So you've decided to take the leap into deep water and go into business for yourself, specifically into Internet Marketing. Congratulations! This was a smart decision, one that will eventually reward you with all the dreams you can dream. Your challenge now is to survive that 1st year.

Hopefully you're reading this early on in your endeavors, and can make the adjustments necessary to keep your enterprise afloat and your bank account buoyant. Here are several things the "gurus" neglected to mention along the way to building your own internet marketing empire!

1 - Who are you listening to? There are a lot of people who've made a lot of money, and they're all too eager to tell you about it, frequently in the form of their latest product. It's very easy to find yourself tuning in too many voices, instead of riding one horse till it either gets you there or is spent. Find a niche that interests you, find products that are either yours or through an affiliate program, and focus entirely on your plan, not allowing yourself to chase rabbits.

2 - What is certain! And that is that the real money to be made in internet marketing is produced in the following ways: owning your own site(s), your own products, your own opt-in mailing list, and your own vision! Think about it! Not one of the internet millionaires to whom we look to for advice has lacked any of these for very long. You bought their products off their sites, joined their mailing lists, and to one degree or another shared their vision. If you haven't already, begin immediately to build your own empire. Build a site, start learning about traffic, linking, opt-in lists and all the other essentials necessary for long-term success. Affiliate marketing will only take you so far. In fact, most of the top affiliates have several of their own products!

3 - The learning curve. There is a certain amount of information you simply have to either learn (or pay for). Don't discount the fact that this will take a little time. One doesn't discover how to build and market a fully- optimized web site in a month. Or three! This is; and because of the fluid nature of the web; always will be a work-in-progress. Do what you can do every day and come back tomorrow for more. Don't be discouraged when the money takes a while to appear; if you do this right, when it does show up it will be worth the wait!

4 - A support system. Get one. Don't plan on supporting yourself from your business right away. It took the best at the very least several months to start seeing any real money. Don't despair if you turn out to be mortal, too. Give yourself a chance at this; the rewards are simply too great. I'll leave you with a quote that sustained me many a night: "I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship." - Louisa May Alcott

Keith Thompson is the webmaster of Internet Marketing Here & Now where you can find lots of information on how to learn internet marketing!