Before the explosive growth of Internet-based home business opportunities, the typical stay at home job involved the person providing a service to the local or regional community. Such a business still required many of the logistical functions of traditional businesses, like stocking inventory, mailing orders, making sales phone calls, etc. And for some, like a landscaping or delivery business, it also required owning vehicles, tools and managing a work force.

While those opportunities still exist today, the increasing use of the internet has also opened another business avenue, the Internet-based stay-at-home business, where the owner never really has to leave the house. Many of the traditional functions mentioned above are no longer required. Material like e-books and software can be delivered to the customer by the click of a mouse. And even "hard" products like bicycles, CDs, DVDs and flowers can be delivered by drop shippers or wholesalers, thus eliminating the need for stocking and shipping. Business can be conducted over the telephone or through emails and the opportunities seem to grow everyday.

Anybody with a computer, or even just access to one, can own an Internet-based home business. Things like running a website, buying merchandise online from others who have a website, and re-selling it to others, has become extremely simple and automated. All these business functions take place online and the business owners never leave the house and neither do those who are doing all the buying. Working at home on the Internet has opened new doors, and opportunities for people who yearn to be a full time entrepreneur, or just to make some extra money!

So what kinds of people are looking for work at home opportunities these days? Traditionally, work from home businesses were often started by an unhappy worker believing they were not getting paid what they were worth or, for one of many reasons, needed to have more time at home. Many people wanted better working hours or hated their boss. But now, more and more Internet entrepreneurs are looking to supplement there full time income. For some, the Internet business will eventually become their full time pursuit as that home based income becomes more stable. Another group of people finding success with the Internet are people without a college degree or without any specific business training. Because of the turnkey and automated nature of many online businesses, functions that in the past required formal training or, at least, a rudimentary understanding of business, have become obsolete.

Today, many stay at home moms and dads are finding businesses that enable them to spend their day working as an affiliate for a larger company in an MLM or network marketing venture. They are working their own convenient hours, and still making enough money pay the bills - and then some. Being able to stay at home to take care of the children or other family member and still feeling productive has made working at home on the Internet an ideal opportunity for many. For others, however, working from home has enabled them successfully satisfy that urge for self-employment that flows through the veins of more and more people, because of the huge success being attained by many Internet entrepreneurs!

If you, like many others, want to make money online, then you have probably already realised that you either need to have a HUGE mailing list or have your own product.

If you are starting out, the chances of you being able to build your own list full of buying customers quickly and cost effectively to see an immediate return are slim. So that leaves you with creating your own product.

Most people will automatically switch off at this point with a feeling of ‘all is lost’. This really doesn’t need to be the case. Creating your own product is easy, quick and very profitable when you know what steps to take.

What do all the 'gurus' have in common? They all have a product to sell. The most popular product online? That's information products. People love to buy information products, it saves them time and effort in researching on an overcluttered net.

So imagine how easy that would be if someone showed you EXACTLY how to pick the right topic, the method for creating products – quickly. How much time and effort would that save you?

For many businesses, both small and large, eBay is the primary source of revenue. By eliminating the costs associated with rent, insurance, electricity and other expenses that would normally be incurred as the result of opening an actual storefront, the appeal of eBay is one of fewer expenditures and more profit. But, what happens when a business desires to move forward and attract even more customers or simply finds that eBay has run it’s course and is no longer a profitable venture? In this article, you will come to learn some options that will help to make your next step after eBay a successful leap into business wealth.

After having sold on eBay for a considerable amount of time, many business owners build a strong customer base. If you are considering leaving the auctions behind, take the time to promote your new venture to current customers. This means including a business card or other free promotional item in each eBay shipment that you send in an effort to let shoppers know where they can find your product(s) in the future.

If you are a jewelry or clothing designer, or any other type of inventor, consider marketing your product to retailers. If you already have loyal customers, they will help to make this venture successful by purchasing your items wherever they are available.

For those who still desire the world of auctions, but simply wish to branch out beyond the world of eBay, there are several other options. Popular online sites uBid and Bidz allow businesses to list and sell products via their website in exchange for a fee. With a large presence, both of these companies stand to add considerably to any business’s bottom line.

If your desire has always been to open an actual storefront and you understand all of the expenses involved, perhaps eBay has served as a stepping stone to help you save the cash needed to launch your local business venture. If that’s the case, go for it. All new businesses need publicity and it will benefit you greatly to take advantage of as much free or low cost promotion as you possibly can. This includes distributing press releases to local newspapers and magazines, hosting contests, giving away free prizes via local radio stations, promoting discounts and special sales to entice potential customers into your store, etc.

