“WHat are the benefits of this new age?” you ask. Today and in the future, personal lifestyle plays a significant part in career choice. Perhaps you have no inclination to commute in traffic each working day. Maybe you want more time with your family. If your dream is to be self-employed, this is your era!

Run a successful global business from an island in the Caribbean or from the comfort of your living room. Hours are flexible, and the business is operational 24 hours a day, all year round. No matter how small your business is, if you set it up correctly, you can compete with the big boys.

Before embarking on an e-business venture, it is very important that you very clearly define your objectives. Take your time—brainstorm with family and friends. Find out what’s really important to you, and then find a business that you can build that will help you achieve those objectives. Starting a business, online or offline, is serious business. Without adequate preparation in defining your objectives, researching for the best business for you, and then developing an adequate business plan, you are asking for problems.

When you are defining your objectives, you will have to ask yourself a series of pertinent questions. What type of time commitment do you foresee?

Do you want this to be a full-time or a part-time endeavor? The options are wide open. Many online businesses are ideal for extra income to leverage your regular salary and make the budget of daily life easier to manage. The beauty of working online is that it’s sustainable without having to quit your regular job if you don’t want to. The point is that you should allocate in your business plan how much time you are willing to spend on the venture, and then you can decide which online businesses fit with the time you are willing to invest.

Would you prefer to work out of your home or have an outside office? Where you work is important too. For many, a major benefit of having an online business is the luxury of working from home. Another advantage is to work while you travel or from remote areas. Not all online businesses guarantee complete mobility and staying home, but you can decide on these critical lifestyle options before choosing which specific online avenue to pursue. It’s all up to you—for a change.

If you already have a physical “bricks-and-mortar” business location, do you want to use the Web as a marketing outlet? There are many ways to run a successful online business. Traditional storefronts and catalogues can be mirrored on the Web site, which expands the sales capacity significantly, But You must make sure that there is enough inventory and internal organization to accept, fill, and deliver incoming orders. The other option if you have an existing bricks-and-mortar setup is to use the Web site as a responsive marketing force and information source for your business. The design and content should urge customers to come to your location and return to your site.

What kind of start-up costs are you considering? Budget is everything. Research the investment you will have to put into the Web site. Ask around to see how much people are spending on their online presence, and remember that you can grow gradually as funds and profits permit with an online business. There is no rule saying you have to spend everything you’ve got in the beginning to succeed in the long term.

Would you like to develop an idea and sell it, or sustain the management and grow the business in the future?

Want to run your business from home but not have to be there 24/7 to answer the phone? No problem! For every challenge there is an opportunity. There are companies that will answer and screen your calls based on scripts you provide, provide information to your callers, take your orders and messages, and offer a whole myriad of professional and personal services; they can even screen and respond to your e-mail and fax messages, do research for you, and provide a ton of administrative services. One such company that I am affiliated with is PatLive. I have arranged a special deal for any of my readers who are interested in this service—go to Http:// www. patlive. com/signup/ssc For this special offer if this is something you might be interested in.

What is your risk comfort level? Trying anything new is slightly nervy. Just remember that if you embark on the online journey now, you share a common technology learning curve with those who remember what it was like before the Internet existed. Soon this group will be extinct, so this is the time to go for it!

What are your revenue and profit expectations? (Fun question, isn’t it?) How rich do you want to be? Seriously, there is huge potential for major profit in online business. While picking the right virtual business for you, make sure to factor in the start-up costs and continuing operating costs. Begin with a modest revenue projection (to stay on the safe side), and if the result pleases you, stick with it.

Do you want employees, or are you looking for a business you can start and maintain on your own? If you are planning to have a staff to run your business, how many are you comfortable with? Employees are an added responsibility. If the online business you choose to enter requires employees, make sure you are prepared. What do you know? What are you comfortable with? What do you enjoy? If you are going to be spending lots of hours in your new e-business, it might as well be doing something you enjoy.

Once these questions have been answered and you have done a lot of soul-searching with regard to defining your objectives, it is time to take a closer look at all the e-business opportunities that are available to you. The next chapter offers this closer look.