Building an Online Business with No Money Down

"I am relatively new to online marketing, but I'm a quick learner. I've made some bad choices with the result that I am totally broke. I want to get involved in e-commerce in hopes of helping myself, but I can't afford a website. I am a writer and was thinking my first course of action would be to write some articles and also start my own e-zine. I am not sure where or how to start, but I am desperate to begin. Time is of the essence." -- Deidre Sharp, Horse Play Therapeutic Riding Center

As a writer you possess a great asset. Find a niche that has some money-making potential, something you love and know about -- perhaps specialized horse care and riding supplies that aren't easily available elsewhere. Try to find some related affiliate programs you could join to bring in a bit of income; add your own products later.

You'll need your own website and a domain name. An inexpensive way to start is with a Yahoo! GeoCities Pro site (geocities.yahoo.com) that offers hosting for $15 set-up (that's for the domain name) and $8.95 per month. With the domain name you can always move to another hosting service as you become more successful, but this gets you in the game. You can begin a newsletter free at Yahoo! Groups (www.yahoogroups.com).

Your first goal should be to develop targeted content on your site. Then build traffic to your site through articles written for other sites (with links back to your site). I know you need money, but frankly, making a rapid profit from the Internet isn't likely to happen. Find ways to earn your bread and butter offline while you learn. You can earn money online -- hundreds of thousands of people are doing so -- but online success doesn't come easily or quickly. Begin now, but be patient. My e-book 10 Steps to E-Business on a Shoestring (www.wilsonweb.com/ebooks/shoestring.htm) will give you some more ideas.