I’ve started my own online business about four times now. Not all of them worked out well, and I didn’t work well on each of them. However, the ones that I have worked on have done what I wanted them to do each time. It took concentration each time on each new idea in order to make it work, so keep that in mind and don’t just think it will be easy because you don’t have to go the office every day.

Starting an online business is one of the smartest moves you can make to invest in your future. But it takes some chutspah! Now more than ever, people are putting their ideas into practice and becoming first time entrepreneurs.

Beginning a new business in today’s world is even easier than it was ten years ago when I first started. Booming online businesses make up a huge percent of products sold in our world. It’s evident that e-commerce is here to stay.

The beauty of running an online business is that the start up costs are very low – you can even start some businesses without having to come up with any money at all. Young or old, people of all ages can create a business they love from whatever they’re passionate about. Whether it’s selling antique pieces of history, gift ideas or selling services, there’s a niche tailor made for your talents.

So who are these people who are breaking away from their ordinary routines? Who is it that walks away from their cubicles, taking control of their lives?

Many of the people who are first time entrepreneurs are moms. Whether they’re stay at home moms or currently work in an office, mothers make up a large majority of those running Internet businesses. (shocker, right?)

Baby Boomers are also throwing their hats in the ring by using their years of expertise from both life and business to start their own online business. Often, Baby Boomers are the first to get laid off or fired when a company is facing financial stress. But, guess what? They just take those years of experience and apply them to their own new business!

Another segment of the population is military personelle who come home from active duty to a lack of work. Why not turn their experience in management or skilled labor into a business? Why not, indeed!

Changing from a life of active work or being in a social environment for work, to being home all day can be quite an adjustment. Running an online business can make that adjustment a lot easier on the entrepreneur and his or her family.

So, why did you or would you start your own online business?

Tell me in the comments!

So, choosing a business topic is the most important thing you can do. I’ve chosen a few over the years and all of them have been because of my passion for the overall topic, not just because I thought I could make money at it.  Making money is pretty important, but being able to stick to it, and liking what you do everyday is what just might determine how well you do! Check out this article about how to choose business topics that really fit with your passion, your ideals, and your personality.

When you work from home, it’s important to choose a niche that suits your passions.  Working in any niche can be more challenging when you don’t like what you’re doing. But when you love what you’re doing, you wake up in the mornings with the energy and the enthusiasm to get to work.

Take a few minutes and consider which niches might fit with your passions. If you’re not sure what your passions are, imagine you have a whole day to yourself. What do you spend it doing?

Would you spend it perfecting new recipes? Exploring your city? Writing movie reviews? If you’re still having trouble, look at your existing hobbies. What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? What do you spend your money on?

Taking a moment to consider what you love doing will help you decide which business topic might be the best fit for you. Or maybe you recently discovered something else that you’re passionate about.

Now, what do you do? Begin reading and researching. Fully immerse yourself in your chosen business topics.

• Sign up for every email list that you can.
• Spend time browsing websites – both of experts and amateurs alike.
• Browse forums on the topic.
• Check out social groups on Facebook and Linked in (or other social media sites).

You have a list of possible business topics now, don’t you? If so, it’s time to trim that list. Par it down to your top three. These three should be your main choices – the niches you have the most interest in.

Don’t just go by income level (although you should consider that, too). Just remember when your business topics interests you, it shows to your customers and when you’re only in it for the profit you can make, that shows too. Choose a topic that you can earn an income in and gain personal satisfaction from.

Once you know which business topics are right for you, take a minute and ask yourself these questions:

• What’s not being covered?
• Which audiences are being ignored?
• Who are the rising stars on the horizon and how will they change the niche?
• How is that industry changing, or how has it changed recently?

Since you already have an interest in these niches, you’ll be better at getting consumers that other entrepreneurs are missing. It pays off in big ways to know the current issues and events in your niche.

Now that you’ve thought about the business topics that fit your passions, take a few days to research them more. Or, take a week per topic to do your research.

New businesses start and end every day. Why? Because potential business owners don’t do their research!

A quick rout to running a business into the ground is picking a niche that doesn’t have the potential to bring in the profits you need. However, picking your business niche is easier than you think. You just have to do your research.

First, choose a niche that you’re personally interested in. Even if you don’t know much about it yet, you can always learn what you need to know. However, if running a business is too technical for you or you find the topic boring, you’re going to be as happy working on it as you would be getting a tooth pulled.

