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Who is Making Money Online

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Making Money Online

With the internet swamped with spam and trickery and tom foolery, it is a valid question to ask – just who is making money online? There are several industries that have plateaued in the online area while others seem to be growing.

Additionally there are whole new businesses that are experiencing profitable operations. Operating businesses online has been a life saver for some companies in that the reduction of operating costs has be welcomed with open arms. Apart from savings incurred, some stagnant or less popular businesses and industries have been able to achieve a wider consumer base both locally and internationally.

E-commerce is really the way of the present and of the future.

The industry has created a wealth of opportunities for both vendors and consumers alike and has almost saved the wallets of millions of Americans with the possibilities it holds.

Within the industry lay several sub industries – from ecommerce merchant service provider to trending research analyst, there are new businesses spawned from e-commerce almost every day.

This opportunity couldn’t have come at a better time. With all the money floating around but not in reach, let’s take a look at some of the companies that are making money online:

AIRBNB

This exciting company stated off as “Air Mattress, Bed & Breakfast” but has since shortened to an acronym, while still growing in scope. Airbnb is a nifty online service that pair people who have a room to rent with vacationers and travelers. These are travelers who don’t want to succumb to the lofty prices that hotels are charging and would enjoy a more domestic, down-to-earth stay when they are travelling.

airbnb

These short term rentals completely negate the need for a traditional hotel set up. Airbnb company has already been labeled as one of the next generations of multibillion dollar startups by the New York Times.

By charging travelling customers a 6 – 12% service fee and requiring hosts to pay a 3% fee, they are really raking in the cash. This is an excellent business model as people want the ability to travel but often cannot shoulder the cost of both airfare and accommodation. This way, you are able to visit places around the world without having to fork out too much cash on accommodation. This company was valued at $1 billion dollars in 2011.

DROPBOX:

If you haven’t already used Dropbox, chances are high that you will sooner or later.

dropbox

Dropbox is a web based file hosting service that lets people save their photos, documents, music and every other kind of file to the cloud. This allows the users to access them from any internet connected device.

The Dropbox Company was started in 2007 by two MIT graduates via the Y Combinator. Operating under a freemium business model where people can get started for free but pay for extra space as they want to host more files, Dropbox has become an indispensible tool for those who work and play online.

With cloud technology becoming increasingly popular, companies that utilize the systems are finding themselves more visible, more relevant and more profitable in 2012 and hopefully, beyond. The company’s estimated value ending 2011 was $100 million dollars.

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About

Techie, an Enterprise SEO Consultant, and Digital Marketer, Entrepreneur and MBA (specifically in that order). My Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sefati/

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{ 15 Responses }

  1. Blogzpoint says:
    Airbnb.com , really awesome e-commerce site . I love it . Thanks for sharing :)
  2. Amit Sharma says:
    Well, startups, oh, the unique ones, always rocks. Dropbox being a unique in its own, has a good market value plus utility value is great. People are liking the new idea and that's the reason it's booming, even if Google Drive stands as its tough competitor.
  3. Samuel Pustea says:
    Awesome examples right there. It is possible to make money on the internet with hard, smart work.
  4. Margaret Kasten says:
    Hi,,, Thanks for this wonderful blog. I'm looking for more information for this blog. I learn a lot of things.
  5. Al Sefati says:
    Thanks everyone for your comments. Yes I personally don't know how to live without "dropbox" and and I really believe if you want to make money online, you def. have to sell something. Either a product or services, subscription, something!!!
  6. JamesW says:
    Great post Al and goes straight to the topic, ecommerce is very important for making money. All we need to have is a product and that's it, high quality product does all of the marketing and money will just pour in. thanks for sharing the insights and I also use the dropbox :)
  7. Jasmine says:
    You said it right: E-commerce is really the way of the present and of the future. If you're wanting to make money online, e-commerce is the way to go. p.s. I don't know what I'd do without Dropbox! Having access to all of my docs no matter where I am has been invaluable.
  8. saha says:
    Completely agree with you E-commerce sites are really making money online. I'm using Dropbox. Great services.
  9. Danid says:
    You have added to my knowledge some other ways of making money online other than blogging. Uptil now I did n ot know much about dropbox, but the whole idea seems clear. Blogging is also one way we can earn a lot of money online if used the skills and tactics in the correct way.
  10. Aj Williams says:
    Al I definitely agree with you that E commerce is the way to go for making money online. Of the two products you listed, I am only familiar with Dropbox. It is a very useful product and will help keep your desktop cleaner and more organized because you do not have random files hanging out there.
  11. Roman says:
    Well said. I can't believe how many web design clients come to me with a desire to create a web site based on a vague idea and expecting to make money right away. I always tell them to make sure they have a viable business model before they invest money into a new and shiny website.
  12. Barbara says:
    This article will be a useful tool for my daughter who just opened a shop in NOLA called Hattie Sparks. Thanks.
  13. Jack says:
    What one needs to figure out is the optimum need of usage from any provider whether it might hosting, storage or for that matter search engine too! In this broad perspective of era, one needs to mainly focus on the quality, services & moreover the feedback one provides! It depends on the most usage of the users just to try services, but make sure you only use it only if required! Well, this can make the things go worse!
  14. David says:
    Dropbox is always my high priority channel for keeping the backup for all my important files & docs. They are the best in their services! I love their services a lot & the usage is very simple too! Well, these services are indeed very attractive & also has much of such things too! The interface is simple!
  15. John says:
    The secret to understanding the profit / opportunity of online business is to start by looking at the industry as if it were an offline business with some unique marketing/service angles. For example - a niche ecommerce site is a *product* store with: - Marketing: minimal drive-by traffic but the ability to run highly targeted direct marketing campaigns (SEO / SEM) that can get niche audiences; ability to remarket to these people for free (email marketing), market to a customer's friends (social marketing), etc. - Operations: No fixed real estate investment, able to do 24 hour service, often able to leverage a turnkey software package to reduce investment costs, etc. So...to figure out opportunities - take an offline business and plug online elements into their model, to see if the remixed business is more attractive than the original.. Similarly - it's just business - a bad idea in the offline world don't necessarily get better when you move it onto the internet (eg. look at Webvan, Pets.com)...