Starting an online business where you can immediately begin to earn passive income (money earned by you without you doing any manual, physical, or intellectual labor!) while still exploring full-time job opportunities in Corporate America is a completely doable, rewarding, and simple feat.
Starting an online business is easy – if you do it right the first time and if you take your time. And who knows? Maybe you will be like one of the many countless other individuals who come to realize you don’t have to wait for someone else to offer you an opportunity – you can make your own happen.
Instead of spending so much time sharing so much personal information and knowledge on facebook – where other people are thriving and making money off of your use of that platform, start your OWN WEBSITE where you can share your ideas, thoughts, and opinions with others WHILE EARNING AN INCOME.
There are several types of online businesses. But if you are brand new to the behind-the-scenes view of the Internet world, it would be easiest and best to start off with a website that contains blogs, information, and stories about something you know PASSIONATELY, thoroughly, and wholeheartedly. You pick a niche you feel comfortable spending a lot of time exploring, writing about, and informing others about. Don’t pick a topic/product/service/industry JUST BECAUSE you think it is going to be lucrative and popular overnight – pick something you love – and the money will follow. Whether it is photography, wildflowers, horses, woodworking, or sewing – it doesn’t matter. Whatever you are interested in and already know a lot about because you have spent years of your life enjoying, exploring, and participating in the activity – that is what you ought to center your first website around. Everyone has a special gift or interest or talent. Everyone. perhaps your has been fogged over or blocked by distractions in the past, vices, people in your life who didn’t help encourage or inspire you. That doesn’t matter now. YOU KNOW what your interests are – you know others out there in the universe share your interests. It’s time to connect the dots! It’s time to get off the couch and hang up the lounge lizard outfit you’ve been sporting. Let’s get this first website of yours secured TODAY!
I write “first” website because if you are like most people, you have lots of interests. Maybe you like to spend time with your grandkids, maybe you like to hunt, or fish, or play chess, or maybe you enjoy antique cars or bowling. 
You are not alone. As you know when you attend organized events around what you enjoy, there are lots of people there! The important thing is, for your FRIST website, you need to pick ONE topic and stick with it. Exhaust it. Have content on your website that has everything and anything you can think of about that topic.
There are several steps to take when starting an on-line business. I will address them individually in different posts throughout the next few weeks.
For starters, something you can do TODAY – you need to register a domain name and secure a hosting account. Both of these necessary products and services can be done through the same company, or you can use two different companies; obviously, doing everything with one company makes it much simpler for you when it comes time (in a year or two) to renew these accounts (so that you don’t lose your website presence!) Web-hosting and domain registrations are closely related; you generally don’t have a website unless you have a domain name. A domain registration is a “right to use and control” a domain name. Domain registrations are quite simple. They are valid for a period of time and they have some contact information associated with them. Web-Hosting, on the other hand, is a set of services. Web pages can be complex but they don’t have to be. You can have a beautiful website online with just a few categories/pages. But don’t get boggled down in and overwhelmed with having to memorize the difference between these two products/services, there are companies that focus on these and offer 24/7 support and service to help you along your way to creating a successful, informative, lucrative, and fun website!
Once you have decided the area of focus your website is going to encompass, the next step is to think of and secure that domain name. (This is your www.THEnameOFmyONLINEcompany.com name). While you might be skilled at creating bird houses out of trees from your private property, and while you might love the name “www.mourningwoodfarm.com” – that domain name might be taken by someone else already! (I am pretty sure it is!) So, then you have to think of another domain name. Perhaps “www.mourningwoodbirdhouses.com”
When you go to the link below, you can type in your ideas and see if they are available for purchase. Once you have secured a hosting account and purchased a specific domain name, no one else can own it (unless you sell it to them!) Even if you don’t plan on launching your website TODAY because you want to spend some time thinking about what to include on it, gathering photos of your work, and deciding on which categories to include, the most important thing you can do TODAY is to secure that domain name and hosting account.
What needs to be stressed here is that YOU need to click on the link below and YOU need to secure the name YOURSELF. Your domain name and hosting account must be in your name! While there are thousands of individuals, small businesses, and even large corporations out there in the Internet universe who have (mistakenly) hired third party companies (like phone companies and private Internet “marketers”) to “set up” and “secure” their domain names for their companies (because they thought it was too difficult to do themselves or because they didn’t want to be bothered doing it), they then, without truly realizing it or understanding the consequences of it, ultimately “turned over” the key to their online presence to that third party (who now owns their name!) Those “brokers” or in-between companies who want to have you sign up WITH AND THROUGH them are going to charge you a MONTHLY MAINTENANCE FEE (rent!) to allow you to use YOUR WEBSITE – the domain name YOU PICKED!
That is c-r-a-z-y and an unnecessary expense for you!
Even if TODAY you have no clue how to start a website, it’s not as difficult as you think! While it takes time, patience, and concentration – anyone can start their own website and manage it themselves. In fact, some people start their OWN website developing company by first starting their OWN website and then helping others! If you know right now there is no way you want to deal with the behind-the-scenes technical details on your own (not that difficult!) you can always use the free tutorial services available on line, hire someone to help you, or hire someone to get you established (all still while YOU own and have registered your domain name!)
I have several websites. My very first website was established years ago when I took a graduate course in website design. While it is more of an informative, static site, it includes a lot of information for clients wanting to know about my different services. The website you are perusing now is another of my many websites; this one changes on a daily basis – offering different ideas, specials, options, and products for returning clients. The point is, I am a writer – first and foremost! If I can figure out how to set up a website – you can too!
Over the years, I have explored and used several hosting and domain registration companies. One of the ones I enjoy working with (and that I can walk you through) is listed here. Once you have signed up with them (you can start out with the minimum one year service and then renew that in 12 months, additional websites/domain names can then be created by you – immediately -for just $10 each!!!)
There is a ton of information on starting your own online business; this is just step one – securing your domain name. Get this done today before someone else snags your first choice of names!
To start a website, you must first create a hosting account and register a domain name (a “dot.com” name).
Click here to register your new domain name for at least a year!
Let’s get started!
