Not all of these businesses are internet based of course but, if you are doing business on web, then world's your oyster and you can multiply those US numbers many times. It's also worth considering that those numbers represent people who are currently involved in their own homebased business. For each of those who already have their business up and running there will be another 4 or 5 who are "thinking about it" - just looking for right opportunity.

So given huge number of people who want to run their own business, and given phenomenal power of internet as a communications/advertising medium, it's hardly surprising that you are continually presented with business opportunities as you surf net - is it?

Websites, pop-ups and pop-unders advertising your road-to-riches abound - not to mention all those email messages that somehow manage to squirm past your spam filter with monotonous regularity.

Of course, a lot of these so called opportunities are complete nonsense. Some of them are fanciful notions conceived by people with no real idea about business. Some of them are out and out scams. Some are completely illegal. Others are genuine business opportunities which, although they would work well for others, just aren't right for you.