There are loads of opportunities available -- those you can 'join', and those you create for yourself. And although scams appear to be everywhere you look, legitimate opportunities can be found, too.

Here's another example. An affiliate program is where you sell another company's products or services in return for a commission. Now I know from personal experience that most affiliate programs are not scams. Heck, I was able to quit my corporate job because of my success with them!

That's not to say that I succeeded with all of them. There were plenty of programs I joined where I didn't make a single thin dime (or, in some cases, that's ALL I made!). Does that make them a scam? No. It took time, effort, and experimentation before I found affiliate programs that my audience appreciated.

Healthy skepticism is great, even necessary, when searching Internet for a way to work from home. At same time, don't sabotage yourself by putting on blinders and assuming that everything you run across is a scam.

Learn tell-tale signs of a scam so that you can protect yourself. Do your research. And don't be afraid to ask questions, lots of them if necessary! It may take you 1 attempt or 20 attempts to find business that's right for you. Can't find an opportunity that suits you? Create one. Opportunity is everywhere!

"You are never given a dream without also being given power to make it true." (Richard Bach)

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Angela is the editor of Online Business Basics, a practical guide on building a money-making Internet business on a beginner's budget. Packed with instantly usable tips, it's the ultimate guide for beginners! Click here for details: http://onlinebusinessbasics.com/article.html

= Autoresponders. These excellent tools help to automate customer follow-ups (you *do* follow up with your prospects, right?) and other tasks, such as mailing out articles or reports to visitors who request them. They typically run about $20/month... but WorkYourLeads offers unlimited autoresponders for $10/month, http://buildyourhomebiz.com/automate.html . Other good choices are GetResponse, http://getresponse.com/ , and AWeber, http://www.aweber.com/ .

= List hosts. You may already know that capturing your prospect's email address is one of most important things you can do -- it gives you ability to build a credible and trusting business 'relationship' with them, and you'll be able to market to them repeatedly. Many Internet businesses offer a newsletter to keep in touch with their customers. To deliver your newsletter you can use either an autoresponder (see above) or a list manager. Two popular list hosts are Yahoo Groups, http://groups.yahoo.com/, which is currently free; and Topica, http://www.topica.com/ .

Note that free tools aren't necessarily either best or worst choice, and they're not guaranteed to be free forever. Please don't use price as your only criteria.

And finally, don't forget about investing in two more vital keys to success: education (for example, copywriting manuals, Internet marketing courses, etc) and marketing. All of best tools in world won't do you any good unless you can get interested prospects to visit your site and make a purchase.

The old saying, 'You have to spend money to make money' is true of businesses everywhere... and that includes Internet. Fortunately, starting a business online can be very affordable, even for 'average' person.