You have to be very careful on Internet. There are many legitimate deals, but there are many unethical people also. Don't be misled by anything that guarantees riches for very little work. If you have a good product and market it well, you can make an excellent income and maybe even become wealthy.

When you first get interested in an opportunity however, before you go "gung-ho", step back a bit and take a hard look at it. There are danger signs that some have, and if you see them, it is possible you should simply walk on by.

Probably number one danger sign is promise of huge wealth in a short period of time with no effort on your part. Commonly called "illegal pyramids" or possibly a "ponzi", many are a money making system that create income from getting people involved in business, and not selling a real product or service. Or they may sell an inferior product at an inflated price with majority of purchase price being distributed as commissions. Like chain letters, they rely on a constant infusion of funds by new entrants to pay old. But, like musical chairs, when music stops, someone can't sit down.

Another serious danger sign is lack of contact information. If all you have is a form to fill out on a web site, and no contact methods, this should definitely be avoided. A legitimate company will give a physical address, a phone number, and have an email address you can write to.

Although he has no plans to give up his career, and lose his accrued pension rights, Internet provides a very useful top-up to his regular income, and is preparing way for a lucrative and exciting future.

BizE-zine: Jim, when did you first get involved with Internet?

JW: About 1994 I got into old Bulletin Boards. In 1995, through AOL, I got hooked on meeting people and chatting. Sharing emails with family and friends became a daily event.

It wasn't until 1997 that I realized, since I love being online so much, I might be able to make money online.

BizE-zine: How did your online business come to be?

JW: In 1999 I discovered EBay(TM). Around that same time I met a man called Leo Richardson, a well established EBay(TM) seller. I emailed him and asked about his products. Luckily for me, he answered and we became friends.

Leo literally taught me everything I know about marketing on EBay(TM). He left Ebay(TM) in early 2000 to work for a software company, but I had caught bug! I kept learning from everywhere I could - to enhance my skills as a salesman and a webmaster.

I have come to conclusion that you literally never stop learning in life. Whether in my 'regular job' or online, I am always finding out new things. It keeps it interesting. Now I can help other folks out by answering their questions, like Leo did for me. As my credibility grows, so do my sales - it is a win-win situation!

BizE-zine: What % of your income now comes from Internet?

JW: About 25%. And that's only part time. I post ads on EBay(TM) when I want to, and search for products to sell when I have time. All told I put about 20 hours per week into my online business. Many of my online endeavors are now fully on "auto pilot". I simply place a couple of ads and they do all of work for me.

Every time I check my email there is another sale from one of my sites. I think that this is mark that I must be doing something right.

Not all that long ago I wasn't making all that many sales. I could have easily given up, but this online thing is something I truly love. I have met so many great people doing this, when I really think about it, I would have never given it up. I would miss it and them too much. Making money is like icing on a very sweet cake!

BizE-zine: How long did it take you to start making a profit?

JW: Now this is really going to surprise some people. I made a huge profit my second month on EBay(TM). I found some software that was collectable and in demand. I bought 200 of them at $6.00 each. I sold all of them in only about 3 months and going rate was about $60.00 each! The title was, "The Neverhood". I was able to send those wonderful proggies all over world.

This one experience gave me a lot of knowledge. I had to deal with one stolen credit card, a couple of bad checks, sending through customs, and trying all while to find other things to sell.

Finding those was a VERY lucky break but I did it. And if I can find something of value like that, anyone else can too. Since then there have been some lean months (those in which I was really getting frustrated because as much as I thought I knew, I was still learning things) and there were some incredible months.

In end I made money, kept learning, kept expanding on what I sold, and constantly tried to think of new things to sell, new services to provide, and tried to find new suppliers.

BizE-zine: Have you bought any ebooks or courses on online marketing, and if so, which was best for you?

JW: In years I have been doing this I have read so many Ebooks and have such a large number on my HDD, it's pathetic. There are a couple that end up sticking out as ones I still, to this day, pull out and re-read in order to make sense of things. One great one is Robbin Tungett's "Auction Profits". She really hit a homer with that one.

Another hidden jewel is titled "65 Instant Web Answers" by a lady called Milana Nastetskaya. She tells people exactly how they can build a winning web site on their own without paying someone else thousands to do it for them. In my opinion, it's a must read.

My favorite is Allen Say's "Instant Cash Machines". To this day I go to Internet Warrior's site and open this one to get ideas and to refresh my memory.

I want to add that I also subscribe to several great e-zines from which I also learn a great deal. I would urge people that, as you are searching net for this and that, if you come across a site that really catches your attention, chances are that webmaster knows what they are doing. Subscribing to their e-zine is like allowing them to teach you.

BizE-zine: What has been your most successful tactic for generating traffic?

JW: E-zine ads, by far. A good e-zine ad will really go a long way. By good, I mean an ad for a product with mass appeal in an e-zine with large true optin subscriber numbers that brings lots of quality visitors to your site.