How Home-Based Online Business Can Help The Australian Government Get Out of Debt (Part 3)

While this article series was written with the Australian economy in mind, the ideas are relevant for anybody, anywhere in the world.

This is a three part series about the current financial crisis we find ourselves in, how home-based online businesses can assist the Government get ‘out of the poo’ (and what it needs to do now) and how ordinary Australians can use the power of the internet to play our part and help out.

Part 3 covers:

• Online Money Making Opportunities
• What Government Needs to Understand
• Suggestions for the Government to Promote Home-Based Online Business

Online Money Making Opportunities

Home-based online (and offline) business opportunities are numerous and are available to everyone as an alternative income generating source.

Internet websites and blogs can generate income in many different ways, including from:

• Advertising, affiliate sales programs, web authoring, selling electronic products, selling their own or others’ physical products and services, selling intellectual property (e.g. domain names and websites).

A person may choose to:

• Purchase a domain name and pay for hosting of their own website to make money from the methods listed above (and there are many others).
• Obtain a free website (e.g. Facebook, WordPress.com, Ning and other social networking sites).
• Sell a website they got for free (e.g. Squidoo) by developing it into a website that generates significant visitor traffic and therefore becoming an attractive investment for others.
• Not have a website or blog at all and still make money online by simply registering with an affiliate program and making recommendations on other people’s sites or by sending emails to friends and associates.

A person needs access to a computer and an internet connection, but this does not necessary have to be a permanent arrangement. A person can:

• Borrow or use somebody else’s computer and internet connection for free, e.g. local library, school, university, employers.
• Pay for temporary access e.g. internet café, hire, rent or lease agreements.
• Access the internet using mobile wireless technology e.g. iPod, iPhone.

What Government Needs to Understand

• ‘How does the internet impact the administration and regulation of government business?’
• ‘Who uses the internet to ‘make a living’ or supplement their ordinary income?’
• ‘How can Government use the internet better to deliver services and provide Australians with a better standard of living?’

By answering questions such as these, the government will be better equipped to deal with the changing face of the Australian workforce.

10 Suggestions for the Government to Promote Home-Based Online Business

1. Encourage self-employment and entrepreneurship as an alternative and viable option to traditional employment.
2. Develop educational and marketing materials, both online and offline.
3. Consider inclusion of materials into the national education curriculum and the Digital Education Revolution initiative.
4. Assist Australians to find reputable home-based online ‘money-making’ opportunities.
5. Home-based online opportunities can be offered by individuals, organizations and government agencies.
6. An online portal could offer suitable government opportunities.
7. Privatized job-seeker networks could be encouraged to cater for this particular category of ‘work opportunities’.
8. Assist in the creation of online income-earning activities as a form of additional income support, for now and into the future.
9. Provide purpose-built goods and services as well as grants and subsidies for home-based online start-ups, community projects.
10. Help build awareness of copyright and intellectual property law.