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Well we've certainly hit the ground running this Monday morning. It's not even 11am and my main computer is displaying all the signs of needing a reboot but I've got news for you Mr. Computer ... there's no reboot going to happen till you've finished printing all those press releases.

So how's your Monday going? There was a time when I used to ease into the working week on a Monday but that was many years ago when I worked for a someone else. Now that I'm running my own business there's just no time to ease into things ... if you don't jump right into it then you may as well not bother even starting.

Of course if you're just starting out and trying to make your way in the crazy world of adult webmastering then you really do have to ease into this business. There's an incredible amount of very diverse things that you have to learn before you even make a start and if you don't take the time to learn them then you're just going to waste your time and burn your resources without making any money.

I know that when Steve and I first started in this business we spent a long time doing nothing but reading and learning how to build websites that actually made a sale without giving away too much free stuff. Of course we were itching to build our first free sites and we were sure we knew what to do to make sale ... after all we knew how to write HTML and that was all we needed to know ... or so we thought.

But just being able to write HTML ... or knowing how to use a HTML editor ... is not enough if you want to make a real living in this industry. It's not even the start of making money here and we were lucky that we did take the time to do plenty of research before we built our first site.

If we hadn't taken that time we probably wouldn't be where we are now because we would have wasted our limited resources ... made no sales ... and left the business feeling very disappointed.

Many people do jump in way too soon and start building sites that might be filled with what site visitors want to see but wouldn't sell a glass of water to a thirsty man in the middle of a desert. They waste money on content ... they waste money on hosting and bandwidth ... and before they know it they're broke and they haven't made a single sale.

They leave the industry just as quickly as they entered without even getting close to achieving the goals they had when they set out.

So if you're just starting out then take your time. Read everything you can that's been written about marketing (even marketing in mainstream) and web design. Forget the idea that so many newcomers have that you can make money by using the creatives that every sponsor supplies.

Of course those banners and graphics do have their place but marketing and making money online is a whole lot more than just stuffing a whole bunch of banners onto a page and submitting it to every link list and TGP in the known universe.

Making money online is also about a lot more than just building one site and waiting for the money to roll in. Don't expect your first site to be your only site ... it really is just the start of many many sites that you will build over the years and as soon as you finish building your first site it's time to start on your next one.

Realistically if you aren't turning out a free site, a gallery for TGPs and a couple of one-page wonders to fill out a portal every day of the week then you really aren't doing enough. And right there is another factor that you need to consider if you want to succeed in this industry.

It's hard work and if you want to succeed you really do have to do it seven days a week and you won't be working nine to five either. If you want to succeed here you not only have to work hard every day but you have to work long long hours too.

Of course it does get easier but don't expect an easy life for the first couple of years and even then it's still a hell of a lot harder than working for someone else.

So there's some basic advice for anyone who wants to make a start in this industry. It's a lot harder than you might imagine ... especially considering all the hype that surrounds this business ... but you can do it if you can handle hard work and are prepared to take your time and not rush into things.