Because the internet is a haven for buyers and sellers alike, every business needs a website. If you have been participating in eBay auctions as a seller and do not already have a website, this may be the next viable step for you to take. This is a very affordable approach to reaching a world of potential customers with very little out-of-pocket expense. Internet promotion can be done by distributing press releases to online websites specifically designed for news distribution, local and/or national media or with the help of a mailing list.

Whether you are leaving the auctions behind or simply looking for a way to attract new buyers, there is a whole world of customers out there just waiting to be discovered. If you are able to tap into a successful market, your next step after eBay will be a big one.

Just the other day I was asked by a family why I spend so many hours on my website and now my blog. At first I was sort of offended by the question. But the longer I thought about it the more it made me realize why I am so passionate about what I do.

I later shared with my wife the details of the thought process I had gone through after being asked that question and I explained to her that few people do what they do for a living because they are passionate about it. When I get an idea for reaching out to more people and improving the quality of their lives through my site I can't wait to sit down at my computer and make it happen.

As she listened intently I reminded her of a movie we had watched with our kids called "Facing the Giants" in which a football coach at a Christian high school was facing tremendous pressure internally as well as externally as a result of his teams inability to put together a winning season during the previous 6 years. Many of the parents wanted the guy tossed out.

One night as he is leaving the school building he overhears the comments of parents who have called a meeting specifically to discuss how they should get rid of the coach and bring in someone new. Well, as you can imagine this guy was shocked and went home extremely discouraged. He spends the night beating himself up over the matter. As his wife wakes up in the middle of the night to find him in this state of mind she reminds him that he simply needs to put his faith in God.

Well, that morning he is seen walking in an open field with Bible in hand and praying to God. What this coach did not realize was that there was an older gentleman who had spent years walking the halls of the school and praying for all the students and teachers. Later that day this gentleman walks into the coach's office and tells him a story about 2 landowners who had been praying for rain because there had been a drought in the area for years. One finally decides that he is going to go out into his field and sow his seed even though there was no visible sign of rain. The gentlemen then asks the coach, "which man do you think received the rain?", to which the coach replies "the one who went out and planted seed in preparation for the rain".

I share this story with you today to ask you, "what is your motivation?". Are you willing to go out everyday and sow seed in your field in preparation for the rain? Unless you're living out in death valley at some point you will get some rain.

In this business called internet marketing, online marketing, blogging, e-commerce or whatever you want to call it, you will go through a period where it seems that all your work is for nothing. You have to know that if you are putting into place all the required elements for a successful business that you are actually "getting your field ready for the rain". When the rain comes you will be ready to reap a bountiful harvest.

Everyday I go out into my field and pull weeds and plant more seed. I don't worry about seeing immediate results. If making money is your only motivation then you'll soon be frustrated and quit. You should be working your blog or website because you enjoy it. You have to be driven by something much deeper. The money is just the frosting on the cake. My cake is that I get to communicate with people that I would otherwise have never met and I get the chance to help them live out their dream with my tips and encouragement. I help them become more satisfied individuals. Thats my passion. That's my motivation.

Here are just a few of the many things you can do in order to make money with your website.

1. Put Google Adsense ads on your site: Google is not just an awesome search engine, it is an advertising monster. Google has a very popular advertising program called ‘Google Adsense’. The way it works is you sign up for an account, select the layout, size etc. of the ads you would like to display on your site and paste a simple code that they provide to you on your site. This code will display ads on your site that will be relevant to your sites topic. Every time your site visitors click on the ads you get paid.

2. Promote Affiliate Links: There are millions of companies out there that have a product or service to sell. Most them are smart and realize that other people will promote their product or service for them if they can get a cut of the profits. That is why most big companies have affiliate programs. To get started, just find a product you would like to promote and see if they have an affiliate program. If they don’t just keep looking, they are not hard to find. You just sign up and they will provide you with a unique link that you can post to your website. You will earn a certain percentage of each sell through your link.

3. Sell Advertising Space: One of the biggest factors that the search engines factor into their algorithms in order to determine any given pages quality is the number of quality links pointing to their site. This is why it can be very valuable to sell advertising space on your website. Whether you get a lot of traffic or not, many webmasters may be interested in purchasing a small spot on your site to display their text-link or banner. To do this, just do some searches on Google for ‘link broker’. There are several services out there that unit link buyers and sellers.

As I stated above, these are only a few of the many ways in which one can start making money with a website. Look into these techniques further, take action and stick with it and I am confident that you can be making money with your website as soon as today.