It is curious indeed that Australians are quickly becoming some of the most successful internet marketers in the world, and that so many everyday people have embraced the opportunities that are now available to them to setup their own online home business.

They are developing tools and strategies that become the cornerstone of the most profitable product launches – plus techniques to provide us with what we need to successfully run a home business.

‘Working From Home’ Has Changed

The term ‘working from home’ has, in the past, had connotations of telemarketing, ironing, and cottage industries. Australians that are working from home are now setting up their products and services so that they can offer them to the rest of the world

- content writers: providing writing services to website owners not just in Australia, but all around the world. Indeed this is my home business.

Australians are well-educated English speakers with a similar lifestyle to much of the western world – and as such have a real advantage over writers from countries with different cultures, and whose native language is not English.

- graphic designers: there are massive opportunities for graphic designers to sell their designs worldwide. The internet has made it possible for complex files to be transmitted in a variety of ways -thwarting the tyranny of distance that Australians have battled in the past. Needing international couriers to move artwork and film overseas is definately a thing of the past.

- internet marketers: Living in an island country has meant that budding Australian entrepreneurs needed to travel to events like trade shows in order to tap into the latest trends. Internet marketing tools deliver that information to their inbox every day, allowing them battle competitors on a more even playing field than ever before.

They are able to easily create their own products, e.g. ebooks or training programs on their areas of expertise, and sell them to the world – something that would have been impossible for Aussies last century. A simple website or blog (so easy to set up!) is often the only vehicle they need to do so.

- virtual assistants: many internet marketers are frustrated by the more mundane tasks involved in growing their businesses and have turned to ‘virtual assistants’ to help them. As they have made the decision to work from home, they have eschewed the idea of having ’staff’. By engaging VAs – other people who want to work from home – and paying them a set monthly rate they can get on with making money.

VAs can be retired people, university students, stay at home mothers, and people with disabilities. Some make being a VA their full time profession. This is a huge opportunity for Aussies (and New Zealanders for that matter!) to provide valuable services, from home, to clients around the globe.

- offline business consultants: a growing number of people who are showing offline businesses, like newsagents, builders and dentists, how to grow their businesses by having an online presence. These are the Australian businesses who have not yet grasped how being online can increase their business, and is a market waiting for a local hero to show them the way.

These are all home-businesses that are in great demand, and the client base is not just your local area, it is “the world”.

Why Australians?

We all know that Australia is an isolated continent, so it is hard to grasp that some of the most groundbreaking developments in internet marketing emanate from here.

However, the internet now allows people to work from home from anywhere they can secure a good internet connection. And, at least in the populated coastal areas, Australia is well-served in this regard.

A lot of the big name multinational companies in this highly dynamic industry have outposts in Australia: Google, Yahoo and Microsoft being the most newsworthy. The developers of the yet-to-be released GoogleWave – which will revolutionize the way we communicate electronically – live in Australia.

What sets Australians apart when it comes to things internet is that we are, and always have been, early adopters of technology, possibly by virtue of our geographical isolation.

Top Level Australian Coaches

But what Australians have, that other countries may not, is top level internet marketers who are keen to train others to do just what they do – no great sales hype, and really good, up-to-the-minute mentorship.

One of the most highly regarded internet marketers in the world today is based in Sydney, and is alone responsible for the coaching of over 500 Aussies and Kiwis (and more and more people from other countries too are now travelling to Sydney to learn at his workshops).

Finding Opportunities

The opportunities for Australian internet marketers are everywhere, from helping your local builder get online, to selling an ebook on a hobby you have mastered. Knowing how to leverage the opportunities is easily what holds us back the most.

To find freelance work, a good place to start is elance.com – where you can browse for all manner of jobs, and place a bid for any that you are qualified to perform.

The secret to success as an online home business owner in Australia, is to find a local internet marketing mentor, a trainer, or a coach. Research them well before committing to them, and listen to what others are saying about them. Attend any event at which they speak, and if possible get some face to face training.