We are all aware of the effects of the recession. Millions of people have lost their jobs and society’s morale has been at an all time low over the past year. The news is saturated with how retailers and businesses are suffering and indeed it has been a very bleak year financially.

However, on the flip side of this, the recession has proved positive for many people who have suddenly been spurred to try things to make money they would never have dreamed of or dared whilst they had the security of their 9-5 job. When you have nothing to lose, this does evoke a unique ambition and suddenly many things you thought would never be possible are now worth a go. An internet connection has proved to be gold dust over the past couple of years and the best bit of making money from the world wide web is that your start up costs are minimal and you can do it anywhere and work it around your current job or lifestyle. Plus social media sites such as Twitter and people resource sites such as LinkedIn allow you to network from the comfort of your sofa. The recession has certainly contributed to the rise of internet entrepreneurs but also inspirational stories of how others have made millions from the internet have spurred others to also really go for that an online idea that has niggled at the back of your mind.

We are becoming increasingly receptive to the idea that if you don’t give it a go, you’ll never know – you snooze you lose. If you’re not investing huge amounts on start up costs, then the worst that can happen is that it may not work out. But it just might.

Earlier this year, in London an internet entrepreneur conference was held called Tomorrow’s Web which brought together a number of young internet entrepreneurs, all of which were under 21 years old – and making huge amounts of money. These are of course, incredibly intelligent and innovative youngsters but what was interesting is that, like every other teenager who lives at home and hence doesn’t have the same constraints and worries as an adult, they had that fearless attitude that anything is possible. Nothing has stopped them going for an idea, many of which were very simple but effective. One teen had set up a company which sells gifts on social media sites like Facebook that you can give to your ‘friends’, another creates and sells e-books and one started making videos on YouTube; Charlie McDonnell is now one of the top YouTubers in the UK (under the name of charlieissocoollike) and earns money from advertisers and has even become quite the celebrity! These teenagers represented that fearless willingness to give something a go if you believe there is a market for it.

People are becoming more excited about the power of the internet and of course, the potential it has to make them money. The ability to launch a new business without having to take major financial risk certainly outweighs some of the disadvantages like lack of personal leisure and social time whilst you are setting it up and working at it. Indeed, the chances of ‘making money whilst you sleep’ as some internet businesses claim are unlikely if you don’t know exactly how it works but we are certainly becoming less sceptical and eager to take the leap and work hard to make an idea happen. There is also an air of ‘if he/she can do it then so can I’ and this is exactly the point – people look at others who have become successful and this spurs an excitement or ambition inside them. The bottom line is that we now recognise that we can waste time being overly sceptical as we see others making money who grabbed an opportunity and ran with it. You don’t need a degree or an impressive CV to run a successful business and make money on the internet – just motivation, enthusiasm and the guts to go for it.

So, that great idea that you keep thinking about – why not just give it a go and see what happens? Here is an example to get your mind ticking; Facebook was originally designed by students as a way for people at Harvard University to network with one another. It then stretched throughout other universities in Boston, then across the United States….and look at it now.