Started business

Being in Africa may influence one to perceive technology and globalization as a far fetched thing, let alone being a native African. I couldn’t think of myself as an African getting so involved in the internet business. In fact, I still feel that there is still a lot more to explore online. Today I run my own website , I’m a member to a stock photography website, have published online, bought several products, earned cash for participating in online business and am writing articles for other websites. I’m living in Swaziland and not South Africa as many know that SA is known as the gateway to Africa. Right from Swaziland I have been able to attract some South Africans to visit, comment and consult me from my website.

The greatest surprise I got from online business was when I got paid for participating. It just seemed too good to be true. Yes, earning some money. Before I even realized it, I was a webmaster, a freelance writer and a google affiliate.

The first dollar I earned was when I sold a digital photo from a stock photography website. I was so exited to discover that Internet business is an option for all people in the world including Africans. I had earlier on decided to upload several photos in my profile just for fun. It was eye opening to learn that employment can be created online when I sold the first photo. I woke up one other day to check my email and found that I had sold even more photos. I gained confidence in the business of selling photos online such that I did some more research and published a simple guide to selling photos online. I wanted to make this publication accessible to many and decided to sell it at a cheap price.

I wrote this publication from the Africa perspective. I know there are a lot of Africans who own digital cameras and more than 90 percent of the people underutilize these cameras. Some who do not have the digital cameras may have good original pictures in their PC hard drives that could be exchanged for cash online. I thought this is truly an opportunity for all people. I must say that we Africans need such opportunities more than any other continent in the world.

The next step I took towards taking advantage of the internet was designing and publishing my own website. I was so intimidated by the fact that hosting will cost me some money, not knowing that it is very affordable to do so. Many people will be surprised to learn that I host my 60MB website for only E45.00 a month. I was expecting to pay far more than what I pay today. With no idea of what to do next, I took time to learn the internet hosting jargon. You’ll be surprised that the internet itself will teach you the whole process from A to Z. I tried consulting experts, but all of them were to busy to give me the attention I wanted. I decided to train myself and was again surprised to learn that software and computer systems are user friendly. All it takes is dedication.

The website had no visitors other than myself for the first six months. It was off-course disappointing but a good lesson to know that a website is worth nothing without attracting visitors. I made efforts to make my website known and am gradually reaping the fruits of those efforts with at least 50 visitors a month and 15 members. All these numbers are growing monthly.

After that, I tendered my website for google AdSense. I was approved and that is why my website has google ads in many of the pages. It’s simple, free and rewarding. Can you believe that google would pay if a webmaster link ads from his/her website? Be a webmaster and you‘ll know.

The fact of the matter is this, ‘What I have explored so far is not in anyway an exhaustive list of money making opportunities online’. I still wish to explore Multi-Level Marketing, paid surveys, data entry, etc. I’d like to encourage all people who have access to the internet to try and get monitory rewards for their time spend online.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Internet Business is for Africans Too