Do you think it’s difficult to start an online business and make money from it? Well, it isn’t actually complicated, but you will need to figure out – or learn – how to do it. If you are going to work out the whole lot by yourself, it may take a long time and a great deal of work (plus lots of frustration) until you see any significant results.Don’t get me wrong – it really is quite a bit of work to establish a web based business. There isn’t such a thing as “getting rich overnight”, even though there are more than sufficient offers on the internet that “guarantee” precisely that. What I say is that building an internet business will be of much less effort if you learn from those who have experience and know-how.Creating a business and making cash on the internet is just about the same as doing it in the “real world”. Basically, doing business is having an item to sell which people would like to buy. It’s as simple as that.The big difference between an online and a ‘real world’ business is that with a web based business you can perform all the promotion and selling via your laptop. You do not even need a store or a warehouse to sell from, you can do it all from your own living-room, if you so wish.Yet, there are so many various strategies to creating an internet business, and so many pitfalls (not to mention the many scams out there who are waiting to grab your money), that it is a good idea to learn from folks who have gone through the whole procedure before. As mentioned, it is possible to make it all by yourself, but you will be able to achieve your goal much sooner if you take advice and assistance from persons who really know.The quickest route to set up an on line business is to sell, or promote, other people’s products or services. This is called ‘affiliate marketing’. What you do is promoting a product, and once a sale is made by your promotional efforts, you will receive a share of the sales amount. The big advantage with this kind of business is that you do not need to keep stock or handle neither payments nor customers.If you intend to sell your own things (or stuff you buy from wholesalers), you need a website with a sales page. On that page (besides a compelling sales copy) you must offer online payment methods like credit cards and PayPal. This calls for a whole lot of setting up and might be a challenge in itself for newbies who are not tech savvy; furthermore you have to handle and stock products as well as deal with clients.However, you do not have to sell tangible goods at your online warehouse, you can sell digital downloadable items like e-books, software, tutorials, recipes and other knowhow. For example, you can make a course on some topic you know well, which you can deliver online in weekly lessons. The big advantage with downloadable products is that the whole sales and delivery procedure can be fully put on automation.There are several routes you can follow when starting an internet business, as you see. However, do not get lost in the backwoods (and watch out for the scams out there waiting to get your cash) – be sure to get yourself some education in this field and learn the online business basics before starting out. This will save you a lot of time and work and help you achieve success with much less effort.There is one thing online and ‘real world’ businesses alike have in common and are dependent on – customers. The biggest challenge for an internet business beginner isn’t to get a website up, or even set up a payment arrangement; it is to generate traffic – getting visitors and potential buyers – to your website and online store.