The lack of decent material on this blog can be attributed to my increased freelance programming activity. During last two weeks, I’ve coded two websites, created two full-page ads, and set up a three-worksheet decision support system in Excel (VBA).

As a reward, I bought myself a laptop. Even if this programming gravy train stops moving, I still feel that having a laptop nearby is a great productivity booster. Now I won’t have to come home and sit in the same chair in the same room in the same position every time I have an idea. Also, I can bring client presentations with me whenever I bid for a job.

I bought an HP because I like HP. Because I purchased four HP notebooks through work within the last year, I had plenty of time to play with them. Dell was another obvious choice, but they were more expensive for what I really needed.

I got 512 Mb of RAM, which is a no-braner. I also opted for a larger 12-cell battery, which will increase my uptime from 2 hours to around 4-5. Oh, and I chose a BrightView display, which is simply awesome – sharp, bright, and glossy. After killing Norton, Zuma, and other bloatware, installing php, MySQL, and a few more choice programs, I will be all set to take my freelance gigs to a new level.

So where is all this going, you might ask? After failing with affiliate marketing and realizing it’s too much work, I’ve been enjoying the crazy money from the word-of-mouth-initiated projects. However, if I decide to take a break, the money stops. It picks up again when I decide to work again. Sounds like a huge drag.

Thus, I decided to focus my attention on learning everything there is to learn about setting up an online business. It doesn’t matter what I sell. The important thing is to learn how to set everything up. After I get it straight in my head, who cares what online shop I open – whether I will peddle car parts, cat supplies, or Swedish death metal CDs, the idea is the same.

The timing cannot be better – my boss at work wants to sell some stuff off the Internet. He already has a merchant account, so I’ll have to build a shopping cart, integrate it into the existing site, and so on … not exactly sure what else, but I’ll learn.

The reason I chose this approach is its promise of a steady cash flow. Whether I have my own store, or set up a store for someone else and take a cut, there is a potential of getting paid for doing very little work.

I’ll keep you posted, for sure.