I know how it feels to have dreams of starting an internet home business. What's great about working from home is that you have complete control over how you spend your time and the kind of business you start in the first place. What that translates to is that you can easily make money doing something that you fell passionate about.

But the fact that it is possible to start a business that centers around your interests is not enough. You need to be willing to put in the hard work to plan, execute, and expand your new business. There are no get rich quick schemes that work and have lasting power. If you want to build a business you need to be willing to do what it takes.

Get Educated

A lot of people underestimate the "education" phase of starting a new business. There are plenty of websites that will teach you how to start your own business. My favorites are entrepreneur.com and sba.gov. You will learn everything from how to find a business idea to writing a business plan. Just remember - education is great, but too much of it can hold you back. I used "research" as an excuse to get started. I didn't take the first step fast enough. Research just enough so you know how to act.

Stay True to Yourself

This one is so important. When you do things in your business that reflect your personality, or you do something that interests you, this will take you a lot farther. If something is a "hot product" or a profitable niche doesn't mean you are the best person to write about it. If you aren't interested in it, you won't have the motivation to make the idea a success.

Don't Be Afraid to Change Your Mind

There is no such thing as "quitting" when starting your own business. Let me explain what I mean. Let's say you had the bright idea to sell homemade scarves on eBay but the business is too time consuming and you aren't making money. So you stop in order to pursue something else. This isn't quitting. You simply realized that scarf making wasn't the business for you. If you "stick with" something that isn't profitable, you're just wasting your time.

Learn from Others

One thing that has been so important to my online career is learning from others. If you want to make money online there are two forums I visit regularly. One is warriorforum.com and the other is Earn1kaday.com. Earn1kaday is a membership site but it is totally worth it.

Be Prepared to Work Hard

I see sales pitches that say things like "make money online working an hour a day" or something similar. This may be true once the business is established, but at first you'll need to work HARD before you're able to do that. Some people are able to get there business going after the first few months. For others it takes much longer. Don't let that discourage you. Just keep at it and your hard work will eventually pay off.

There are a lot of people who have jobs they don't like. And there are even more who have jobs that they are simply tolerating. I know there's a better way because I am living proof that you can successfully make money doing something that you enjoy.

Ever since I was in the 4th grade I knew I wanted to be a writer. I had a slight detour in college when I studies engineering for a time. I wised up and became an English major. But there really weren't a lot of jobs that interested me so I started my freelance writing career a few years after I graduated. It's been going great ever since! Deadlines can be a little stressful sometimes, but at least that was self - imposed. I made the decision to do that work in the first place.

If you have something that you want to do, all you need to do is take those first steps. And you don't even need to quit your job yet. Wait until your business becomes lucrative before you do. They quality of your life will improve drastically.