?The best place to find a helping hand is at the end of your arm.? That is an old Swedish proverb that hangs in my office. A little over a year ago I was a complete newbie to online businesses. I had absolutely no experience in building websites or HTML coding. I was completely green to the possibilities of the Internet.

In less than a year, I have 2 thriving online businesses and a few smaller ones as well. There is no doubt in my mind that within a few months, those small web businesses will be just as lucrative for me. I just need to find the time to grow and nurture them.

This is an article for the smart, down-and-dirty entrepreneur. This online business article speaks to those folks who truly and utterly get ?it?. Starting an online business is easier than many think. The trick is to know who to trust and when to pay out. Read on for more detailed insights.

When to Do It Yourself

Truth be told, I am a huge fan of doing it yourself. I think the best online business owners are those that can reproduce a profitable web business in any niche. After all, a web business in the fitness industry is built the same as one in the knitting industry.

I could have paid someone thousands upon thousands of dollars to build my online business site. I decided against it though. At the end of the day I would not have gained any online business knowledge had someone else built my site.

I would not gain any knowledge about HTML, linking strategies, RSS feeds or anything else. I would have to pay a website builder thousands and thousands of dollars every single time I wanted to build a web business.

Let me ask you this: if there was a pain free, simple, hand holding guide that taught you to build an online business? would you be interested? What if the guide was free? Well it is. You may contact me and I'll forward it to you. Learning the "how-to's" of building your own online business is one of the smartest investments you will ever make.

That guide will walk you through everything you need to know about creating an online business all by yourself. It talks about hosting, domain names, RSS feeds, linking strategies, newsletters, HTML coding (or the lack thereof necessary to build a site), search engine positioning and much more. It is a complete blue print to developing your online business.

When to Pay Someone

Just as I am a firm believer in building your website yourself, I believe in paying professionals from time to time. I outsource all graphic work to true graphic artists. I pay for logo designs, business card printing, and merchant accounts.

I believe in minimizing customer service issues. All of my billing is through a third party source. All of my products are digital or shipped directly from a third party company. They handle customer service. I simply refer their products.

The goal of a web business is to be profitable, efficient and fun! Being a web business owner is far better than being an employee. Think about that for a moment. You want to increase your profits. Create an online business by using all of your resources. Just recognize the difference of when to pay someone and when to learn it yourself.

Copyright 2006 Lynn VanDyke