2nd Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by a total of 7,546,744 people from around the globe.
* From the moment you enter the World you’ll discover a vast digital continent, teeming with people, entertainment, experiences and opportunity. Once you’ve explored a bit, perhaps you’ll find a perfect parcel of land to build your house or business.
* You’ll also be surrounded by the Creations of your fellow residents. Because residents retain the rights to their digital creations, they can buy, sell and trade with other residents.
* The Marketplace currently supports millions of US dollars in monthly transactions. This commerce is handled with the in-world unit-of-trade, the Linden dollar, which can be converted to US dollars at several thriving online Linden Dollar exchanges.
Our interest in second life is the business opportunity
The Marketplace
Make real money in a virtual world. That’s right, real money.
Here’s how it works:
* Second Life has a fully-integrated economy architected to reward risk, innovation, and craftsmanship.
* Residents create their own virtual goods and services. Because residents retain the IP rights of their creations, they are able to sell them at various in-world venues.
* Businesses succeed by the ingenuity, artistic ability, entrepreneurial acumen, and good reputation of their owners.
* Residents who have amassed lots of Linden Dollars are matched with residents who want to buy Linden Dollars at LindeX (our official Linden Dollar exchange), or at other unaffiliated third-party exchanges.
* Second Life’s real estate market provides opportunities for Residents to establish their own communities and business locations. See Land Pricing & Use Fees for details.
There are as many opportunities for innovation and profit in Second Life as in the Real World.
Open a nightclub, sell jewelry, become a land speculator; the choice is yours to make. Thousands of residents are making part or all of their real life income from their Second Life Businesses.
By way of example, here are just a few in-world business occupations which Residents founded and currently run, and make part or all of their real life living from. Try searching for these categories via the in-world Find menu:
* party and wedding planner
* pet manufacturer
* casino operator
* tattooist
* nightclub owner
* automotive manufacturer
* fashion designer
* aerospace engineer
* custom avatar designer
* jewelry maker
* architect
* XML coder
* freelance scripter
* game developer
* fine artist
* machinima set designer
* tour guide
* dancer
* musician
* custom animation creator
* lottery operator
* theme park developer
* real estate speculator
* vacation resort owner
* advertiser
* bodyguard
* magazine
* publisher
* private detective
* writer
* gamer
* landscaper
* publicist
* special effects designer
* gunsmith
* hug maker
Sep 19, 2008
Transforming Your Hobby Into an Online Income Stream
No matter what you do in this world, you can start an online business with it. When we say no matter what, we mean everything, without exceptions. If you are a typist, you can start an online-based business providing a typing service; If you laugh a lot or make people laugh or you are an entertainer, you can start an online-based business that gives tips and tricks of laughing, or how one can succeed by laughing etc. You can also advertise your offline services online, remember you will have a wider reach. If you have a yard full of flowers, you can make good extra money by supplying fresh cut flowers, to buyers who indicate interest in your online advertisement. You might turn a hobby into a lucrative online business, no matter what your hobby is. What we are saying is that in reality, there’s literally no end to the ways you can start and operate a profitable extra income online based business.
What determines your success is the packaging, and the concept behind it, the uniqueness or the distinguishing factor. It is told that a woman became a millionaire selling a book “1000 things Men know about Women”. Yet the book was totally blank, just a paper back without any words written in the book. The concept being that Men know nothing about women. Buyers of the blank book even went ahead to recommend the book to others.
The first thing you must do, however, is some basic market research. Find out for yourself, first-hand, just how many people there are already offering the kind of thing you intend to offer. The main aim of this is for you to be able to know how far they have gone, so that you will be able to package better. It is of no use bringing black and white TV’s in the market today when people now only consider Flat color TV’s.
You also need to define who your target customers are. Are you selling to children? or to Youths? or to Married Men? or to Married women? or to very old people? or are you selling to the general public? This will also help you in the packaging, because, the things that will appeal to the different groups differ.
