expenses like rent or utilities.?

Number Five ? You:? Know who you are.? Know your strengths and weaknesses.? Know that you are ready, willing and able to do what it takes to make your venture a success.? I have worked with many business owners in the past that think all they have to do is hang out their shingle and they have it made.? Thus, when it comes down to actually running the business day-to-day ? they are unwilling to invest the time, energy or money necessary for success.? Thus, know how hard you are willing to work.?

Moreover, know your personal financial situation and what you need the business to generate to cover your lifestyle.? If you think your business will pay you a great salary from day one - it will not.? And, if you need it to, it is not the perfect business idea for you. Take away outside distractions like your personal financial situation ? get those in order ? thus, when your business concept does materialize ? you will be able to solely focus on its conception and growth.? In the end providing you the financial security you are seeking - it will be the perfect business idea.?

Regardless of the level of your desire for your business ? a lifestyle mom and pop operation or a multi-national conglomerate ? if you develop a business idea with these five concepts in mind ? your idea will be the perfect business idea for you.

Jared Weidner asked:


As more people turn to the Internet for jobs, it is hard to choose which business idea fits your interest.? Some of the best Internet business ideas are created through your own thoughts, but very few people will implement them. From paid surveys to Internet marketing, almost anyone that puts their time and effort into creating online success will become successful. Here are some great ideas that will have you thinking, “Which one should I choose?”

One business idea that has always been around and still is a great way to earn some extra money online is paid surveys.? Paid surveys are easy to implement and so many people are seeing results.? By answering questions about you opinions, you can be earning extra money in your spare time.? In order to be successful in paid surveys, you must be willing to sign up with as many paid survey site as possible. Be sure to open up a new E-mail account so you don?t get your personal E-mails mixed in with your paid surveys.? This will bring more opportunities for higher payouts and quick cash in your pocket.

Another great Internet business idea is working with Pay Per Click advertising.? Google Adwords, Facebook and Myspace are just a few sites that offer pay per click advertising.? By promoting products through pay per click advertising, you could be earning a full-time income online.? Although it takes practice and experimenting, there are some great products that will help you get started right away. ?

The last online business idea is Affiliate Marketing.? This Internet marketing technique has helped thousands of people become successful online.? Although you will not see results as fast at pay per click advertising or paid surveys, you can earn a significant income with affiliate marketing.? By promoting other peoples products that you are familiar with or have used, you can earn up to 75% on each product that you sell.? Affiliate marketing is not a get rich fast program, but with patience and effort it could be one of the best Internet businesses you have ever been associated with.

Now that you know some of the best Internet business ideas, it is time for you to start.? Pick something that fits your interest and research the best program that will help you succeed.? It is essential that you learn from the masters to become one.? Take your time and don?t burn yourself out too quickly.? The Internet will be around forever and the more patience you have, the more likely you will see results.