A friend asked me about “work from home” jobs on the internet and inspired me to write this article. I am one of those people that started out online many years ago all excited about this new vehicle called the internet. I remember back in 1997 shortly after purchasing a computer, I was surfing around (trying) and it’s like a light came on. I remember thinking there had to be some way for me to make (earn) money online and work from home. Mind you, I had no idea what I was doing and I knew almost nothing about computers as a matter of fact I broke my computer 3 times in 2 months and had to take it back to the shop to have it repaired.

My passion has been graphic design and art work ever since I was a child, I loved to sketch and paint, etc. I had worked for several advertising companies locally and even opened my own brick and mortar business several years before doing some custom air brush work on cars, trucks, motorcycles, etc. but that business went nowhere.

The light came on and I thought maybe if I could create websites that would allow me to work from home and at least provide some type of income that would be in place of my day job. The problem I faced was I knew nothing about designing websites, I could hardly even turn my computer on.

I felt so strong about this that for over a year I read everything I could about website design, I spent many late nights doing this and lots of trial and error but I started coming to me. Back when I started learning website design they didn’t even offer it as a college class and no schools were teaching it so I had no choice but to learn it myself.

During this time I contacted another website design company and was their “broker” I would get the job, pay them a wholesale fee for doing it then I would mark it up and make a little profit when I sold it to my client. This also allowed me to build a portfolio and meet new clients.

We ate a lot of mac-n-cheese and those raman noodles (I hate those things now, both of them) but times were lean and it kept us from starving. Things got better and I was able to apply the things I learned about website design to something that would generate income.

Now it’s over 8 years later and here we are, even with the economy bad I really have to be thankful that I was able to do what I did. I’m glad I found my passion and followed it. I really feel that even more so right now it’s time people need to find their passion and grab hold of it and don’t let go. Not only will this make you focus on something else other than how bad the economy is but you might just surprise yourself and be able to start a new business online. Trust me, you can start an online business on a shoe string budget, you have to take each small step and keep stepping. Plan, think smart and most of all follow your passion.

If you love to do something people can tell and not only that you will be considered an “expert” in that field by a lot of people.

Have you found your passion?