To get started you need a storefront, seed money, products to sell, a way to market your product, and an overall plan. The only differences I see between an online business and offline business is that starting an online business can be accomplished in less time for a fraction of the money. That's a huge benefit!

For many people having a day job provides benefits that people do not recognize. The environment at work often means some one or some company is telling you what to do, when to do it, and exactly how to do it. If the boss determines you need additional training, you will be sent to training. Many times the costs are paid by your company. If you are at your job and you lose motivation you can go to co-workers to have a quick chat or trade jokes to pick your spirits up. So you get social interaction.

Here are some of the downfalls of starting an online business. As the owner you will be the boss telling you what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. You will be responsible for obtaining training, and of course paying for it. You will have to learn many new skills all at once or have and be willing to spend the money to hire someone to do the tasks you are not able to do.

Even if you have all of the technical and marketing skills to succeed, you will need to keep your self motivated enough to weather the highs and lows of developing your business. As a business owner you will need to find other non-traditional methods for finding motivation and social interaction. One method for motivating yourself is through online chats, finding a forum where people have similar interests.

Just having a website that sells a product does not guarantee success. Be prepared to do a lot of trail and error testing to learn the combination of marketing tactics and website design skills that will work for your business. It will take some time to figure out the combination. Once the winning combination is found the money will flow in.