" Becoming wealthy is not a matter of how much you earn, who your parents are, or what you do.. it is a matter of managing your money properly."
Noel Whittake
It has become a common belief over the past few years that the world wide web is a virtual gold mine.
Just as people flocked to California during the California gold rush, people are now flocking to the internet with the hopes and dreams that they will strike it rich. There is all kinds of hype going around about how anyone who has a virtual store on the internet is bound to become rich. Unfortunately, the truth is far different from the myth.
While it's true that the internet is growing in leaps and bounds, and the number of businesses and consumers making purchases over the internet is rapidly increasing, the fact is that about 95% of all e-businesses end up failing. Although this high mortality rate for virtual businesses may seem discouraging, there are ways to minimize the odds of your business falling victim to these statistics.
The virtual business world is an extension of the business world that resides within the normal space-time continuum. Being that, many of the things that are true to business in real time is also true in virtual time. The first being that success doesn't just automatically happen.
A virtual business requires the same sound planning, good management, long-term commitment and hard work as its brick and mortar counter-part. These elements are essential for the success of any business, and just because a web store doesn't take up physical space in the "real world" doesn't make them any less vital. In fact, it makes them even more essential.
Doing business over the internet is still relatively new and requires consideration of many new factors that not all virtual business owners understand. For example, the average time you have to capture the attention of a visitor to your web site is between 10 and 20 seconds once your page is loaded. And if the first page they attempt to view is too slow in loading, forget it . . . they are on their way to another site. If you do get them to your site and manage to get their interest, the next test is ease of navigation. Most visitors will not spend a lot of time trying to figure out the sense of your site, or how to move around to find out what you are all about. They will leave your site for another that is easier to navigate and comprehend.
These are only a few of the considerations when developing a web store, but I think they are enough to make my point. It is not just a matter of coming up with a cool product that everyone will want to buy and then throwing it up on a web page. Before you can do business on the internet, you must first learn how to do business on the internet. As in all things, when doing business on the internet, knowledge is the key to success. If you don't have any experience with doing business on the World Wide Web, then research the subject as a part of developing your business plan.
Good management is more than simply taking money from your customers, depositing it in your bank and entering the transaction in your bookkeeping system. It means providing the best customer service that you can provide. It means utilizing your business resources in order to maximize your profits, while offering the most competitive prices you can. It means keeping accurate records and analyzing the results of your business activities to keep your business on the right track. Again, managing a virtual business has some unique challenges from a brick and mortar business. For one thing, you do not have the direct contact with your customers. Getting feedback from your customers requires different approaches than if you had a walk-in store front.
In the end, it takes long term commitment and hard work to transform your virtual store from just another web site into a successful business. There are no guarantees. All web
sites begin as just another pebble in the sand. But if you go about it the right way and have the commitment and patience to keep at it, eventually your grain of sand can sparkle . . . and that will
attract customers. 
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