Take note. If you're set on making a living online, absolute best piece of advice I could offer you is to get real. What I mean by that is focus on starting a real legitimate, ethical online business. Joining or working a "program" isn't a business. A specific opporunityor opportunities though, may be operated as part of a business. There is a difference.

The allure of easy profits and get-rich-quick schemes and glut of fly-by-night gimmicks can cause can cause you to fail miserably. From experience, I can tell you that many of them sound so good that we want them to be true. And, no doubt, that's why many people, including me, have, at some point, fallen for them.

Many of us have experienced frustration that comes from not reaching our objectives.If you are currently in that situation, try and turn your frustration into increased drive to succeed and, in order to succeed way you want, take stock of your situation in terms of, "Have you built a proper foundation or platform that will give your efforts virtual certainty of success if you stay course and do actual work that is required?"

You can save yourself major headaches, time, money and frustration by making sure you construct your platform with these basic proven-that-it-works elements:

Your own domain name Your own Web hosting account Your ownWebsite Ad free autoresponder Autorespoder campaign series E-mail capture/signup to build your own list Your own ezine List builder campaign (pay-per-subscriber) and/or other methods Article(s) written by you Program/Service to submit your article(s) Several (3-10) reputable affiliate or networking programs

In addition, it just makes good economic sense to have one or more of your affiliate or networking programs paying on a multi-tiered monthly residual basis as opposed to a one time only sale commission.

Can most or all of these elements be found all organized for you in one or two places, including your own pre-written ezine? I know and use one, no doubt there are others. A search engine query may reveal more. Even if you must assemble all of basics one-by-one on your own, once you build your success platform and do work, you will be on your way to turning frustration into dollars in bank!

---------------------------------------- C.C. Collins publishes "Profit Machine Owner's Manual:Home Business Tips", a newsletter providing information dedicated to supporting people like YOU! Looking for *best* rated home business opportunities?, latest time saving tools? Get helpful support from an honest friend in business.Grab a F-R-E-E subscription today at: http://www.profitmachine4u.com ----------------------------------------

2. Don't Be Naive

So many people in business get burned by their customers simply because they are too trusting. For example, some of you may have shipped products before customers' payments cleared. Or you may have completed agreed upon work without asking for a deposit. Both are risky propositions as many new entrepreneurs discover hard way, especially if they do business online.

You can protect yourself by always asking for a partial payment in advance and by always waiting until a customer's payment has cleared before you ship their products. Another method of protecting yourself and your customer is by using a service such as Paypal.com to handle your transactions. The service protects you from non-paying customers and offers your customers protection for lost, damaged, or unshipped products.

3. Know Your Local Laws

One of best ways to protect yourself is by becoming informed. When you know your legal rights, you'll have a better understanding of how to effectively deal with troublesome customers.

For example, some states don't allow you to limit a customer's right to return a product beyond a certain time limit, so you may not legally be able to enforce a guarantee of only one week. On other hand, if you know your rights, then you'll also understand what steps to take in case legal action on your part is necessary.

For instance, you may want to send a certified letter demanding payment before you file a lawsuit. Additionally, if you appear knowledgeable about your rights, many customers might think twice before failing to pay or committing fraud.

The bottom line is that you deserve to be protected just as much as your customers. A few advance precautions now can ensure that you'll have a long and satisfying business relationship with your customers.