You must then have a detailed business plan. It is very important that your plan is detailed covering all the basics relating to how you’ll do everything that needs to be done. This will make starting up easier for you making your business most successful. Such a plan should show your start-up investment needs, your advertising plan, your production costs and procedures, your sales program, and how your time will be allocated, it has to show everything that is needed to make the program a success. Too often, enthusiastic and ambitious entrepreneurs jump in on an extra income project and suddenly find that the costs are beyond their abilities, and the time requirement is more than they can meet. It pays to lay it all out on paper before you get involved, and the clearer you can “see” everything before you start, the better your chances for success.
Now, assuming you’ve got your market targeted, you know who your customers are going to be and how you’re going to reach them with your product or service. And you have all your costs as well as time requirements itemized. The next step is to set your plan in motion and start making money.
What determines your success is the packaging, and the concept behind it, the uniqueness or the distinguishing factor. It is told that a woman became a millionaire selling a book “1000 things Men know about Women”. Yet the book was totally blank, just a paper back without any words written in the book. The concept being that Men know nothing about women. Buyers of the blank book even went ahead to recommend the book to others.
The first thing you must do, however, is some basic market research. Find out for yourself, first-hand, just how many people there are already offering the kind of thing you intend to offer. The main aim of this is for you to be able to know how far they have gone, so that you will be able to package better. It is of no use bringing black and white TV’s in the market today when people now only consider Flat color TV’s.
You also need to define who your target customers are. Are you selling to children? or to Youths? or to Married Men? or to Married women? or to very old people? or are you selling to the general public? This will also help you in the packaging, because, the things that will appeal to the different groups differ.
You must then have a detailed business plan. It is very important that your plan is detailed covering all the basics relating to how you’ll do everything that needs to be done. This will make starting up easier for you making your business most successful. Such a plan should show your start-up investment needs, your advertising plan, your production costs and procedures, your sales program, and how your time will be allocated, it has to show everything that is needed to make the program a success. Too often, enthusiastic and ambitious entrepreneurs jump in on an extra income project and suddenly find that the costs are beyond their abilities, and the time requirement is more than they can meet. It pays to lay it all out on paper before you get involved, and the clearer you can “see” everything before you start, the better your chances for success.
Now, assuming you’ve got your market targeted, you know who your customers are going to be and how you’re going to reach them with your product or service. And you have all your costs as well as time requirements itemized. The next step is to set your plan in motion and start making money.
online and offline business
Extremely Low Startup Cost
We believe that one of the most attractive aspects of business on the web is the extremely low startup cost. If you were to consider a normal offline business, we’d be talking about some sort of office space or shop space, one or two employees at the very least, some kind of inventory, maybe renovations, and lots of other smaller expenses. Even if you were to work on a very low budget, you may need at least $50,000 to run for a year.
And a lot of businesses, I mean a lot, do not show a profit in the first year.
Do you have $50,000 to spare? And that’s just for the first year! …???? We don’t think so.
The Internet, on the other hand, actually allows you to start a business at ZERO cost. There are lots of free stuff on the net. You can use those resources to start a business at no cost.
Of course, it is highly advisable for you to pay for certain things, like a domain name, web hosting and one or two services that will help automate your business. Your business will run more smoothly and gain more credibility, and be more profitable in the long run.
Remember what they say about free things, “You get what you pay for.”
For a start, let’s talk about $50 to $100 a month. You can afford that, right? Bet that’s less than, you spend on petty things.
Global
In the offline business world, even if you have a product that appeals across borders, you are going to have a massive organizational nightmare in figuring out how to expand regionally, not to mention globally. And that’s assuming you have the financial muscle to even consider it.
In an online business, a global reach is the norm rather the exception. Every online company is effectively a global company, with the potential to sell globally.
But if you want to sell to any Tom, Dick and Harry on the web, you must choose your products or services carefully. Granny’s Heavenly Cookies will probably sell to almost anybody on the web but if you are selling real estate in
Florida, you are going to have a very select and localized audience.You Can Work Part Time For most offline businesses, working part time is not an option - at least during the starting stages. Every day that your business is running is costing you money - money for the utilities, money for the rent, money to pay your employees, etc. You are going to have to quit your job and work on your business fulltime to make sure it turns a profit - before you run out of money.
For an online business, you can keep your day job. Your monthly expenses will be very low as compared to offline businesses and so there is no need to be profitable as soon as possible.
