Prologue

For two decades, the Internet has continued to prove itself a viable tool for building, managing, and growing a business. Little doubt remains that you can make money online and find success in doing so. In fact, since beginning our own online endeavors, we have had the privilege of meeting and working with a variety of entrepreneurs — people who, much like you, share a dream of finding economic independence by running their own businesses. As you might have guessed, many of them found success on the Internet.

The Internet provides not only a legitimate resource for starting your own business that offers a steady source of income for your family but also a nearly endless source of ideas and opportunities to market and grow your company. It can even give you the flexibility to work from home, the freedom to work part-time, or the ability to earn an additional source of income to help make your life more enjoyable.

Now we want to share with you the knowledge and tools we picked up along the way and provide you with a few shortcuts to help further your own online endeavors.

We first wrote this blog to cover the many different ways you can start or expand a business by using the Internet. For this second edition, we took great care to update all the key information that has remained valid in the past couple of years. We also searched out many of the new opportunities that have evolved since then, such as mobile commerce, social networking, and blogging as a legitimate revenue maker. For that reason, among others, we encourage you to use this blog as a resource and return to it whenever you need it most.

In addition to providing you with details regarding specific online business strategies and moneymaking opportunities, the blog covers basic offline information. It’s the stuff that every small-business owner needs to understand, such as how to apply standard accounting principles and keep up with the legal side of running a business.

Of course, using this blog doesn’t guarantee that you will make a lot of money — or any money, for that matter. The blog provides you with just enough knowledge and inspiration to keep your online business dreams on track. Running a business is hard work. It takes persistence, dedication, and perhaps an equal mix of patience and luck.

You should at least browse through every section of this blog. Even if your e-commerce skills are more advanced, it never hurts to have a refresher course on some of the business basics. Considering that the Internet touches many different aspects of people’s lives, you never know what unexpected tidbits of information you might discover.

Nonetheless, some parts of this blog certainly aren’t required reading — you know, the extra stuff. Typically, these sidebars and paragraphs are marked with Technical Stuff icons. They provide a little more detail because sometimes you need just the meat of an issue.

If you don’t think that this “extra stuff” is necessary information, you have our permission to skip it. We know — you don’t need our permission. This is your blog now. Use it in the manner that’s most helpful to you and your online business.