I've had the privilege recently of dialoguing with a college student in Hawaii by the name of Shin. Here are some excerpts along with comments from me.

Hello Paul,

My name is Shin and I'm a 21 year old college student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in Honolulu, Hawaii. I have been wanting to start my own business for a while now but I have a full load of classes every semester and a part-time job every semester. So I have to put aside my enterpreneur ambitions for sometime now.

I discovered about the web blogging just recently and brainstormed ideas that are similar to what you offered on your website. However, I'm a beginner in html and css and in the process of learning internet marketing and also, I don't have many people who can help me or support me in person. But I'm very interested and excited about this blogging business.

I would like to congratulate you on making this site because your content is refreshing, valuable and full of helpful articles. I look foreward to reading more of your articles and beginning my entry into blogging business world. Thank you for making this website and my best wishes to you.

Sincerely,

Shin

Shin, I congratulate you on your entrepreneurial ambitions. I would encourage you not to put off your dreams too long, lest you lose that "fire in your belly."

Like many of us in our initial foray into the internet, we had to learn HTML, CSS, and other scripting languages from the ground up. Most of what I learned, I taught myself through books on the subject, articles on WebMonkey and other such sites, and through pure observation of other's sites. I would see something I liked, look at the source code and see if I could figure out a way to do it. Often, though not always, I was successful.

Blogging makes the job of learning this languages easier. It's also a good way to establish an internet presence as you begin to build your business.

Thank you for your kind comments. I appreciate them very much.

Paul

Hello Paul,

In my last email, I told you that I wanted to start my own business for sometime now but never has the time or the tools I need. I'm very much intrigued by blogging and the potential opportunities it offer.

I only have small capital to start my own business and I have been researching the internet everytime I have free hour and your site come across as one of the best site I've seen.

My small business idea is this. I would like to set up a blog that sell aloha gifts that range from macademia nuts, sea shells bracelets, aloha vintage shirts, and gift baskets etc. for very reasonable prices. Costumers can post comments on what they want from Hawaii and I will either contact them directly with the merchants or provide my own services. Along side of this online store, I can constantly post relevant articles on everything related to Hawaii such as "Top 10 things to do in Hawaii' or "The Best surfing spots in Hawaii".

I haven't put my ideas into action yet because of two reasons. One, I only have a small capital of about $120 and two, the internet is saturated with full of small business and marketing ideas that I don't know where to start or think which is the best!

What do you think? I would appreciate your feedback. Thank you for reading this and my best wishes to your site.

Aloha,

Shin

That's one of the beautiful things about blogging. It's very inexpensive, even free depending on the publishing platform you use.

While not everyone who blogs is making a living at it, I think introducing a product line like you describe combined with blog posts about Hawaii can be a great combination.

There are two ways I see doing this too. One way is to keep the article and the product pitch as two separate things. You might introduce a new product everyday, and write a good article at least once per week.

The second possible way to approach this is to actually tie the product into the article in some way. Or, write an interesting article that focuses on the product, but has substance to it as well, the product notwithstanding.

I'd say set up a Blogger.com blog (it's free), set up some affiliate marketing relationships, or even vendor status, and give your idea a go! You can use PayPal for your online store needs if you go that route.

Regards,

Paul

PS: One young person who is making a sizeable income from product sales through a blog is Keiko Groves. PR guru Steve Rubel calls her "the future of marketing."