By Gerald Shaw
[November 1st, 2000]

See Also   Why You Need an Add URL Page   A Tale Of Two Sites   Don't Duplicate...Differentiate!   The Continuing Battle Against Online Fraud   Taking Care of the Pennies   How To Recession-Proof Your Business   Your Fulfillment Choices   The Silent Thief - How to Get Rid of TopText   A Checklist for Accepting Credit Cards Online   Five Questions That Will Help YOU Succeed Online   Back To "E" Basics   Beyond SET: Enhanced Security for Online Transactions   Just How Serious is Online Fraud?   Your Direct Channel to Customer Service   Online Customer Service: Best (and Worst) Practices   How to Survive the Dot.Com Shakeout   Step-by-Step to Your Own Profitable Web Business   Where Do Average People Find Business Success?   What's REALLY Required To Start An Online Home Business?   CRM in SmallBiz: Disappointing Misconceptions

Everywhere I turn on the Internet, there's someone trying to sell me something.

People are being suckered into spending literally thousands of dollars on info products, unnecessary software and "killer marketing tools" that will supposedly increase your online revenue.

Unfortunately, 95% of Internet businesses fail within the first year due to their misinformed marketing advice, strategies, and lack of directional support.

Here it is... once and for all, the REAL list of Internet essentials. What you TRULY need in order to succeed online with the minimum of investment.

1) Desire. It starts with the goal in mind which pumps adrenaline around your body every time you visage what the future has in store for you. Every time you think about success, you need to KNOW that you have the ability to achieve it. And you will.

2) Motivation. You have the goal, but what about the drive? Where's the tenacity to keep you going? Keep 100% dedicated at all times. Whenever you have a lazy moment, you need to visualize your goals in order to stay on track and not drift off course.

3) Time. Lots of it. If you're under the false illusion that just an hour a day will be enough to turn your dreams into a reality, then you're going to be waiting a heck of a long time to achieve them. I've worked from 6am till 11pm many times dedicating myself to the Internet... this is not "get rich quick". Only effort produces success.

4) Your own PC computer system (or equivalent) connected to the Internet. You need to have access to a phone line at all times so you can dial-up and do some work online whenever you need to.

Keep one machine just for work, and try not to let your friends or children use it for other purposes. After all, it's your business machine and the data you have on it will be very important.

5) Knowledge. I'm not talking about an academic education, I'm talking about real-world business knowledge that you can put to use. Do you know how to register your business? How about dealing with tax issues and book keeping? And how much do you actually know about the Internet?

Do you know how it works... how to develop your own Website... how to automate your online income... how to market your products/services effectively?

This can be scary for the average person.

I made the mistake of putting my impatience before my research and making a pigs-ear of myself when I realized I knew nothing about accounting or keeping business records. Don't make the same mistake.

6) A definite plan. Many people just have money on their mind and think constantly cycling through affiliate programs and other opportunities will produce success for them. I can tell you from experience that only the people with sure-fire plans ever succeed.

After all, how can you end up where you want to be if you don't even know how you're going to get there?

Six more tips to help you build a successful e-business