Only when you find that your business is starting to generate a serious income, and you are having problems coping with its demands, do you have to consider quitting your day job.
First Impression Counts
The street location of a business, or the building it is in, will give the visitor the first impression of the size of the business. In many cases, this first impression will be the determining factor as to whether the business makes a sale.
When you are online, however big or small your company is, you will still occupy one screen of your visitor’s monitor. As a small business, with a well-designed site, you will have a much greater chance of impressing your customers and stealing them from your bigger competitors.
Types of Online Businesses
Although the Internet has been around for quite some years, it has evolved to the net as we know it less than 10 years ago. And in that short time, it has truly become indispensable, featuring prominently in our work and play.
And, as is inevitable in any medium in widespread use, the Internet has also become commercialized. And that is why you are here now, exploring the possibility of utilizing the net for your own monetary gain.
Before we look further into a business on the web, it will be good to know about the different types of online businesses found on the web:
Extension of an Offline Business. A large established company may find that it is necessary to have a web presence. In many cases, this online venture will not be a business in itself, but merely serves as an extension of its marketing department. In some cases, this web presence may not be directly related to marketing or selling. The company may use its online presence for market research or information distribution. Online forums may be set up to gather feedback, or the company may make their catalogues and product specifications available online for their customers’ convenience.
Large Online Business. This type of company will start with an entrepreneur with a brilliant idea. He will solicit funds from venture capitalists, or even start with his own funds. A company is born and it will start hiring MBAs, programmers, systems analysts, graphic designers - whatever it takes to be online in 6 months time.
I would not put my money in such a company. The professionals hired, while undoubtedly competent in their own line of work, may not do such a good job in the online environment.
Take, as an example, the graphic designer. She would probably design a very impressive flash presentation for the home page of the site. It will tell of the merits of the company and it will no doubt be well received by all in the company.
But a web surfer is not going to be at all happy with the presentation. Firstly, it takes forever to download even on broadband, and a lot of us are still on 56k dialup. Secondly, it takes over the computer’s speakers, which will not be well received by those that are listening to music, or on the phone, or watching television. Thirdly, there will probably be no option to skip the presentation, if one so desires. And lastly, the presentation talks only about the company, not about how the company can benefit the surfer.
However, things are changing. Professionals hired during the dot com craze at the turn of the century have learnt that the net is a different kettle of fish altogether and they are adjusting.
Testament to this is the turnaround of Amazon.com. In 2001, they reported a loss of $567 million. But 3 short years later, in 2004, they were in the black by $588 million.
Small Online Business. A single individual typically starts this. This guy may already have a small part time business of his own and is looking to the net to expand his sales. Or, he may be attracted by spam he got in his email promising large sums of money for little or no work.
After a few months most would have given up in disgust. They would have tried out the so-called business opportunities offered, many of which are outright scams and all of which would have failed to live up to their claims.
A select few will remain. They would have developed a discerning eye and seen through the get-rich-quick schemes for what they really are - get-rich-quick schemes for the starters of the schemes. They will ferret out the more legitimate opportunities, or start one of their own, and go into business for themselves.
We believe that one of the most attractive aspects of business on the web is the extremely low startup cost. If you were to consider a normal offline business, we’d be talking about some sort of office space or shop space, one or two employees at the very least, some kind of inventory, maybe renovations, and lots of other smaller expenses. Even if you were to work on a very low budget, you may need at least $50,000 to run for a year.
And a lot of businesses, I mean a lot, do not show a profit in the first year.
Do you have $50,000 to spare? And that’s just for the first year! …???? We don’t think so.
The Internet, on the other hand, actually allows you to start a business at ZERO cost. There are lots of free stuff on the net. You can use those resources to start a business at no cost.
Of course, it is highly advisable for you to pay for certain things, like a domain name, web hosting and one or two services that will help automate your business. Your business will run more smoothly and gain more credibility, and be more profitable in the long run.
Remember what they say about free things, “You get what you pay for.”
For a start, let’s talk about $50 to $100 a month. You can afford that, right? Bet that’s less than, you spend on petty things.
Global
In the offline business world, even if you have a product that appeals across borders, you are going to have a massive organizational nightmare in figuring out how to expand regionally, not to mention globally. And that’s assuming you have the financial muscle to even consider it.
