As is true with most new things the first, and usually hardest part, is taking that big first step and getting started. But maybe you're not sure you have the right stuff. Maybe you don't know where to turn for real, usable information and advice.Don't despair. That's where I was not to long ago. But I've taken that first step and am on my way to building a web based business. The following describes the steps I took along the way. It's my hope this information will inspire, or re-inspire you, to get started while providing some useful information.

First, write down the first 3 goals you want to accomplish. Mine were the following;

1) Identify a Niche
2) Design a Basic Website Around That Niche
3) Publish the Site

Sound simple enough? Well, it's actually not that hard but does require a lot of thought, some research, time and patience.

Let's take a look at each goal.

Identify a Niche:

Decide on something that you are truly interested in. A product or service you think is lacking in the market place. Then research it to see if there's a demand. Use the major search engines and search on key words related to your idea. Use the keyword selector tool at overture.com to check related keywords. See what kind of traffic they generate. Check bulletin boards and discussion groups to see if there's an interest out there. You want to make sure there's a market for your product or service.

What I decided to do, since I don't yet have a product or service of my own, was start a web business building project live on the web and invite other newcomers along for the ride. The purpose is to learn the ropes of Internet Marketing while creating a profitable web business and sharing gained knowledge with others.

Once you've decided on your niche you'll need a web presence.

Design a Basic Website Around That Niche.

There are a lot of web host companies out there. Make sure the one you pick meets the basics of a good host: Reasonable cost, 24x7 support, guaranteed up times, established, good web building tools that don't require a degree in HTML programming. Other things to consider, depending on your type of business, include email accounts, newsletter creator, auto responders, web statistics, a domain name that YOU own. If you write down your needs first it will speed up your research time in finding the right host for you.

Before signing up with a web host think out your website design and put it on paper first. This insures the host you pick will meet all your needs and saves a lot of time when you're actually building the site which will help you publish that much faster.

Publish the Site.

This is the best part. With the host company I picked you can take as long as you want to build and tweak your site, without publishing. Once I was finished I just clicked on the publish button and there I was on the World Wide Web. I got quite a feeling of accomplishment.

And you can too. Take it in steps. Don't try to absorb everything at once. Just identify your goals to get started, assign steps to accomplish each goal and get going. I did it. You can too!