1.The amount of knowledge you actually pick up through your day to day efforts at getting your business going



2.What a mystery working online is to people who haven't ever done it.

A while ago I read a post in the Warrior Forum in which the poster pointed out how easy it would be to earn some money putting up websites for offline businesses.

Now - as those who have followed my blog will know, I am strongly anti the hype. I have no patience with the incredible promises of huge earnings that are made by people promoting online business opportunities. And I'm not about to change that position here.

However, if you've been working online for sometime - 9 months to a year or more - you will probably have learned a heck of a lot more than you realise. Even if your business hasn't yet taken off.

Things like basic Search Engine Optimisation, relevancy, calls to action, keyword research, website design, promotion channels, blogging, social marketing, autoresponders and so on. These are a complete mystery to most owners of small, offline businesses.

So - if you look around your neighbourhood you could probably find a number of offline businesses that you visit regularly enough to be on greeting terms with the owner. I'm referring to restaurants, gyms, garages, realtors and even car dealers that you use.

If you got talking to them socially one day and they asked what you do, you could talk to them about internet marketing, putting up websites, and how you can grow a business with an effective website. Quite likely you would very soon find yourself looking at an opportunity to put up a website for them.

So this got me thinking. At first I was all fired up. And then the self-doubts started to creep in. Yes, I do design and build my own sites, but they're definitely not sophisticated. Who would want to pay me to put up a website with my skills..?

The solution to my site design deficiencies is, of course, Wordpress. And there are a growing number of other site builders now that are designed specifically for the technically challenged.

Putting up a website for a small business by downloading and installing Wordpress is a no brainer.

Ok - time for some market research.

I started checking out the sites of a few of the small businesses that I use. The ones I looked at were nicely designed but completely devoid of a personal touch and didn't have any hint of creating an online community for regulars. And many of the establishments I checked out didn't even have a site.

So far so good. But what was the going rate for designing a simple website?

I located a couple of website design studios in my area and called for 'ballpark' estimates for building a simple 5 page website.

Since, mostly, studios like this do everything they can to avoid giving an estimate without first meeting you, analysing your requirements and developing a hernia-inducing proposal, I positioned myself as a small business considering setting up my first website.

I told them I had no budget, and was just looking for ball park estimates, for budgetary purposes only, that would enable me to assess whether I wanted to take it any further.

That got me the information I needed.

So now I had a potential target market, a means of delivery that I could be confident about (Wordpress) and an understanding of the going rate in my area.

Having checked out the websites of a few bars and restaurants, I also had a clear idea of how I could put up something different and unique for any clients brave enough to hire me.

Now it was time for the rubber to hit the road - but where to start..? I didn't fancy the idea of morphing into a bar-hopping sales person for my website design service. So how to actually get my first commission?

Then I thought back to the post in Warriors: just get talking to people socially. When they ask what you do tell them.

Well - I've done that 4 times now and on all 4 occasions I got a bite. Three have committed to using me when they have completed current projects and can devote some time. One was extremely excited until he learned that it would not be free!

No matter. My point is this: I've only talked to 4 people about this and all 4 showed a lot of interest. And I've not put any serious effort into this at all. No follow ups. I'm still employed in my day job, so I have to be careful about infringing my employment T's & C's.

What I realised, though, is that if I actually pursued this more aggressively I could end up with a lot of work.

So what's the moral of the story..?

If you've been working online for a while you'll have gained a lot more knowledge than you realise.

Small offline businesses often know they need to harness the power of the web but don't have the knowledge or expertise to do it. These businesses will gladly pay for the knowledge you've acquired in order to increase their business.

Do your research: establish what the going rate is in your area, check out other websites and identify what you can do differently (create your USP).

Don't try to turn yourself into a pushy sales person (unless you already are one!) - just ask people you know about what they're doing and, when they ask you in return, tell them what you're doing. Keep it natural - it will be much more effective that way.

And also keep in mind - this is not get rich quick. Firstly, you won't get rich and secondly you need to have accumulated several months of experience and knowledge before you can realistically do this. But you will generate an extra stream of income.