Many people who are employed, and have always been employed, dream of breaking free and setting up in business on their own.

However running your own business is not for everyone. People tend to only think of the advantages of their own business without thinking of all of the things that can make running a business a nightmare.

For instance, they want to break free from a 9-5 job and be able to set their own hours. In theory an excellent idea but often your customers will want you to be available outside of these hours at THEIR convenience.

I worked as a self-employed Domestic Energy Assessor for a while and in order to make ends meet had to visit my clients in the evening and at weekends when it suited them. I had little or no say over my hours if I wanted enough work to pay the bills.

When you first start the business it is likely that longer hours are going to be the order of the day until things get up and running and the business starts to build some momentum.

The business opportunities listed on Improve Your Future aim to get around the many problems you can come across when you set up a regular business.

For instance, rather than setting up a business needing premises, staff and stock (all of which come with their own problems) you can set up a business making money online.

Our free money making ebook shows you how easy it could be to get started with your own website. Everything is done for you in fact and within 48 hours you could have a website online which you can start promoting.

It's not going to be as easy as that. You will need to put in some effort getting visitors to your site and following up on any leads you generate to turn them into sales but there are no ongoing overheads (other than your time) and you can work from home and fit it in around other commitments if required.

Plus if you sign up at Improve Your Future you will be able to contact me anytime by email for ongoing help and support. Remember I'm doing it too and will often have experienced the problems you are coming across and have already worked out the solutions.

As promised my new money making website is now up and running. I've also added a page on my main website where you can download the free money making ebook.

Is it easy to make money online? I've been working online for a few years now and am completely self taught. I've used a mixture of books and online research to enable me to use html and asp. I've also spent a lot of time and energy learning about search engine optimisation, not that I'm an expert by any means.

All of these skills should stand me in good stead for making a go of my new money making venture. In fact I've already had my first free ebook request which I've sent out this evening.

So fingers crossed that I will soon be making money online and I will be reporting back here on this blog from time to time with my results.

For the complete novice this will obviously be a little bit harder, although the website set up is done for you and you just have to learn about promoting it.

The materials that are provided will give you a good start and should enable you to get your first sales to at least get your money back. After that it's all profit.

You need to look at it sensibly, you are unlikely to become a millionaire but could make a nice few quid or more if you get it working right for you. You will only get out of it what you are prepared to put into it.

I'm looking long term for when this site gets a few more visitors and generates its own income without me having to work too hard. At the moment it's all work with the promise of rewards in the future!

Anyway, to get started download my free ebook about making money online and see what you think. Good luck.

I already have a page dedicated to free stuff which is for permanent free offers.

Occasionally I come across time limited free offers and these will be posted on this blog.

I've received an email from the Nokia music store today offering me 5 free tracks. They can be downloaded and played on a PC so no need for a Nokia phone.

They sent me a special link to sign up, however at the bottom it stated that there are more spare accounts (for a limited time only).

Click here for 5 free music tracks.

By signing up you are also entered into a competition for Christmas shopping in New York with $1500 spending money!

The PC software downloads quickly and easily and now its just a matter of choosing my free tracks.

Keep checking back for more free offers, in particular the free money making ebook which will shortly be available online.

Further to my recent post about my new online money making project, I'm just letting you know the progress so far and the reasons why it's not up-and-running yet.

I signed up as promised to check it out and I really wanted to get it online this weekend. However, the first mistake I made was not pressing the right button after making my payment.

So instead of returning to the right website to complete my order I saved the receipt, closed the page and got on with other things. It was only a couple of hours later, when I had heard nothing, that I realised I should have clicked.

Luckily I had saved the receipt and could retrieve the website address I needed. Rest assured if you make the same mistake when signing up I can point you in the right direction.

Now I had a four step plan to follow to get the website online. I recommend you read everything fully and slowly complete this process as directed.

I had to purchase a domain name from GoDaddy, which was relatively straightforward (and cheap - around $11 for two years). I managed to get the domain name improveyourfuture.info which fits in perfectly with the main website.

I submitted all of the details for this domain as directed and waited for the new website. However after a few hours I got an email telling me that they had not been able to add this domain to their server.

Now I had to contact GoDaddy to resolve the problem. They are based in America but have an 0207 contact number from the UK so it is free if you have a call package with inclusive landline minutes.

