Last Updated 10th October 2026
Are you thinking about getting started online but don’t know where to begin? Perhaps you would like to build an online business, earn additional income or eventually work from home. There are plenty of opportunities, but choosing a direction can be confusing. This is especially true when you’re completely new to internet marketing.
I know exactly what that feels like because I’ve been there myself. When I first started exploring the internet, I could see its enormous potential, but I had absolutely no idea how to turn that potential into an online business. Looking back, I made plenty of mistakes that cost me thousands of pounds and countless hours of frustration.
In this article, I want to share some of those experiences and explain what I would do differently if I were getting started online today. Hopefully, it will help you avoid some of the mistakes I made and give you a clearer idea of where to begin.
My First Experience With Computers And The Internet
I bought my first computer in 2001, having never used one before. I remember struggling to find the letters on the keyboard because I didn’t even know where they were! Everything seemed painfully slow, and the dial-up internet connection made things even harder.
In those days, the internet was useful for sending emails, but trying to do much more could be extremely frustrating. When broadband arrived in 2004, it completely changed the way I looked at the internet. Suddenly, websites loaded much faster, and I could begin to see the enormous opportunities that were opening up.
It’s remarkable how technology has changed since then. Today, I can dictate blog posts, emails and comments using speech recognition software such as Wispr Flow. I previously used Dragon NaturallySpeaking for many years, but technology has moved on considerably. If you’re interested, I’ve written about how Wispr Flow is saving me time when creating online content.
However, having better technology doesn’t automatically mean you know how to build an online business. That was the problem I faced when I first started.
My Biggest Mistake When Getting Started Online
When I first realised what was possible online, I became extremely enthusiastic. The problem was that I didn’t know where to begin, so I started searching the internet for information about making money online.
Unfortunately, I came across all sorts of products making extraordinary promises. Some claimed I could become a millionaire over the weekend or make thousands of pounds while I slept. Others advertised a secret system that apparently nobody else knew about.
I purchased product after product, hoping the next one would finally explain what I needed to do. Some contained useful information, but many disappointed me. Their sales material sounded fantastic. However, the products often failed to deliver on those promises.
One of the most frustrating things was that there always seemed to be a missing ingredient. A product would explain part of the process but leave out something essential. Then another product would come along, claiming to have the missing answer, and I would find myself spending more money.
Looking back, I can see that I was suffering from what internet marketers often call shiny object syndrome. Instead of following one sensible plan and putting it into practice, I was continually looking for something better.
It Took Me Three Years To Get My First Website Online
I started exploring online business opportunities in 2004. However, it took me approximately three years to get my first money-making website online. I eventually paid a professional to create it because I lacked the knowledge and confidence to build it myself.
At the time, even something as basic as choosing a domain name was unfamiliar to me. I was trying to learn everything as I went along, without a proper training programme or somebody experienced to guide me through the process.
If I had found a genuine training platform that explained everything step by step, I believe I could have saved myself thousands of pounds and many hours of wasted effort. That’s probably the single biggest lesson I learned from those early years.
What Type Of Online Business Should You Start?
One of the first things I would suggest is deciding what kind of online business you actually want to build. There are many different ways to earn money online, but trying to learn all of them at once is unlikely to help you make meaningful progress.
For example, you might be interested in affiliate marketing, selling your own products, providing a service, creating YouTube videos or building a website around a particular subject. Each approach has advantages and disadvantages, and the right choice will depend on your interests, experience and circumstances.
Personally, I particularly like affiliate marketing because you don’t need to manufacture your own products or deal with shipping. You can recommend products and services that are relevant to your audience and potentially earn a commission when somebody purchases through your referral link.
If you’re unfamiliar with the subject, I’ve written a separate guide explaining how to start an affiliate marketing business, including choosing a niche and creating useful content.
Do You Need A Website To Get Started Online?
When I first started, hiring someone to create a website was a considerable undertaking. Thankfully, things are very different today. WordPress now makes it much easier for ordinary people to build and manage their own websites.
However, I wouldn’t say that everybody must have a website before they can earn money online. Some people build businesses through YouTube, social media, freelancing platforms and other methods without owning a traditional website.
Having said that, I still believe there are significant advantages to owning your own website. It gives you somewhere to publish content, build your brand and develop your business. You also avoid depending entirely on a social media platform. Your website gives you much greater control than a Facebook page or YouTube channel.
