Are There Any Real Opportunities Left Online?

by: Richard Grady

I know, I know, it seems like every man and his dog are trying to start an Internet business. At every online turn, there is someone punting their new website. With so many people trying to crack the Internet marketing game, are there any real opportunities left online?

This is a common question and one which I am asked on a regular basis but the truth is that there is still an absolute world of opportunity out there. Although it might seem like 'everyone' is trying to make it with their own online business, the fact is that only a very small fraction of the population have any idea that it is possible to earn money online and an even smaller number have any idea just how much money can be earned in this way.

By way of illustration of this point, I found myself in the situation this week of having to try and explain to someone what I did for a living. Even after having had several years of practice this task is not getting any easier! I was at a local car dealership and I got chatting to the owner and he asked me what I did as a job (a perfectly reasonable question given that he was hoping to sell me a car and clearly wanted a rough idea about how much money he thought I had to spend!). I had to pause for a second before answering because I am now used to the fact that whatever I said in reply to this question, the response would almost certainly be a blank look. The conversation went something like this:

Salesman: So what do you do for a living?

Me: ***Pause*** Erm, well, I suppose you would call me an Internet publisher or Internet marketer.

Salesman: ***Silence***

Me: I run a business on the Internet - I own a portfolio of websites.

Salesman: Ah, so you are a website designer?

Me: Well, yes, I do design websites but only for my own use, I don't design for other people.

Salesman: Oh...... but how can that earn you any money?

Me: Lots of different ways - people buy the information that I have available and other businesses advertise on my sites. I also make money by selling products that other people have developed and taking a commission.

Salesman: Mmm, I thought the only way to make money from the Internet was with porn?

Me: ***Sigh*** That's one way but it isn't what I do :-)

The conversation continued for another twenty minutes or so as I tried to explain in more detail exactly what I did. Fortunately the salesman had an Internet connection in his showroom so I was able to show him a few of my sites. Eventually I could see that he was starting to get the picture but it was clear that the concept of running a business entirely on the Internet was something completely new to him (and this is actually the case with the vast majority of people).

The reason that I am sharing this story with you is to illustrate the point that although it may seem like the whole World wants to run an Internet business, the truth is that most people have no clue that such a thing is even possible. They certainly don't realize that it is possible to earn serious money online and this fact gives you a major advantage.

I know it can seem as though the Internet consists of nothing more than eBooks about Internet marketing and websites telling you how to get traffic to your own site etc but it only appears like that to you and I because we are tuned into the Internet marketing industry and these things stand out. Try and remember the first time you ever used the Internet and I bet you didn't know what an eBook was. I had been working part-time on the Internet for three years before I discovered eBooks!!

The average person thinks of the Internet as a tool from which to gain information, not a money-earner. It will be a very long time before you can tell someone that you are an Internet marketer and expect them to understand what this means and as I have already said, this puts you in a unique and highly advantageous position. By understanding that it is possible to generate a worthwhile income online, you are one step ahead of 99% of the population.

I read a quote a few months ago which went something like this:

'The vast majority of people that will eventually become Internet millionaires do not even have a website yet'

This is a great quote and perfectly true - the Internet has already made many, many people rich (not just in monetary terms but in terms of lifestyle and freedom) but I am sure that there are far more people that will achieve the same if not better results in the years to come.

Given this fact, anyone that is one step ahead of everyone else has a much higher chance of becoming one of these success stories.