Almost without fail most sources of information on setting up an Internet based business will concentrate purely on the Internet side of your business, however there are important points to consider that have nothing at all to do with the Internet itself which we are going to look at today.

Now that you have decided that you want to run an Internet based business form home, have you considered the practicalities involved? If in the past you have had a conventional job you have always had you working environment specified for you by your employer.

Well now technically you are the employer – employing yourself! So what does that mean? Well you have to organize your own working environment for a start. Have you actually considered exactly where you are going to work from?

For some people working from the dining room table while the kids are running about beside you poses no problem at all whilst for others it would be pure hell. So do you have facilities to setup a separate work space if required?

Have you considered the equipment you are likely to need? For instance do you require a separate business phone line? What computer equipment do you need? Will you require a printer, a fax, a scanner? Have you organized a desk, a computer chair (very important for your health), will you need storage for files etc. These things although appearing quite mundane are actually a very important part of your business setup process.

Another aspect of setting up your business that is often glossed over is that most books, videos, websites etc will be quick to point out that in order to successfully run an online business the new business owner will require a domain name, a hosting account and a website. A fairly significant number of them however merely tell you that you need these things but don't explain how to set them up this can be quite frustrating for the newcomer who wants to get started

It is all too easy for someone who has been using the net for a while to forget that some newcomers have truly no real knowledge of how to do more than basic Internet surfing. This is not a bad thing, we all started out knowing nothing and gradually learned more as we went along, however for someone who wishes to use the Internet for business some basic tuition in the steps required to set things up will help enormously.

I intend to concentrate more fully on these and other matters relating to starting out on line in upcoming articles.

There are also number of online resources that will teach you all that you are likely to need as well as some really good books both in print and electronic formats which would serve equally well. Below is a small selection of resources which I have found personally helpful and would be quite happy to recommend to others.

http://tutorials.freeskills.com/ a range of free tutorials on a variety of computing and internet subjects, including marketing on the web.

http://www.gcflearnfree.org a range of free courses and tutorials which may prove useful for anyone wishing to start a business.

http://www.designprofessional.co.uk/Marketing.htm a range of information and resources relating to internet marketing - not all free but enough information freely available to make this a useful site.

A search on google for free tutorials or free ebooks on any subject you wish to learn more about should throw up a large number of possible resources, and a search on Amazon will give plenty of inforation on books which can be purchased.

well thats it for now.

regards Graham