The Online Trader Newsletter - published by Richard Grady

Hi Folks!

Happy New Year everyone!!

Hope you all had a great holiday season and are ready to get back into making some serious money online :-)

What are YOU doing?

Just before Christmas, I asked my customers and subscribers to email me and tell me about the online businesses they had set up during 2003. My reason for doing this was so that I could include a few of the stories in this newsletter to prove that it IS possible to make money online. I get so many emails from people saying that it is too hard and can't be done etc that I wanted to show them that they were wrong. Also, seeing other 'ordinary' people succeeding is a great motivator.

So here are five of the stories that I received....

BetterWebSpace
Keiron Skillett started his web hosting business in late 2002 and by April 2003, he had already made a profit. By November 2003, his client base had grown to such an extent that he was able to purchase his own server for hosting (instead of reselling space on a third-party server) and in his words, 'Business is good'. The only downside appears to be that there are not enough hours in the day for Keiron to tackle all of the online projects that he has ideas for (something I understand only too well!) Keiron's goal for this year is to get the business to a level that will allow him to give up his day job.

Zashop
This site was started in 2003 by A K Miah. The site sells gadgets, gifts and other gizmos. Managing the website is now the full-time job of Mr Miah and the growth in sales have been aided significantly by the recent introduction of an affiliate program.

SubCult
After a couple of false-starts online, Adam Blair finally found a small niche with SubCult.net that provides him with a modest yet constant income that has saved him from having to get a part-time job. Adam is a racing driver by trade but as he explained to me, unless you reach the dizzy heights of Formula One, this is not a particularly lucrative job. Adam has also recently started work on his next online project - the site isn't live yet but you can see the initial outline at www.buycarstogether.co.uk.

Cheap-Postcards
Rebecca started Cheap-Postcards in July 2003 and is completely self-taught in web design and the other aspects of online business (as are the vast majority of online entrepreneurs). Despite the fact that Rebecca considers the business a long way from being finished, she has built up a good customer base and sales record. Rebecca runs competitions for her customers and subscribers and intends to make 2004 a very busy year by making various improvements to increase traffic and sales to the site.

Winsome
Thelma was made redundant from her job last year and at the age of 40, she didn't relish the prospect of getting another job. Instead, she decided to try and go it alone and set up Winsome, a website selling Faberge products and other collectibles. Thelma admits that she has found it hard getting traffic to the website and found it easier marketing the products on eBay - as I have said before, you don't have to have a website to sell online, many people use eBay and other online auctions as their sole outlet.

So there you have it, five stories from people doing five very different things online - thanks to all of the above entrepreneurs for taking the time to email me.

Every week I get emails from people that have taken the first step on the path to owning their own online business and every week I get emails from people that, after a few months of work, are starting to earn a regular income from the Internet - often far in excess of what they were earning offline.

If you want to start your own business this year, I have plenty of products that will help you and several of them are completely free! For a start, there is my forum which is dedicated to helping YOU make money online. It won't cost you a penny to use and you can find it at http://www.traderonlineforum.com.

If you are thinking about selling products on eBay or from a website, check out my free US and UK wholesale search engines:

US wholesale search engine: www.thewholesaletrader.com

UK wholesale search engine: www.wholesale118.co.uk

Finally, if you want some top quality information and products to download, check out my US and UK-Trader's Private Sites. They will cost you a small amount for membership but you definitely won't be disappointed with what you get for the money. Links to both sites can be found at the top right of this page.

In the meantime, please take a few minutes to visit the websites of my customers above - you never know, you might be inspired and this time next year, maybe your story will be featured right here :-)

Until next time...

Richard Grady