My preference is to use a website alongside other platforms. YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn can help people discover your content, while your website provides a more permanent home for the information you create.
Why Proper Training Can Save You Time And Money
If I could go back to 2004, I would give myself one piece of advice: find a trustworthy training platform. I would follow its instructions and put the lessons into practice. That would have given me a clearer direction than continually purchasing different products.
There is an enormous amount of free information online, and some of it is excellent. However, complete beginners can struggle to judge which information they can trust. They also need to know which lessons to follow first and how everything fits together.
A good training programme should take you through the process in a logical order. It should also give you opportunities to ask questions when you get stuck, rather than leaving you to work everything out on your own.
That doesn’t mean you need to spend a fortune on training. In fact, one of my strongest recommendations is to avoid spending money until you understand what you’re purchasing and why you need it.
Why I Recommend Wealthy Affiliate
I joined Wealthy Affiliate in November 2014. As I update this article in October 2026, I’ve been a member for almost twelve years. I was already making money online when I joined. However, I appreciated the structured training, useful tools and community of people working towards similar goals.
One of the things I particularly value is being able to ask questions and learn from people who have practical experience. Internet marketing changes constantly, so even after all these years, I still find it useful to keep learning and improving my knowledge.
Wealthy Affiliate is not a system that guarantees you’ll make money, and it certainly isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme. You still need to learn, create useful content, take action and give your business time to develop.
I’ve written more about my experience in Why Wealthy Affiliate Training Really Works, where I explain the benefits of following a structured training programme rather than trying to learn everything at once.
I’m also a member of Video Ranking Academy, which focuses on YouTube. I believe in recommending training platforms that I’ve personally used and found helpful, rather than promoting something simply because it pays an affiliate commission.
A Simple Plan For Getting Started Online
If I were starting again today, I would keep things much simpler than I did back in 2004. Rather than trying to learn everything at once, I would concentrate on making steady progress through a few basic steps.
- Choose a direction. Decide whether you want to explore affiliate marketing, content creation, providing a service or another online business model.
- Find reliable training. Look for a structured learning programme with realistic expectations and support when you need help.
- Choose a subject you understand or enjoy. It’s much easier to create useful content when you have a genuine interest in what you’re talking about.
- Build your main platform. Depending on your business model, this could be a website, YouTube channel or another suitable platform.
- Create genuinely helpful content. Concentrate on answering questions, solving problems and sharing useful experiences rather than simply trying to sell something.
- Keep learning and taking action. Give yourself time to develop your skills, review what is working and make improvements as you go along.
None of these steps is particularly complicated when you break them down individually. The challenge is staying focused long enough to make progress instead of continually changing direction.
Don’t Expect Overnight Success
I strongly encourage beginners to understand that building an online business takes time. There are exceptions, of course, but beginners shouldn’t expect instant wealth. Those exaggerated promises caused me so much frustration in the early days.
You may need to spend considerable time learning, creating content and building an audience before you see meaningful financial results. Some business ideas work better than others, and there are no guarantees that every project will become profitable.
However, you can approach the process sensibly and keep your expenses under control. Concentrate on developing useful skills and putting them into practice. This gives you a stronger foundation than continually chasing the next supposedly miraculous opportunity.
My Final Thoughts On Getting Started Online
I can hardly believe how much has changed since I bought my first computer in 2001. Back then, I struggled to find the letters on the keyboard. Then broadband arrived in 2004 and opened up new possibilities. Today’s technology would have seemed almost unbelievable to me.
But one thing hasn’t changed. You still need to understand what you’re trying to achieve, learn the necessary skills and take consistent action. No software, training platform or clever marketing system can completely replace those things.
My biggest regret isn’t that I started with very little computer knowledge. Everybody has to begin somewhere. It’s that I spent so much time and money purchasing products when what I really needed was a clear plan and some trustworthy guidance.
If you’re thinking about getting started online, I hope my experience encourages you to take that first step, but also to be careful about where you spend your money. Find something that interests you, get some reliable training and concentrate on building a genuine business rather than chasing unrealistic promises.
And if you have any questions or would like to share your own experience of getting started online, please leave a comment below. I’m always interested to hear how other people began their online journey.
Affiliate disclosure: Some links on this website may be affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. I prefer to recommend products and services that I have personally used and believe may be helpful.