• The first step towards owning and running your own business online is to decide on exactly what type of business you want. Do you already have an idea that you believe in? If so then its time to research your market.

• Will your chosen product/service sell? Begin by looking at your potential competition this will give you a good indication of what works and where you can improve on what’s already being offered.

• A unique selling point will push your business into a profit with the help of any companies’ best friend, effective marketing.

• If you’re at the point of deciding which market you want to enter then, again, research. By keeping an open mind you can (with a little work) find many profitable and relatively untapped markets.

• Begin with niche markets, you can find these in several ways. The easiest way we’ve found is to look at what kinds of groups and hobbies are attracting high volumes of traffic. Google and yahoo both provide good indicators and information on groups; also what’s hot on eBay will give you valuable information which is all free to access.

• Selling information is always a good option. Information in the form of e- books can be produced at low cost and a single product can be sold again and again. Everyone has a skill, interest, or hobby that can be turned into a “how to... guide”

• Now you’ve chosen a business idea and research shows there’s a viable market, the next decision is finance.