Top 10 Internet Home Business Ideas You Can Start and Run in Your Underwear

With over 300,000 “Internet Home Business” related searches on the internet every month, it’s safe to say that there is a lot of demand for information on how to make money on the internet. Sadly, this also means that there are a lot of shady characters preying on this group of people.
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10 More Work at Home Internet Business Ideas You Can Do in Your Fuzzy
Bunny Slippers


I knew someone who fell for one of these once - they taught him how to make money online, and then all he did was sell seminars - on how to make money online. The fact that he had never actually made any money online was beside the point… I guess. Not surprisingly, I’m not a big supporter of his business.

Can anyone make money online? I do believe so. But not everyone WILL make money online, because as I have said before, making money on the internet takes a long time to learn, and most people give up because it can be extremely frustrating.

My one piece of advice for starting an internet home business is this :: Don’t expect to make any real money for 365 days (or so!) . Although I will add that service-based businesses tend to bring in revenue faster, I would still allow for a full year to replace your outside-the-home salary.

The good news about this industry is that as long as you are willing to put in the hours (days… weeks…. months….. ) to learn the ropes, you can bootstrap your business with extremely little money, generally speaking. Some businesses take more to start than others. I’ve probably directly invested less than $3000 getting this blog up and running, and now revenue is increasing at about a 125-140% pace every month after being in business for 16 months.

So, where do you start from here? Some general rules of thumb:
Pre-packaged programs only work as much as you can customize it and make it unique and your own. Even then, techniques that work for one niche won’t work in all niches.
Be wary of any “system” that promises instant results (especially anything that sounds like a get-rich-quick scheme!)
Knowing the basics of html, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), social media, website marketing and traditional marketing and sales are a must.
Every business is made stronger by specializing in a tight niche. Know your audience and stick to it.

Unless you have a brilliant tech idea that makes venture capitalists drool, you need to determine where your strengths are and which business model you plan on following (and you don’t need this list). I have run three home-based businesses in my life, all of which leveraged my current skill set as the foundation for building the business.

Look over the following list and single out the ones in which you have at least some experience. You probably won’t have all of the skills necessary, so don’t let that stop you! All you have to do is work hard and be willing to learn.


Affiliate Marketing

What is it? :: Promote other company’s products and services on your website. When a sale is made, you get a commission.
Most important skills needed :: PPC (Pay Per Click marketing), sales copywriting, web marketing
Best learning resources :: ReveNews, ABestWeb Forum, ShoeMoney, Rosalind Gardner, Affiliate Classroom
Recommended Book :: Make a Fortune Promoting Other People’s Stuff Online by Rosalind Gardner
Blogging

What is it? :: A chronologically based website filled with articles, reviews, or journal-style writing. You can sell advertising or incorporate affiliate marketing on a blog to earn money.
Most important skills needed :: Copywriting, social networking, affiliate marketing, web marketing
Best learning resources :: ProBlogger, JohnChow, DoshDosh
Recommended Book :: ProBlogger, Secrets to Blogging Your Way to a Six Figure Income by Darren Rowse & Chris Garrett
eBay & Auction Selling

What is it? :: Selling or reselling products via an online marketplace like Ebay, Amazon Auctions, or Craigslist. You can sell used goods, buy goods wholesale, or use a drop-shipping service.
Most important skills needed :: Merchandising, sales copywriting, customer service
Best learning resources :: Our very own eBay Selling for eParents, Ebay Learning Center, SaleHoo Training Center, JennyHow
Recommended Book :: eBay 101: Selling on eBay For Part-time or Full-time Income, Beginner to PowerSeller in 90 Days by Steve Weber
E-Commerce

What is it? :: Selling products or a technology-based service on your own website.
Most important skills needed :: All of the above, below and then some!
Best learning resources :: Entrepreneur.com’s Online Business Startup Guide
Recommended Book :: The Complete E-Commerce Book: Design, Build and Maintain a Successful Web-Based Business by Janice Reynolds
Arts & Crafts

