Article Source: Over the past several years, my wife and I have created numerous successful online businesses. I also have extensive experience helping beginners get started with their own online ventures. First, I want to discuss what beginners in an online home business should avoid. Generally, if an offer promises large sums of money with only a few hours of work per week, it’s a scam. If the offer shows you plenty of pictures of fancy cars, vacation spots, and even attractive women, it’s a scam. But most importantly, anything that sounds too good to be true usually means it is. Also, if the offer mentions giving you your own affiliate website, that’s another area to stay away from. If the offer tells you that you get your own online store, this process won’t work either. There are no shortcuts to building a profitable online home business. Again, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. There are no "turnkey" systems you can buy for this process. There are no secrets you can "discover." There’s nothing you can purchase that’s going to give you a very quick and easy online income. An online home business IS a business and requires treating it like one.
The correct ways to build an online business are as follows:
1. First, you must have an idea. You must have some original idea and/or product ... or some unique twist on an existing idea. But most importantly, before you even begin, you must know how to do the proper research to determine if the idea has a chance of success. Often, beginners start a project with an idea that has no possible chance of succeeding. Beginners must be able to determine if the idea is viable before they put any work or money into attempting to build an online business at home. Doing otherwise is a lot like shooting arrows into the dark - maybe you’ll hit something - probably you won’t.
2. You must have a website. For some reason, beginners believe they can get into Internet marketing without a website. That simply isn’t true. 99%, or more, of all people who are having success on the Internet these days have their own websites. I’m not talking about the free sites available. Purchasing your own domain and your own hosting account are basic requirements for online success.
3. Before you even begin the project, you must have in mind how you will drive traffic to your site. There are various ways to do that. You can use SEO, you can use tools like Twitter and Facebook, or maybe you can use AdWords advertising. There are numerous ways to drive traffic. Before you begin, you must have a traffic generation strategy in mind. Far too many beginners drop the ball in this area. Internet marketing and an online business are not "build it and they will come." For success, it is important to understand these basic principles for building a home online business in the beginning.