Don’t you want to be excited to get up and work each day? I know it’s easier to get out of bed each morning knowing I get to do something I love.

Choose a niche that not only interests you, but one that you feel excited about working on. That way, you’ll stay pumped up and eagerly look forward

What are the hot selling items? You don’t have to know this off the top of your head. Look for these top selling items on sites such as Amazon or eBay or other market websites. to growing your business. You can look at the big businesses to get an idea of what to really look for in your own business ideas.

The bestsellers in any category on those sites will tell you what is popular with the people. So for example, if you see that on Amazon, a product sells well enough to be in the top ten, you know you’re onto something. Let’s say one of those products was a brand new fitness gadget and they were selling like hotcakes. You’d find plenty of potential by tapping into that market.

Check your niche’s top products

You’ll want to check out the self-help books to see what’s selling there. Books on depression, weight loss, and relationships always sell well and that’s a clue to let you know that the market is and always will be wide open for self help niches and the products that you can buy dealing with that subject.

If you become an affiliate, you’ll want to pay attention to the dollar amount you’ll earn by becoming an affiliate rather than the percent of commission. You’ll earn more money that way. Look for tangible products for your niche as well. Being an affiliate is an awesome way of running a business and there are many people who make good livings doing only affiliate marketing.

Make sure you don’t make the mistake of setting up a niche based on what’s considered a here today, gone tomorrow item. Remember the Beanie Babies? They were all the rage and people just couldn’t get enough of them. But where are they now? They fell off the scene because they were just a fad.

You want to find a niche that has long term potential, that is evergreen.

So that running a business will keep you excited and making money!

Related articles

• Niche market matters (kickasswebsitecoach.com)

When Chris said he wanted people to check this book out before it goes on sale, I was curious to read it.

All of my businesses started out with less than $100

and in some cases, no real plan. So far, the book is proving to me that I am far from the only one who has done this.  I feel you, my peeps! We are not alone. 

So, today the $100 Startup is on pre-sale and I wanted to give you the chance to get it, along with extras from Chris. 

No, I don’t get anything extra from the sale. But, so far, the book is something I wish I could have written and shared because the stories, examples and case studies I’m reading about are very much how I see America making a comeback. 

Did you start a business for less than $100?

Share it with me in the comments. 

The answer is yes. Personal debt can, at times, be a good thing.

Personal debt is good in an emergency

Access to credit can be invaluable when unexpected expenses show up. For instance, you crash your car and it needs repairs and you just don’t have the cash in the bank, having access to credit cards can make all the difference in the world.  If you get an emergency only credit card, you never have to use it, but its great to have one.

Emergency credit cards don’t have to be used. In fact, you can just keep them in a drawer. But just having them can still be a good thing.

Debt for Professional Development

If going into debt a little bit will help you actually earn money or improve your life, then it might be okay. For example, if you have a series of job interviews lined up, you might want to go and get a high quality suit. This will help you make a better impression.

The suit’s going to cost money, possibly a lot of money – money you don’t have at the moment. You can use credit cards for that. At the end of the day, if you land the job, it would have been worth it.

As a Tool to Launch your Businesses

Did you know that more businesses are launched with a Visa or MasterCard than any other source of financing? That’s right – bank loans, private investments and venture capital don’t come close to the regular household Visa card.  Most people probably won’t actually qualify for a bank loan or even a loan from the Small Business Administration.

My father in law who has run a very successful small business locally for fourteen years, couldn’t qualify for any of the traditional loans. He borrowed money from a family member and used credit cards to get started. In fact, credit cards are still a part of how they can keep cash on hand.

It’s Important to Build Credit

Did you know that lots of things outside of the financial realm require you to have good credit and a good credit history? If you own a car, your insurance rates will depend on your credit rating in addition to the car details and your driving record.

So, even if you don’t consider yourself someone who uses credit cards, it’s a good idea to build up your credit history. Credit history allows you to show a potential creditor how responsible you’ve been with your personal finances.

So, while using cash for most things might seem a good policy, taking on some kind of personal debt is good as long as you are doing it right.  If you have crappy credit, when you go to buy a car, it can cost you thousands of dollars. If you want to buy a house, it will cost you even more.

As you can see, personal debt is not always a bad thing. It can be used to improve your life and actually better your finances.

Personal debt isn’t something to be shunned; it’s something to be used intelligently and sparsely.