What Do These People Want Or Need?

Again, just make hasty notes. What kinds of things would they buy from you?

Later, get serious about this. Check out websites where these people hang out. Read newsletters they like. Follow forums in which they participate. In time, you'll pick up on ideas about products they want. Hopefully you'll discover one or two difficult to find. Ideal candidates for products to offer.

More important, you'll discover more about exactly who these people are. And what makes them tick.

What Interests You?

Remember, we're just brainstorming here. Quickly jot down areas of interest to you.

If there's an area you don't know much about, ask yourself if you'd like to find out more about it. If so, it goes on your list.

Wrapping It All Up With A Bow.

While above is oversimplified, it is a great way to get started. There's no fun in working with people you would rather not be around. There's no profit in offering products people don't want. And you'll go nuts trying to keep up in an area that's of no interest to you.

But with an area of interest (niche), a group of people you enjoy being around (your target), and products these people want, you have a great start.

Note it doesn't cost a dime to come up with good answers to above questions.

Why Do So Many Overlook Such Fundamentals?

I'm not sure. Probably because need just didn't come to mind. I meet a few now and then who continue to persist in making their own rules. But for most part, those I have met having trouble with their business, simply never gave a thought to above.

Is That All There Is To It?

No. There's more. You'll want to be dead certain you can beat competition in your niche. And you need a solid definition of your Perfect Customer. Then a great USP (Universal Selling Proposition). But all this emerges from your answers to questions above.

Beyond this, build a website that offers your products effectively, and you are on your way to success.

Where Can I Find More Details?

Visit my site. Click Topics in navigation bar to left. Then select Getting Started or Niche Marketing or whatever else catches your fancy. There are lots of good articles here by top notch writers. And hundreds of annotated links to other resources out and about Web.

The Way To Go

Get basics clear in your mind. Sift through information available until you have a solid grasp on what you need beyond them. Then build a great site and go all out.

Then there's issue of investing in products or services for your business. Web hosting is a good example; although there are numerous free websites available, that doesn't mean you should use them! 'Free' websites are not actually free; you 'pay' for them by allowing host to place ads on your website. Would YOU trust a company that couldn't even afford to pay a few bucks a month for professional hosting?

On Internet you can do a lot with a limited budget ... but you can't do it all for free. Invest wisely; it will help your business to become profitable more quickly.

__The 'Hobby' Rather than 'Business'__

Building a business on Internet is same as building a business in "real world". It takes commitment. You CAN build a profitable Internet business working part-time (which is how many of us start) ... but there is a world of difference between working on your business "part-time" and working on it in your "spare time".

If you want to become profitable, then commit yourself to it. Be firm! Set a minimum number of hours per week, and then DO IT. Work those hours regardless of whether or not you 'feel like it'. If you have to give up your evening 'TV time' to fit it in, then do so.

Is it possible to make a decent income from home? Sure. People from all walks of life are doing it ... but you can bet that they worked hard to get where they are today! The Internet only offers an *opportunity* to make money from home; YOU have to shape that opportunity into a profitable business. Success is in your hands!