In all seriousness, however, there IS money to be made over Internet, and it can be done legitimately.

I've been online working to create wealth from home for close to a year now. I am making money. My business is profitable.

I am not so stupid or arrogant to claim that I know everything, or how to do everything. I'm sure there is more for me to learn, and there will never be an end to that learning.

However, I can tell you that I KNOW now what it takes to succeed. This is not a knowledge gained from reading other's advice, although that helped lead me to it, this is a knowledge gained from practical application and experience.

If there is any one message I could have reach out to everyone involved or even thinking about being involved in online business it would be following:

"Making money on Internet takes time, effort, WORK, a unique, valuable product or a unique presentation of valuable products, commitment, and persistence. However, Potential Rewards are GREATER than anywhere else, especially in regards to what one person can do on his or her own with an incredibly small financial investment."

The sheer volume of information is overwhelming and worst of all, many of "experts" disagree.

Every so often my business will experience a slow down and this week was one of those weeks. I could easily blame holiday or normal summer vacation period, but that wouldn't solve my problem.

I needed to step back and rethink my business plan.

The response for most online business owners is to pick their favorite "guru" or "gurus" and start studying their advice.

That works well for a lot of marketers, but sometimes I like to think outside box. There are some time tested ideas that are universal and will work if applied to any situation.

I studied Ben Franklin's simple system for self-improvement. The system may be simple to develop, but that doesn't mean it's easy to follow.

In his autobiography Franklin talks about his need to constantly monitor himself. Old habits are truly hard to break.

Although Franklin used this system to reshape his personality, it can just as easily be applied to improving your skills as an online entrepreneur.

If you're looking for a quick fix, this isn't for you.

Here's a step by step plan to becoming a more successful entrepreneur.

1. The first step is to pick 13 areas of your skills that need most work.