Make Money On The Internet | Make Money Online

I often get people who run their ideas by me for an Internet start-up. Sometimes the ideas are good while other times they aren’t.  However, with the Internet, you never know what type of website could or couldn’t take off.  So, I have always focused on the business model and business type behind the idea when relaying advice to others.

You may remember the website PleaseRobMe.com which launched in February of this year.  The site basically highlighted people who checked into to a given location on Foursquare, thus notifying others that they weren’t at home and could be robbed.  Seemed like a random idea, but after being featured by several tech blogs including Mashable, the site took off and it spent a few days in the Alexa top 10,000.  The service has since been deactivated most likely due to the public outcry and liability that came with the offering – but its growth could not have been predicted by anyone.

Another example of a random idea which caught on was milliondollarhomepage.com.  Someone had an idea to sell pixels on a webpage.  Each pixel would cost $1 - so a 50 x 20 ad would cost $1,000 as it consists of 1,000 total pixels.  The site was a smashing success – making $1,000,000 for selling all of the ad space on the site.  All of the press the site received helped to attract traffic, which was a reason the advertisers wanted to buy space on the site before it filled up.  So, this site was famous simply for being famous – it offered little value to users as it was filled with random ads.  But, it took off.

No one could have for seen either of these two ideas attracting mass attention – but they did.  On the flip side, there have been tons of Internet ideas which sounded like home runs – but never gained traction.  The value or potential of an idea on the Internet is hard to forecast.   However, the business model and business type behind an idea can be identified and analyzed.

What I have found is that there are two distinct types of Internet businesses.  And it is critical for any aspiring entrepreneur to understand each business type and realize the upside and downside that comes from where the respective business idea fits.

The first type of Internet business is one that shoots for the stars. It’s the idea to be the next Google, Groupon, Ebay, or Hulu.  It’s something new and useful and something that people could benefit from.  It’s an idea which has the potential to be something huge but also has a greater chance to be a flop.  These types of ideas usually cost considerable capital to build, and they by nature are more of a long shot.  The idea is usually less focused on making money and more focused on offering something cool for users or solving some type of a problem which is yearning to be solved.

While there of course is nothing wrong with this type of an idea – I almost always advise against it.  People who want to work for themselves have to rely on the business they are starting for income.  Since these ideas are a long shot, they can’t be relied upon to support someone’s monthly expenses.  Maybe 1 out of 1,000 of these ideas hit, and the person can strike it big – but for the other 999 instances, time and money will be spent on something that never earns a return.  Experienced entrepreneurs who can raise capital to take on big challenges have a better chance to succeed in this vein – however if you are simply looking to earn income working for yourself on the web – these types of ideas aren’t likely to result in a successful career as an entrepreneur.

The second type of Internet business involves grunt, hard work, determination, and a revenue model that works.  These types of ideas can include getting paid to blog, becoming an affiliate and earning income through being a re-seller, consulting, or doing Web design or SEO for others.  These types of businesses have a business model that works in that the more hours put in by the entrepreneur, the more income they should make.  The upside is somewhat limited with these endeavors as there is a time commitment involved and automation or millions of users isn’t likely.  However, these business types are realistic and sustainable and give people a much better chance to earn enough income for themselves and be able to continue to work as an entrepreneur.

In summary, the first business type involves the development of a product, tool, or website that the masses will use and then in turn, will make the entrepreneur income through ads, membership fees, or product sales.  Again, if something like this takes off, the sky is the limit with what can be made.  But, remember, for every cool new website that takes off – there are plenty which launched and never came close to reaching mass growth.

The second Internet business type, involves a profitable business model being implemented by someone with talent, experience, expertise, professionalism, passion, and maybe most importantly, the drive needed to put in the time six or seven days a week to earn enough income to support oneself.

The second business type may not be as flashy, and it can become mundane as it could involve doing the same tasks over and over again; but being a successful entrepreneur isn’t always as glamorous as everyone makes it out to be.