You probably know the name of one of the richest people in the world, Jeff Bezos. His net worth is estimated to be upwards of $150 billion. Of course that’s only an estimate, because mere humans can’t understand or accurately count numbers that high. Jeff’s money has literally entered the “Pretend Zone.” Even his accountants are shrugging their shoulders and saying “$150 billion is our best guess, give or take a few billion.” That’s serious, almost scary money.

What you may not know about Jeff Bezos is that he did not start building his Amazon empire in Silicon Valley. He actually started building it in his basement! Yes, he started with a work-from-home, online business. What are the chances that you can build a successful online business as well? The chances are great, especially if you’re not expecting to be the singular richest person in the world.

If you want to work for yourself, anywhere in the world, while living a comfortable lifestyle and scaling your earnings to however much you choose, then an online business is a great way for you to go.

But hold on for a second…starting any kind of business can be tough, and most people are not well-informed or well-equipped before they jump into the arena. This lack of understanding and preparation is why so many online businesses quickly stall or fail. The real question to ask is “How do I PREPARE myself to start an online business?”

You’ll probably do what almost everyone does: A Google search!

I’ve got a little bad news for you there. A quick Google search for “Easy Business To Start” will return about 5,270,000,000 results, give or take a few hundred thousand. Of course, Google’s algorithm also picked up tens of millions of websites that are not even relevant, and won’t help you at all.

However, it is safe to say that at least the first couple of pages of your search results might be pertinent to what you’re looking for. So now, on just those first couple of Google pages, you have about 50 different websites competing for your attention. Do you have a few days to navigate through 50 websites looking for any bit of truth that you can really use? Are you prepared for any of those little bits of truth to create dozens of more questions that you have to keep searching for? How do you know the difference between genuinely helpful free information and complete rubbish that you may even have to pay for?

There is a common misunderstanding that Google's top search results are automatically the most trustworthy. This could not be any further from the truth. Search engines are not in business to help you quickly find exactly what you need. They are in business to hook you into searching, and keep you searching. Every time you search and click, the search engine receives advertisement revenue. They need you to keep clicking so that they make more money. The lesson here is that Google doesn’t want to help you “successfully start an online business”. Google wants you to keep searching, and keep on clicking. They are in business to make money, which is valid…hey, that’s exactly what YOU want to do!

And as far as those top 50 websites on your search results, here is another lesson: Popularity does not mean Truth. Those top 50 search results are popular, not because they are helpful or truthful, but because competing businesses are able to grab the top search result spots based on their high volumes of traffic, expensive search engine optimization methods, and their intricately constructed multi-million dollar marketing strategies.

Here’s the real deal…there is a LOT of incorrect, deceptive, and completely outdated information out there, especially if you’re trying to research “How to start an online business.” If you are unable to determine what information is legitimate and what is misleading, then you are setting yourself up to fail right from the start.

So for your first step, it is very important to find a legitimate mentor who will provide you with real and proven strategies to help successfully guide you through the entire process of selecting and running an easy business to start online.