Tip 1 — Start Small.
Many of Johnston's students are eager to dive in head first, ready to invest all their savings into overseas imports or shopping network returns. But Johnston discourages such risky moves for two reasons.

• They haven't considered all the costs — the enormous minimum quantities that may be required, or the price of having their goods shipped from overseas, not to mention the incidental charges they may incur in the process.

• They have little experience and, therefore, no way of knowing all that these transactions entail. Says Johnston, "You're going to make mistakes in the beginning. The way to minimize any kind of horrible error is to learn with inexpensive items, and scale up." Start with a minimum investment; and as you begin to make a profit, put that money back into your business rather than buying new toys for yourself.

Tip 2 — Research the Market and Test Your Results.
As you go, you'll learn which products sell well and where you're actually making a profit. Johnston has a "funnel theory" on finding your product niche: "You start really broad, with huge categories. Then you do your market research and you funnel down. You get smaller and smaller, until out the other end of the funnel comes a handful of products that you can really do well with."

Tip 3 — Start on EBay.
EBay is a great tool for beginners just learning about online retail. There are several reasons why it's a smart place to start:

• It's quick, easy, and inexpensive.

• The traffic is built in, and the people that are seeing your listings are seeing them because they're specifically searching for your type of product.

• It's a good way to get exposed to the ins and outs of the business.

Tip 4 — There's No Such Thing as "Get Rich Quick!"
Starting an e-business is just like starting any other business — it takes patience and persistence. Don't expect to be magically rolling in money overnight. And don't just jump at every "opportunity" that comes along, for fear of missing out. Research it first; if it sounds too good to be true — well, you know... If you take the time to understand what you're doing, there's plenty of room in the e-commerce industry for you to make money.