Hi Cory, You made a great point (both directly and indirectly). You cannot succeed in any business or job unless you have a passion for it. You can't go into a job with simply a passion for money; it won't work. If a person has a true passion for what they are doing, more likely than not, one way or another, they will work it through. This year alone, my business has grown over 1,000% b/c I now have the employees where I can do the marketing and not the recruiting. Form a great team of those who live what they do as well and, without doubt, you will succeed and make money. Ken Sundheim President kasplacement.com/los-angeles-sales-recruiters.php ---This post was edited to remove a commercial link. Read our discussion policies for more Community best practices.

You actually do not have to give up your day job to begin a business.  These days, to start a business, you must have great online exposure.  To me, this is a hard and fast rule - no 'if's, ands, or buts.'  Therefore, start your site and write about 6 or 7 landing pages (look up the definition - very easy concept).  Then, begin building backlinks from 3 different sources with appropriate anchor text (look up def: again, easy).  In time, you will start to see your rankings in Google rise.     At this point, put in Google Analytics.  A business is like a baby of sorts, it takes more than 1 day to make.  Starting a business is not all or nothing.  Begin via online marketing and make the leap when you have business, not before.  This formula worked wonders for me.     Ken Sundheim President    <a href='http://www.kasplacement.com/new-york-city-recruiters.php'>KAS New York City Recruiters</a>

I'm starting a similar business, and from the research I have done it looks like a simple DBA is the way to go. Starting an LLC or S Corp has such a high cost I don't think it is justified by the purely speculative future profits. However, not having too many assets, I'm not that worried about liability protection offered by a corporation or LLC. 

The IRS gives a new business up to 3 yrs with no profit before they step in. Of course they can step in at any time, but generally, you are ok not to make a profit during that timeframe. What the IRS is looking for in a legitimate business is that you are set up as business and not just running the website for a hobby or for fun. In order to be thought of a business you should have several items in order. First you need to register the business locally if you have not already done so. Obtaining a DBA name (registering the business name) is very inexpensive and quick at your local govvernment offices (county). Depending on the type of business or if you charge sales tax you may need to register with your state government offices. Secondly, you should get a bank account under the business name. You will need the DBA or registration certificate to do that. Third, you need to keep records of your business activities. Sales, expenses and such. This is especially important if you plan to use your home and other deductions for a home office. While the number of webpages has no bearing on whether your website can be considered a business, or whether you can obtain advertisers, the amount of actual traffic to the site will determine how you can monetize it. You might consider a membership site as one way to obtain revenue. You can also add Google or other type ads and use affiliate marketing whereby you place others' links on your site and when someone makes a purchase you get a commission. Hope this helps.

Hi, I have spotted your website before now and it is a great site filled with valued content. Just curious, have you looked at monetising primarily with selling on digital products? I know these can generate big profits. If you head to Clickbank, do check out Vince Del Monte's program.:D

Congratulations on your site and your desire to help others. With so much content, you should be able to secure paid ads, maybe from fitness centers on some pages, nutrition centers on others, fitness equipment retailers or manufacturers. As another poster mentioned, you might visit with a counselor at SCORE or your nearest small business development center. They can help you develop a plan to approach potential advertisers and help you begin generating income from the site. And there is always Google ads.

Thank you everyone for giving me such great information.   I think I will consider looking into these ideas.  I find it is hard to transition into having to work full time at my bank job, then trying to find enough time to get everything done for the website.  But I am hoping that in the near future I can invest more time on the site than at the bank and still be able to pay bills haha...   I think I will end up incorporating it at some point, but is it possible to say, start out as a partnership and then incorporate it later?

Cory, I'm not sure if everyone that starts out in business is very confident that they ever will make a profit, but it's apparent that you have a passion for what you're doing ('a couple of hundred pages') and that counts for a lot. As far as being a 'business' is concerned; in a way, you already are (yes, even though you're not officially organized and/or make money at it...). A 'business' is simply an entity or enterprise and although it is the eventual goal of most, turning a profit is certainly not a prerequisite. However, since you deal with the general public, you should give thought to eventually incorporating (don't worry, it's actually pretty easy & you can do it online). First, try reaching out to your local SCORE chapter and seek out a mentor or two...they're folks that can quickly answer many of the questions that you may have. In addition, there are websites and podcasts that teach you how to write a business plan (which is strongly encouraged), create your products (i.e., eBooks, affiliate programs, etc) and market your idea online. Finally; the best of luck to you! Starting your own business is very empowering and can be great experience (and if you get a chance, please send along your website address...I'm getting a bit soft in the middle and could use some help myself!) Regards, Tony O

Welcome to the Business.gov community, X-Hardgainer! Take a look at our Business Incorporation Guide- it'll give you a run-down of various business structures you may want to look into before you choose. Here are some blogs that may be helpful: Should My Company be an LLC, an S-Corp or Both? Differences in Legal Structures – Which Structure is Right for You? Small Business Structure: Is Business Partnership Right for You? If you have more questions, please feel free to ask them on our community discussion boards. Don't forget to check out our blogs as well. ---- If you like what you see, you can join us on:-Facebook-Twitter, -LinkedIn -YouTube