As you may or may not know my actual business that I run from home has to do with affiliate marketing. If you’ve never heard of affiliate marketing that’s ok. Basically I sell stuff on behalf of other companies through websites that I build and promote. I never handle any products – I just “arrange” the sale and get paid a commission for that. The commission is between say 5% and 10% per sale.

A really, really critical part of running an online business is having great web hosting. Why? Because folks if your web host is offline your websites are offline and you’re not making money. It’s a very simple equation but something that people overlook all the time when they’re setting up their first website.

What most people want is the cheapest web hosting possible. Mistake! With web hosting if you pay peanuts you get monkeys – a cheap web host will normally cause you more problems and cost you more money than you ever could have imagined. Trust me there’s nothing more frustrating than looking for technical support that just doesn’t exist. Tick tock – every hour of downtime is costing you money. Bad mojo!

So who do I use? Well I have a few web hosts that I use but the one that consistently keeps me smiling in terms of features, support and uptime (the opposite of downtime and a hugely important shopping factor!) is Hostgator.

Hostgator have served me very well over the last several years and are currently top of my lists of web hosts that I use (and I have several web hosting accounts).

So what do I like about Hostgator?

Fast hosting

Great set of features
(including the Fantastico package of applications.)

Very well priced

Everything from beginner hosting to dedicated servers.

Great support

Very little downtime

So if you’re looking for a great, easy-to-use and reliable webhost then I can put my hand on my heart here and recommend Hostgator!

Just came across this article on working from home – gives you a good general gist of what you can expect or opportunities that are out there for you.

Read the full article here.

The current global recession is seen as a sign of doom and gloom by far too many people.

Yes a recession is generally bad news for the economy of any country. That being said if you look at any recession in history one things seems consistent – after any recession comes a great amount of prosperity. Vast in some cases. At the end of this recession you’ll see a new generation of millionaires and billionaires. That’s just how it goes. Swings and roundabouts so to speak. An economy can’t stay in a permanent nosedive – it will eventually improve.

So what does this mean if you want to start your own business? Be prepared mentally and financially. Don’t take silly risks and don’t take chances with your finances. Be practical about the fact that a recession makes starting a business that bit tougher.

The good news is that any business that can thrive during a recession will also thrive during booming economics. You’ll also notice that the world doesn’t stop turning during a recession. Business continues on. Another way of looking at it is this – a recession will “kill off” all the businesses that weren’t in good shape in the first place. Financially “unhealthy” businesses and banks will go under – the only thing keeping them afloat was an overinflated global economy.

I’ll leave you with the words of wisdom a friend gave me when I doubted working for myself. He said “What’s the worst that can happen if it doesn’t all work out? That’s right you’ll just have to get a job again. No big deal”.

It’s a refreshing way of looking at fear no?