What is it? :: Creating and manufacturing your own product lines and selling them online.
Most important skills needed :: Creativity, sales, e-commerce
Best learning resources :: eMoms’ CraftBoom, About.com Craft Business 101 Series, Barbara Brabec
Recommended Book :: The Crafts Business Answer Book: Starting, Managing, and Marketing a Homebased Arts, Crafts, or Design Business by Barbara Brabec
Internet Research Business

What is it? :: Doing internet research for corporations, law firms and other small businesses.
Most important skills needed :: Librarian-style research skills, customer service
Best learning resources :: Entrepreneur.com’s Information Consultant Startup Guide
Recommended Book :: Building & Running a Successful Research Business: A Guide for the Independent Information Professional by Mary Ellen Bates
Freelance Services

What is it? :: Providing professional services such as copywriting, design, photography, illustration, and programming usually billed on an hourly rate.
Most important skills needed :: Sales, customer service, trade-specific knowledge
Best learning resources :: Our Freelance Parent channel, FreelanceSwitch
Recommended Book :: The Business Side of Creativity: The Complete Guide to Running a Small Graphic Design or Communications Business by Cameron S. Foote
Recruiting

What is it? :: Recruiting candidates for companies who pay a fee when a hire is made.
Most important skills needed :: Sales, relationship building, networking
Best learning resources :: RecruitersNetwork, HireAbility
Recommended Book :: Start Your Own Executive Recruiting Business (Entrepreneur Magazine’s Start Up) by Entrepreneur Press
Consulting

What is it? :: Providing your specialized industry knowledge to corporations, entrepreneurs, investors or other businesses.
Most important skills needed :: Trade-specific knowledge, sales, customer service
Best learning resources :: Entrepreneur.com’s Consulting Business Startup Guide
Recommended Book :: The Business of Consulting: The Basics and Beyond (CD-ROM Included) by Elaine Biech
VA (Virtual Assistant)

What is it? :: Providing administrative and business support to other business owners and small businesses.
Most important skills needed :: Customer service, organization
Best learning resources :: VirtualAssistantStartups, Entrepreneur.com’s Business Support Startup Guide, VirtualPABusiness
Recommended Book :: The 2-Second Commute: Join the Exploding Ranks of Freelance Virtual Assistants by Christine Durst

If you want tips and ideas on how to promote and market these ten internet home businesses, check out Susan Payton’s companion article on Marketing Your Internet Business. For more home business ideas, check out 10 More Work at Home Internet Business Ideas You Can Do in Your Fuzzy Bunny Slippers.
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Do You Back Up? How to Hack Proof Your Site.

How often do you drive your car in reverse?

Kidding. I’m talking about your website. Christmas Eve I was greeted with a phone call from one of the partners telling me one of our more popular sites got hacked. Sure enough I visited the site and was greeted with a windows-explorer style menu system that let any visitor to the domain browse our server hierarchy, upload and download, delete, and rename files.

After about an hour I was able to spot an edit that had been made in our database that was causing the issues. Luckily, everything on all our sites/servers is backed up every single day so restoring was a snap. I took the time to do a few other helpful fixes, and we were back up and running. My best advice for hack proofing your site is this:
back up regularly.

Not exactly tackling the problem head on, but in my experience a good backup system can prevent excess downtime, give you the time to fix exploits (which are usually well documented, robotic hacks that aren’t that difficult to fix) and get you back on your way. No system is completely hack proof. Look at SSL which just last week was totally cracked. It’s best to do what you can upfront, but I’d divert more resources into creating a solid backup system over a million security product any day. For more proof, check out how this six year old web company was wiped out this week by a disgruntled employee. A security plan and backup routine can make a world of difference in your long term success.

Some helpful tips for Wordpress powered sites:
rename your tables to start with a prefix other than wp_ (update in your wp-config.php)
change your admin username to something unique
log traffic and block suspicious IP’s
don’t leave files writable unless you’re working with them
consider this plugin for extra security help

Hope everyone had a great holiday season! We have some exciting things planned for the coming year.