In an online business, a global reach is the norm rather the exception. Every online company is effectively a global company, with the potential to sell globally.
But if you want to sell to any Tom, Dick and Harry on the web, you must choose your products or services carefully. Granny’s Heavenly Cookies will probably sell to almost anybody on the web but if you are selling real estate in
Florida, you are going to have a very select and localized audience.You Can Work Part Time For most offline businesses, working part time is not an option - at least during the starting stages. Every day that your business is running is costing you money - money for the utilities, money for the rent, money to pay your employees, etc. You are going to have to quit your job and work on your business fulltime to make sure it turns a profit - before you run out of money.
For an online business, you can keep your day job. Your monthly expenses will be very low as compared to offline businesses and so there is no need to be profitable as soon as possible.
Only when you find that your business is starting to generate a serious income, and you are having problems coping with its demands, do you have to consider quitting your day job.
First Impression Counts
The street location of a business, or the building it is in, will give the visitor the first impression of the size of the business. In many cases, this first impression will be the determining factor as to whether the business makes a sale.
When you are online, however big or small your company is, you will still occupy one screen of your visitor’s monitor. As a small business, with a well-designed site, you will have a much greater chance of impressing your customers and stealing them from your bigger competitors.
Types of Online Businesses
Although the Internet has been around for quite some years, it has evolved to the net as we know it less than 10 years ago. And in that short time, it has truly become indispensable, featuring prominently in our work and play.
And, as is inevitable in any medium in widespread use, the Internet has also become commercialized. And that is why you are here now, exploring the possibility of utilizing the net for your own monetary gain.
Before we look further into a business on the web, it will be good to know about the different types of online businesses found on the web:
Extension of an Offline Business. A large established company may find that it is necessary to have a web presence. In many cases, this online venture will not be a business in itself, but merely serves as an extension of its marketing department. In some cases, this web presence may not be directly related to marketing or selling. The company may use its online presence for market research or information distribution. Online forums may be set up to gather feedback, or the company may make their catalogues and product specifications available online for their customers’ convenience.
Large Online Business. This type of company will start with an entrepreneur with a brilliant idea. He will solicit funds from venture capitalists, or even start with his own funds. A company is born and it will start hiring MBAs, programmers, systems analysts, graphic designers - whatever it takes to be online in 6 months time.
I would not put my money in such a company. The professionals hired, while undoubtedly competent in their own line of work, may not do such a good job in the online environment.
Take, as an example, the graphic designer. She would probably design a very impressive flash presentation for the home page of the site. It will tell of the merits of the company and it will no doubt be well received by all in the company.
But a web surfer is not going to be at all happy with the presentation. Firstly, it takes forever to download even on broadband, and a lot of us are still on 56k dialup. Secondly, it takes over the computer’s speakers, which will not be well received by those that are listening to music, or on the phone, or watching television. Thirdly, there will probably be no option to skip the presentation, if one so desires. And lastly, the presentation talks only about the company, not about how the company can benefit the surfer.
However, things are changing. Professionals hired during the dot com craze at the turn of the century have learnt that the net is a different kettle of fish altogether and they are adjusting.
Testament to this is the turnaround of Amazon.com. In 2001, they reported a loss of $567 million. But 3 short years later, in 2004, they were in the black by $588 million.
Small Online Business. A single individual typically starts this. This guy may already have a small part time business of his own and is looking to the net to expand his sales. Or, he may be attracted by spam he got in his email promising large sums of money for little or no work.
After a few months most would have given up in disgust. They would have tried out the so-called business opportunities offered, many of which are outright scams and all of which would have failed to live up to their claims.
A select few will remain. They would have developed a discerning eye and seen through the get-rich-quick schemes for what they really are - get-rich-quick schemes for the starters of the schemes. They will ferret out the more legitimate opportunities, or start one of their own, and go into business for themselves.
What is an Online Home-Based Business?
What is an Online Home-Based Business?A lot of you may want to start an online business without knowing what it really is. You may have heard of some guy starting a business online and making like a zillion dollars. Or, perhaps a computer friend was telling you that he’s dabbling in an online business. Or, maybe you really don’t know and you’re here to find out.
