What DO you need to build a successful Internet-based Home Business? I am asked that question almost every day. Obviously, MANY people would love to make some money with their computer, but they have no idea HOW or what is a 'MUST HAVE'!

The most important part of an Internet-based business is your website. It is your salesman, your image builder, the first, and possibly ONLY, contact you will have with your potential customers and clients. Therefore, you want a very professional-looking site and that means no misspelled words, no bad grammar, no clashing colors, and an easy-to-read layout. You also want to make sure you have a webpage that loads quickly (too slow and many visitors will leave before they even see it) and that usually means go easy on the graphics.

If you've been on the Internet/Home Business scene for any length of time at all, you've no doubt heard that "the money is in the list", you MUST have your OWN mailing list to succeed. In order to build your own list you need a lead-capture system. The best lead-capture systems generally employ a relatively short webpage, offering something free, in return for a visitor's name and email address, while the visitor agrees to receive email from the webpage owner. If this system is tied into an autoresponder, all the better: statistics tell us that most people view an ad or are exposed to a product at least 7 times before they decide to buy. An autoresponder allows you to send a series of messages, providing that repeat exposure automatically.

A great advertising plan is also essential to a successful business, online or off. We are extremely fortunate that there are quite a number of cheap (and even free) Internet-based advertising systems and strategies that actually work. The trick online, even more than in the 'real' world, is VOLUME. Great copy-writing is also crucial: an ad (especially a headline) that stands out can bring an incredible click-thru ratio. Pair that with riveting web-copy and you've got a winner!

Since most people start a Home Business in their spare time, and work a 'regular' job as well, automation is also key to a successful business. A home business that requires you to spend hours on the phone, selling, recruiting, training, conferencing, etc. can be difficult, even impossible, for the average person. Further, most people do not enjoy this type of work, and it can be a real drain on your time, as well as your emotions, dealing with the dreaded 'rejection factor'. People who start an Internet-based business, or who want to "make money with their computer", expect to use their computer to do a lot of the work for them, and rightly so. An Internet-based business, especially, should be as automated as possible. Automation is really the ONLY way a person can build a SUCCESSFUL business in a reasonably short amount of time.

Money. It's kind of what it all comes down to in the end, isn't it? Starting and building ANY real business costs money. And most people start a home business because they NEED money. The ultimate solution to this problem is a business that requires a very small amount of 'front' money and monthly overhead that pretty much anyone can afford. Combine this with immediate income to help you balance the budget that caused you to look for another income source in the first place. Oh, and a nice, steadily-growing residual income for the future would be nice too. Accomplishing this delicate balance generally requires multiple streams of income.

So, then, let's review what you need to build a successful Internet Business:

- a great website
- an autoresponder tied into a lead-capture system
- something you can give away free
- advertising sources
- great ad copy/emails/ecourse/newsletter,etc.
- automation system(s)
- multiple streams of income

That may sound like an awful lot, but you can find some help 'out there' capable of shortening the learning curve considerably. And, when you do, you'll LOVE it when the plan comes together!

Lynne Homewood, Editor of Your Business Builder Newsletter and President of Global Epro, has been building online businesses since 1999. Her latest venture, an automated Home Business Success System with a unique vision is changing the way business is done online. http://www.bestinternetincome.com