There’s a basic roadmap to starting an online business.

The type of business I’m outlining here is a theme website that has all the qualities and money making capabiities of some of the largest sites online. Don’t worry, I’m not going to suggest you build a monstrous website over night, but to slowly build a content website complete with products to sell, affiliate links and great information for your visitors.

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‘Tis the season for gift baskets and if you’re actively searching for a great home business to start this could be a viable suggestion…

Listen, if you’re a little creative and are looking for an easy and fun home based business there’s no better time than the present to get started in the gift basket business.

You’ll like this business idea. You get to shop, use your creative talents, make gifts that people will enjoy receiving and work from home as well! Other benefits include spending more time with your family, setting your own working hours and minimal commuting.

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Top Five Reasons for Starting A Home Based Business

1. No more commuting!

   Wouldn’t you rather spend the 2 hours or more that you usually spend in traffic, on subways or trains going to and from the office five days a week with your family, on your hobby, or working toward your future? If you start up an online business you can spend those 10+ hours per week any whay you like.

2. Choose your own hours!

   Work as hard as you want to in your home based business or spend the day running errands or keeping personal appointments. The point is that you have flexibility in a home based business.

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I just read that according to the Small Business Administration’s research in 2003, nearly twenty percent of American households are running some sort of home based business - at least on a part time basis. The SBA also forecasted at that time that the number of home based business owners will continue to rise every year.

Let me ask you, are you ready to take the plunge and start your own work at home enterprise? Even just something small that you can start on the side of your regular job with the hopes of expansion? If you are, you’re not alone. Nearly every hard working person with a pulse has dreamt of quitting the 9 to 5 grind and striking out on his own.

Here’s a few simple steps to stay happy in your home based business…

If you can, print this page to help keep you on track in your business goals and plan. Sometimes it gets very hard to stay focused on the goal when you’re working from home, all alone. This really helps.

Working from home, alone, is not for everyone. It can be difficult to stick to a schedule without anyone looking over your shoulder, and with almost no rewards in the beginning - just the hope that maybe…maybe…this will be the great business idea that gets you away from the grind.

Here’s a few start up tips to ensure you stay inspired.

1. Select An Industry You Enjoy. Select a business you are sure you can do well in and that people are actually willing to pay you money for.
2. Over Plan for The Future. What will you charge? Who will be your customers? How will you reach your target market? How will you market and advertise your business? Why will people want to do business with you? Where will you set up your office?
3. Check out the Legalities Before You Launch. Check local zoning laws and bylaws. Get a business license and register your new business name. Meet withyour local Chamber of Commerce and find out if you need special type of licensing for your business.
4. Get Finances in Order. Set up a bookkeeping system right from the beginning. Open a business account at your bank. Map out your expenses.
5. Set Up Your Home Office.
6. Get Advertising and Marketing. Order business cards and letterhead. Print flyers announcing the new business and opening date. Register a domain name for your business and put up one new webpage a day about your market, your business and your ideas.
7. Get Busy! Determine a work schedule and stick to it.

The Brainstorming/Research Stage

One serious advantage of running an online business is that you can start from scratch without investing thousands of dollars. This makes the opportunity irresistible to many.

I’ve got a few online businesses on the go right now so I thought I’d write out and share with you the first six steps I follow to launch an online business.

1. List your favorite top 5 hobbies, current interests or specialties. Online competition can be fierce - it’s not like the old days - if you want to start a new business, you’d better be knowledgeable about that topic, so choose one that you like and have experience with.
2. Start building a list of key phrases related to those hobbies and interests. This is the start of your search engine related research. You’re going to see if a sizeable market exists for your business idea before you invest time, money and energy into the business. Here’s an example - if you are going to sell small airplane collectibles or an info product or resource on the same, some possible keywords could be: airplanes, aeronautics, war airplanes, and so forth.
3. Research those keywords with the free software tool Good Keywords to locate problem statements that have high search results and low competition. Good Keywords is a nice piece of software that allows you do perform research to find out how many times your keywords are searched online and how popular your keywords on search engines are. Those keywords may represent problem statements. Take notes. You’re looking for popular statements with low competition in the search engine results.
4. Research those problem statements further to determine if you can develop a product to solve the common problem you defined. You may use search engines to see how many people are offering products that can help to solve those problems. If you find a popular problem and there are not many people offering solutions online, you’ve found a great and viable market - or business idea!
5. Find or create a product based on the research and information collected above. If the product is an e-book, you might like to write it yourself or you could always hire someone else to do it. If your product idea is a physical product, you might like to research further to find companies online that can manufacture the products for you.
6. Write a long copy sales letter for your new product or business! Many top internet marketing specialists will admit that long sales letters out-perform short sales letters. So get writing! Even if you don’t have your product yet or if your ebook is merely a draft, your enthusiasm for your new project, product or business will transfer into your sales letter.

If you’re really serious about starting up an online home based business I highly recommend a free resource (selling elsewhere at $497) on starting up an online business. It has already helped over 10,000 readers get their home business off the ground and into profits.