Well, let’s define a business as an entity created with the objective of making a profit from the sale of goods or services.
Which makes an online home based business as a business that mainly conducts its activities online and operates from home.
Definition of an Online Home Based Business
1. An online home based business is an entity created with the objective of making a profit from the sale of goods or services that mainly conduct its activities online and operates from home. Although online businesses, have gone beyond being at home. For example Google and Yahoo are online business, but are big corporations. But what we are particularly interested in now is in Online Home Based Businesses.
Many business owners are making a good income, but they are not looking to improve their processes, or break into new markets. They are doing the same thing day in, day out, and earning the same amount every month. Their business has actually become a job.
In an online business, with the Internet in constant flux and getting more competitive by the day, if you are not moving forward, you are moving backwards.
Let’s therefore give another definition of an Online Home Based BusinessDefinition of an
Online Home Based Business
1. An online home based business is an entity created with the objective of making a profit from the sale of goods or services that mainly conducts its activities online and operates from home.
2. This entity must, over time, find ways and means to generate more profit from less effort and or resources.
How Do You Start an Online Home-Based Business?
An online home based business is not something you want to start on a whim. It takes a lot of work and planning to make it successful.
And even then, a lot don’t make it.
Ask yourself honestly if you have what it takes.
Are you willing to risk your time, effort and money on a venture that may or may not succeed? Do you have the patience and skills needed to plan and execute an actual business? Can you stick it out when the going gets tough? Can you come up with a better product than your competitor?
And….if you fail despite all your efforts, can you pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and soldier on?
Now, take a look at an online business. The barrier to entry is very low. The online world is global in nature. With the changes in the world economy, more and more people are looking to start a business. And where do they look? The Internet.
So, you will have a lot more competitors in an online business, and the success rate will drop. In an online business, the success rate will be less than 1 guy out of every 10 guys.
We hope you are convinced that it is going to be a struggle to start and run a successful online business. Not impossible, but hard work, perseverance and ingenuity are required.
But if you are prepared, let’s continue.
Deciding on a Product
You have decided to try starting an online home-based business - what you lack is a product.
Try to get ideas for a product by surfing the web and seeing what other people are selling. Go to
www.ebay.comand see what’s being auctioned. Try joining an online forum and asking.
Remember that you are selling the product online, so if possible, take advantage of it. The ideal online product should be downloadable or accessible online by your buyer. Payment should be online, although you may want to offer offline options. There should be no need for maintenance or servicing for the product.
Do bear in mind that you will be working long hours promoting and selling this product. Find something that you can be truly passionate about. You will definitely be able to sell it better.
Let’s take a look at some of the products that can be sold online:
Physical Product. Actually, anything that can be sold offline can be sold online. But, given the global nature of the Internet, it would be best that you choose a product that is small and can be sent to most parts of the world without too many customs restrictions. You might also like to consider a product that is consumable, to increase the chance of repeat business.
If you are really considering a physical product, you may want to check if the product can be dropped shipped to your customer. Essentially, what the drop shipper does is take over the warehousing and shipping of the product for you. The drop shipper will ship the product direct to your customer, with your company’s name and address as sender. To the customer, it will be as if your company shipped the product.
Informational Product. This will be an ebook on a certain subject. This is an ideal product to sell online as you do not have to worry about inventory or shipping. Once your customer pays for the product, they will be directed to a site where they can download the ebook immediately.
Software. If you are a programmer, and you have a great idea for a software application, you can go ahead and give it a try.
Advertising. Your product does not have to be tangible. It can simply be advertising space on your websites, or your newsletter. Your Income Stream
Unlike an offline business, where usually the only profits will come from the sale of your products, an online business offers you the possibility of multiple income streams.
The following lists the various ways you can earn from your online business:
Sales. A pretty traditional way of making money is to sell your product. Works as well online as it does offline.
Affiliate Programs. You can join affiliate programs to promote another company’s product. When you make the sale, you will be entitled to a commission. This is a good way to start if you don’t have your own product, or don’t want to keep stock or receive payments.
