With petrol prices rising through the roof and the cost of childcare almost as much as your weekly wage, working from home seems the ideal option. The benefits of starting an online business are obvious, not only do you no longer have to put up with unreasonable management, but you can also gain the freedom to work the hours you desire. Leaving you free to look after your children during the day and sit down in the evening and get busy on your new venture. If the sun is shining and you feel like going for a walk or taking the children to the park you can, that is the best thing about being your own boss.

This may sound wonderful but be under no illusion, starting your own business will not be a bed of roses. An internet business will not be a success over night, you will have to work hard and give it time and effort before you will be able to earn a full time wage. If you are willing to be patient and put the work in you will reap the benefit and succeed in your new online business.

Deciding which business is right for you is the most important factor; there are plenty to choose from, such as:

1. Surveys these are easy to learn if you don't have much computer knowledge. Surveys basically just consist of giving your details to companies and giving your opinions on products and services.

2. Affiliate programs can be a little more complicated. You need to set up your own website, which if you are not a computer programmer can be made relatively easy by using a program such as Dreamweaver or Microsoft Front page. Once you have designed your site you can use the affiliate programs which supply advertisements for you to place on your website, these will earn you money with each sale, lead or click from your customer. You then have to submit your website to as many search engines as possible and build up your reciprocal links to improve your site ranking and search engine position.

3. Drop shipping is another online business which is mainly based around selling on Ebay. First you sign up to a drop shipper's site, view their products and then through an auction site you sell their products, never actually having to handle the goods. Once you have sold the product, you receive payment from your customer; send the cost price to the drop shipper along with your customer's details and postage money, and then the drop shipper sends the product direct to your customer. You make money by keeping the profit from everything you sell.

These are the more popular ways to make money online, though there are plenty of others out there if you wish to try something different. A perfect business opportunity could be your ticket to freedom from the daily drag of your 9-5.