My business is centered around software that is dependent on a technology that is slowly going away. I had a nice income stream (customers pay an annual fee), but as my customers drifted to new technologies my base of income eroded. I could see it happening. For years I said "This gravy train isn't going to last forever!" I chose to ignore it. Why? Denial. Although I wasn't consciously aware of it, I took attitude, "I'll worry about it when it happens." Suddenly revenue is alarmingly low, and now I have to deal with it. Had I dealt with it sooner, it would have been much easier to fix.

That's probably good advice as a general rule but it shouldn't be taken literally when it comes to creating an Internet-based business. The Internet is one environment where thinking small generally leads to greater success than thinking big. In fact, thinking big in wrong way can definitely get you nowhere fast!

The temptation when first starting out is to sign up for as many affiliate programs as you can. Somehow, you figure, more programs I have to earn a commission from, more money I will make. All you end up doing in process, however, is diluting your focus with end result being a web site that attempts to be too many things to too many people.

As urgent as it seems to get your web site up and out there and attracting as many people as you possibly can as quickly as you possibly can, smarter approach is to spend considerable time, before you even start, seriously thinking about what it is you want to contribute to Internet and market you want to attract.

Many people, for example, think there's money in "Internet Marketing". There is. But Internet marketing is not an end unto itself. It's a set of skills you need to master once you actually HAVE something to market.

Sure, there's a large army of so-called "gurus" out there who profess to be experts in Internet marketing and have made a tidy sum from people who believe them. But you're not one of them and neither am I. (Neither are they, actually, but that's another story altogether.)

So, when you think about "making money with my computer" or "making money on Internet", understand that there's not some parallel universe out there that will allow you to generate an income simply by connecting to Internet. You have to create something of real value to a very specific audience to get them to visit your site in first place. You have to continually add value to your site to keep them coming back. Only then can you even begin to think about maybe making money.

So, let's start with basics. What is your web site going to be ABOUT? Hopefully you realize now that it's NOT going to be about Internet Marketing. It's going to be about something that you know something about, something you have a special interest in or passion for, an interest or passion that others share and in sufficient numbers that they constitute a good- size target market.