Take your time and shop around for an affiliate program that pays well. It’s not easy selling on the net. You would consider a 20% - 30% commission as fair compensation for your efforts.
Residual Income. Residual income can be defined as income derived not as a direct result of your efforts. For example, you can sell web hosting at $10/month and get a 20% commission, which works out to $2/month. If your customer renews the next month, you will automatically get another $2, without any additional effort on your part. In fact, you will get $2 per month for as long as your customer renews.
Another way you can earn residual income is from the efforts of your referrals. Most affiliate programs have at least a 2-tier structure, allowing you to earn some commission from the sales of your referrals.
A word of advice if you are planning to build a business from the residual income from your referrals - hope for the best but prepare for the worst. A full 90% of your referrals will probably sit on their behind and do absolutely nothing while 9% may bring in a sale or two. Only 1%, if you are lucky, will perform well.
Advertising. There are many ways you can earn advertising revenue from your site. You can enter into a private deal with another webmaster to display his banner on your site for a given amount of dollars per month. Or, you can join a banner exchange and display banners for cash.
You can maximize your advertising space by introducing popups, popunders or slidein ads, but the general rule is - one is more than enough. Many surfers find these irritating but will probably tolerate one, but not more.
However, with ad rates being rather low, advertising revenue will just supplement your income. Unless you have a very popular site, your fortune will not be made in advertising.
Subscription. If you have information that surfers will pay to access, then you can consider a subscription-based site. Surfers will pay a one-time fee, or monthly fee, to have access to your site. Or you can have a free site, but a subscription-based newsletter.
John McCain, therefore, is likely to be the next President of the United States. John Chuckman's article on McCain's character is a scary, but essenti
If you are familiar with Clickbank.com (R), or even if you are not but you want to make profits online, then you will want to check this out ASAP ...
While I like Clickbank, and they are a great marketplace... they are limited to many restrictions to sell products or earn affiliate commissions...
Well, there is a GREAT NEW SERVICE now...
It is a new FREE marketplace where you can sell any product you want.
Yours OWN product...
- OR - (the best part)
You can become an INSTANT Affiliate for ANY item in their HUGE marketplace.
It is called PayDotCom.com!
Did I mention it is 100% FREE to Join!
This site is going to KILL all other marketplaces and I by now, almost EVERY SINGLE SERIOUS online marketer has an account with PayDotCom.com
So get yours now and see how much they offer...
OH! - Also, they have their won affiliate program now that pays you COLD HARD cash just for sharing the site with people like I am doing with you...
They give you cool tools like BLOG WIDGETS, and they even have an advertising program to help you get traffic to your site.
If you want an ARMY of affiliates to sell your products for you, they also allow you to have Free placement in their marketplace!
Even better... If your product becomes one of the Top 25 products in its category in the marketplace (not that hard to do)...
...then you will get Free advertising on the Blog Widget which is syndicated on THOUSANDS of sites World Wide and get Millions of impressions per month.
So, what are you waiting for...
PayDotCom.com ROCKS!
While I like Clickbank, and they are a great marketplace... they are limited to many restrictions to sell products or earn affiliate commissions...
Well, there is a GREAT NEW SERVICE now...
It is a new FREE marketplace where you can sell any product you want.
Yours OWN product...
- OR - (the best part)
You can become an INSTANT Affiliate for ANY item in their HUGE marketplace.
It is called PayDotCom.com!
Did I mention it is 100% FREE to Join!
This site is going to KILL all other marketplaces and I by now, almost EVERY SINGLE SERIOUS online marketer has an account with PayDotCom.com
So get yours now and see how much they offer...
OH! - Also, they have their won affiliate program now that pays you COLD HARD cash just for sharing the site with people like I am doing with you...
They give you cool tools like BLOG WIDGETS, and they even have an advertising program to help you get traffic to your site.
If you want an ARMY of affiliates to sell your products for you, they also allow you to have Free placement in their marketplace!
Even better... If your product becomes one of the Top 25 products in its category in the marketplace (not that hard to do)...
...then you will get Free advertising on the Blog Widget which is syndicated on THOUSANDS of sites World Wide and get Millions of impressions per month.
So, what are you waiting for...
PayDotCom.com ROCKS!
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