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Don't fool yourself. Nobody gives money away. So there are many fewer Internet millionaires out there than the press suggested a few years back. A recent study said that annual incomes from cyberspace companies range from 10,000 euros to figures with six zeros behind them, although most are between 40,000 and 120,000 euros a year.

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The Internet offers four main business models: sales of goods and services, sales of advertising space and content, content development, and providers and technical services related to the Net.

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In theory, there is no other means of business communication as efficient as the Internet. Having a web page is cheap, and the cost of reaching people is infinitely lower than that of offline formats. The immediacy of the messages and the flexibility of the content are also unparalleled elsewhere.

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Even people with little experience can set up an Internet store with their computer in a matter of days. But there is more to it than hiring a domain, building a web page, housing it and promoting it on search engines. What is really important is deciding exactly what you want to sell and enable Web surfers to buy it.

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Convenience and price are the two main considerations that lead a Web user to buy through his or her computer as opposed to going out and buying it at the closest store.

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Cyberspace entrepreneurs seeking income from advertisers should concentrate on how many and what kind of visitors their page receives. As advertisers become savvier, they become more demanding. So they don't just consider traffic volume, or number of visits, but the percentage of transactions that are finally carried out thanks to a given advertising method.

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The Internet juggernaut requires an increasingly large army of businesses that provide content, programmers, web site designers and all kinds of services such as consulting and marketing.

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It has been shown that, with a few exceptions, most existing kinds of business can be carried out in cyberspace. It is just a question of finding the right added-value.

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Building an Internet portal with a business-oriented goal requires six main steps: defining the content, researching the market, choosing the right people for each task, setting up and testing the page, advertising it in the right places, maintaining it and updating it.

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Common mistakes of Internet entrepreneurs:
- Not really knowing which segment of the market they are appealing to.
- Neglecting to study the market.
- Lacking a plan to promote their web site.
- Lacking objective criteria for deciding if goals have been met.
- Assigning business incorrectly.
- Adopting a model and design that are not appropriate for the medium.
- Lacking technical expertise to operate in national and international markets.
- Carelessness in logistics and accounts payable system.
- Not paying enough attention to online security.