Are there any real opportunities left online?

I know, I know, it seems like every man and his dog are
trying to start an Internet business. At every online
turn, there is someone punting their new website. With so
many people trying to crack the Internet marketing game,
are there any real opportunities left online?

This is a common question and one which I am asked on a
regular basis but the truth is that there is still an
absolute world of opportunity out there. Although it might
seem like 'everyone' is trying to make it with their own
online business, the fact is that only a very small
fraction of the population have any idea that it is
possible to earn money online and an even smaller number
have any idea just how much money can be earned in this way.

By way of illustration of this point, I found myself in the
situation this week of having to try and explain to someone
what I did for a living. Even after having had several
years of practice this task is not getting any easier! I
was at a local car dealership and I got chatting to the
owner and he asked me what I did as a job (a perfectly
reasonable question given that he was hoping to sell me a
car and clearly wanted a rough idea about how much money he
thought I had to spend!). I had to pause for a second
before answering because I am now used to the fact that
whatever I said in reply to this question, the response
would almost certainly be a blank look. The conversation
went something like this:

Salesman: So what do you do for a living?

Me: ***Pause*** Erm, well, I suppose you would call me an
Internet publisher or Internet marketer.

Salesman: ***Silence***

Me: I run a business on the Internet - I own a portfolio
of websites.

Salesman: Ah, so you are a website designer?

Me: Well, yes, I do design websites but only for my own
use, I don't design for other people.

Salesman: Oh...... but how can that earn you any money?

Me: Lots of different ways - people buy the information
that I have available and other businesses advertise on my
sites. I also make money by selling products that other
people have developed and taking a commission.

Salesman: Mmm, I thought the only way to make money from
the Internet was with porn?

Me: ***Sigh*** That's one way but it isn't what I do :-)

The conversation continued for another twenty minutes or so
as I tried to explain in more detail exactly what I did.
Fortunately the salesman had an Internet connection in his
showroom so I was able to show him a few of my sites.
Eventually I could see that he was starting to get the
picture but it was clear that the concept of running a
business entirely on the Internet was something completely
new to him (and this is actually the case with the vast
majority of people).

The reason that I am sharing this story with you is to
illustrate the point that although it may seem like the
whole World wants to run an Internet business, the truth is
that most people have no clue that such a thing is even
possible. They certainly don't realize that it is possible
to earn serious money online and this fact gives you a
major advantage.

I know it can seem as though the Internet consists of
nothing more than eBooks about Internet marketing and
websites telling you how to get traffic to your own site
etc but it only appears like that to you and I because we
are tuned into the Internet marketing industry and these
things stand out. Try and remember the first time you ever
used the Internet and I bet you didn't know what an eBook
was. I had been working part-time on the Internet for
three years before I discovered eBooks!!

The average person thinks of the Internet as a tool from
which to gain information, not a money-earner. It will be
a very long time before you can tell someone that you are
an Internet marketer and expect them to understand what
this means and as I have already said, this puts you in a
unique and highly advantageous position. By understanding
that it is possible to generate a worthwhile income online,
you are one step ahead of 99% of the population.

I read a quote a few months ago which went something like
this:

'The vast majority of people that will eventually become
Internet millionaires do not even have a website yet'

This is a great quote and perfectly true - the Internet has
already made many, many people rich (not just in monetary
terms but in terms of lifestyle and freedom) but I am sure
that there are far more people that will achieve the same
if not better results in the years to come.

Given this fact, anyone that is one step ahead of everyone
else has a much higher chance of becoming one of these
success stories.

If you don't know where to start, head over to my forum for
lots of helpful, free advice and friendly members that will
be sure to guide you in the right direction... :-)
http://www.traderonlineforum.com