I don't know about you, but I get dozens of emails daily with completely blank subject lines. The vast majority contain viruses or spam messages, and due to an overloaded inbox and impracticality of going through each message individually, I tend to delete these suspects automatically en masse, in same way that I delete other messages containing subject lines that scream spam.

This practice has in past cost me sales as occasionally I missed important messages from prospects. If a prospect was taking time to email me, they were likely to be very interested in purchasing software - last thing I wanted to do was miss their message when it arrived. Not only did I miss a possible initial sale, it also left them with a bad impression and they would be likely to steer clear of my products in future.

Also, existing customers would sometimes send me emails with a blank subject line requesting support - consequent lack of response at my end because of blank subject line could lead to requests for refunds that could have been avoided had I seen their email and responded in my usual way. This also led to loss of potential future sales of other products that they might have otherwise been interested in.

All in all, important missed emails like this can be very costly.

I have therefore since implemented a very simple strategy on my web site to reduce this risk, and help to ensure that these important messages reach me and actually get opened and responded to in my usual quick way.

I recently received an interesting question from a visitor to one of my web sites: "If there is any advice that you wish you would have gotten before you started a business online, what would it be?". Rather than write an extensive email on this subject, I figured my answer would be of use to many people out there about to embark on what for many could be a life-changing experience.

================================================== It takes a lot more work than much of hype suggests. ==================================================

If you think you can put in a couple hours when you feel like it and achieve any level of success, you have been seriously misled. You need to be prepared to put in some very long hours, and to go through a steep learning curve as you find your way.

Establishing an online business is same as setting up any other sort of business - it takes a lot of hard work and a lot of commitment over a long period of time, with many trials and tribulations along way. Don't expect instant results, nor to sit on beach after a couple of weeks while money flows in - it doesn't happen.

The current success stories on Internet have got there through months, more likely years, of hard work. You should be prepared to do same, and to make whatever sacrifices you may need to make in your current life to do so.

================================================== Don't fear failure - just get started now. ==================================================

Many people do not start something because they are afraid of failure. They are afraid of looking a fool, afraid of their nearest and dearest saying 'I told you so', afraid of wasting time, effort and expense on something that may not work out.

In fact, very nature of question in my opening paragraph above is based on a fear of failure. It is a vain search for that gold nugget of information that will prevent them screwing up.

The truth is that failure should be celebrated, it is a simple milestone on way to success. It is only through failure that you can truly find path to any sort of success, right from when you first learned to walk as a small child. Failure teaches you important lessons that make you wiser and will make your business stronger and far more likely to succeed.

Instead of just giving up when something has failed or not worked out like you expected, there is a really simple question you can ask instead that can lead to great success - "What can I learn from this experience?".

Everyone who has ever achieved success has gone through failure first. The difference is that success stories picked themselves up, learned from experience, and persisted anyway.

For many people, just getting started is often hardest part. They will think about it, think some more, and then think again. Often rather than thinking in a focused way, they will end up procrastinating, and never get off starting line.