| We've all dreamed of working from home | | | | necessary to know where you are in any |
| harnessing the power of the internet, haven't | | | | businessc) something I will end up spending |
| we? You know, the dream where you get to | | | | many hours on every week |
| spend lots of time with the kids at the | | | | |
| beach. Or the one where you get to sleep in | | | | So how did you go? |
| if you feel like it or meet a friend for | | | | |
| coffee in the middle of the day. | | | | If you got mostly a) answers then you have |
| | | | unrealistic expectations of what running an |
| Well, should you do it? Should you take the | | | | internet business will be like. Don't think |
| plunge? Take this quick quiz to see whether | | | | about starting up until you've done a bit |
| starting an internet business could work for | | | | more research and have a better idea of |
| you. | | | | what's involved, otherwise you'll just be |
| | | | wasting your money. |
| 1. I expect that starting up my own internet | | | | |
| businesswill cost me:a) Nothingb) Between | | | | If most of your answers were c)'s then you're |
| $100 and $500 per monthc) Over $500 per | | | | probably not the type of person who should |
| month, it's very expensive to start up | | | | try running a business of any kind, internet |
| | | | or other. You need a certain amount of |
| 2. I expect that every day I will work on my | | | | optimism and faith to start any enterprise |
| new business for approximately:a) 0 hours, | | | | and frankly you're just too negative at this |
| after I've set it up, it should run itselfb) | | | | point in your life. |
| 1 to 8 hoursc) every waking minute | | | | |
| | | | If you got mostly b) answers then you have a |
| 3. I believe that setting up an internet | | | | good idea of what you're getting into and now |
| business is:a) Easy, any fool could do itb) | | | | is the time to do it! |
| Requires learning some new skillsc) | | | | |
| Impossibly difficult, you have to be a | | | | Running an internet business does take time |
| technological guru | | | | and money. The good news is it takes |
| | | | considerably less time and money than running |
| 4. How long do you think it will take to be | | | | most traditional businesses. |
| showing a profit:a) within an hourb) 1 to 3 | | | | |
| monthsc) 12 months or more | | | | Let's face it; overheads in the offline world |
| | | | are high. There's rent, vehicle expenses, |
| 5. I believe that running an internet | | | | licences, staff wages, advertising and more. |
| business is:a) nothing like running a | | | | Once you have a computer, your online |
| business in the "real" worldb) has many | | | | expenses are quite low, but you will need to |
| similarities to running an offline businessc) | | | | spend some money on advertising, on your ISP |
| is much harder than running a business in the | | | | costs and possibly on other monthly fees. |
| offline world | | | | |
| | | | You will need to learn new skills. There is |
| 6. Advertising my internet business in some | | | | a lot to learn when you first start but |
| form is:a) not necessaryb) essential, but | | | | fortunately there are lots of places to go |
| relatively inexpensivec) essential and very | | | | for information and you never have to become |
| costly | | | | some kind of super computer wizard if you |
| | | | don't want to. |
| 7. Bookwork and time management are not my | | | | |
| strong suit but I know:a) that I won't need | | | | So, should you or shouldn't you? It's your |
| to do eitherb) a certain amount of both is | | | | decision! |