I got redirected to Arizona and the problem wasn't obvious straight away. However after much brain scratching, and to cut a long story short, the problem was this:

Although I had bought the domain anew, it had previously been registered and used by someone else. They had allowed the domain name to lapse but had not cancelled the hosting. This hosting was still attached to the domain meaning it could not be transferred elsewhere.

So GoDaddy had to get the old hosting cancelled before it can be transferred. This they are doing, but it could take up to 72 hours to complete. So I've decided to wait until Monday and see if the problem is resolved.

Hopefully the site will be up-and-running Monday or Tuesday. So bookmark my new online money making website and wait for exciting developments.

For anyone who has been following my bingo exploits you will know that my initial excitement had wained as my original free £15 had dwindled away with little signs of a win.

In fact I began to think that the game might be weighted so heavily against the free player that a win was not possible. Think again!

I had a few minutes spare and the princely sum of £6 remaining in my Wink Bingo account. I decided not to spend too much time on it so I went into the 10p room for the first time.

I bought two cards (£1.20) and kept an eye on the prizes. The prizes were pretty similar to the 5p bingo game as it appeared half as many people were playing. This could well be the reason for my success.

Anyway the first game went reasonably well, I got as close as 1TG (one number to go) but 52 did not appear and my balance reduced to £4.80. I stayed in the same room and bought another two cards (£1.20 - balance £3.60).

One of the games on my card started really well and I narrowly missed the 1 line prize. Then I got close to the two line prize. After the 2 line prize was called I only needed three numbers for a full house.

Well I had been here before so I wasn't holding out much hope but the first two numbers I needed came out fairly quickly leaving me with 89 for the full house.

Three numbers later and 89 was called and I was awarded the full house prize (£21.71 - balance £25.31). BINGO!

I was pretty excited, even though the winnings aren't going to change my life, about the fact that online bingo is winnable and I now have a bit of profit to play with.

So if you fancy a bit of bingo fun online I can heartily recommend Wink Bingo. I've tried it, tested it out and proved that winning online bingo is possible, even if only on a small scale. I think the free £15 offer is still running so try it out for free and see what you think. 

I've been doing my research on business opportunities and ways to make money online and I promised I would be "road-testing" them myself before offering them up on this website.

Well I've found my first one and am in the process of signing up now. It should take around 24 hours for everything to be set up, including my new website, after which I will post the links here.

It was a bit of a no-brainer, as it is a turnkey business (everything is set up for you and everything you need is included) and I estimate it is going to cost me around £30 (subject to $ exchange rate).

So the worst case scenario is I lose £30, whilst the best is I receive an unlimited income....

This opportunity doesn't promise millions or easy cash for doing nothing, there is a little bit of work involved (working from home)  and in return you should receive a steady ongoing income.

In fact 1 "sale" should recoup your initial investment with everything else pure profit.

They even offer email support if you have any questions. I emailed them just to test it out. I sent my question 23/9 (16.51) and received the answer 23/9 (23.04). Around a six hour turnaround, very impressive.

So if you are interested in making money online come back to this website in the next couple of days for full details of this business opportunity working from home.

I will also be posting my results here so you can see if I make any money out of it before you give it a try!

All the best and good luck.

My third go at online bingo and I'm another £3 poorer (well another £3 out of my £15 free). Still no wins.

I did get a couple of games with 1 number to go so some small excitement however I'm now beginning to believe I can't win. Very negative thinking - need to drag myself back up.

I tried swapping the cards this time, instead of using the 12 in front of me using the next 12 cards which are hidden out of sight. It didn't work.

Is online bingo fixed? Probably not but I think they take a huge percentage of the total stakes leaving very little to be paid out in prizes. I must find out what that percentage is.

It was the same for Keno (american style bingo) when I played in the states. They reckon it's one of the worst casino games for you to play having the highest house edge but I still couldn't stop myself.

Blackjack is the best, having a very slight house advantage if played optimally. However I can never remember the best way to play, even though I've read books about it, plus it's just not much fun.

I want the thrill of the big win, one that will change my life, the lottery amount that would see me on the beach never having to work again........

Oh well, back to the grind. If you're feeling sorry for me (rather unlikely) you can always click on the ads on my website - if enough of you do it I'll have enough to retire. Thanks in advance.

Are you looking for an online business opportunity? Aren't we all! If not a business opportunity at least a way of making some money online.

Don't be greedy, don't get tempted by all of the get rich quick schemes, do your homework and find the opportunities that promise realistic earnings for a sensible amount of work.

Or let us do the homework for you instead. We are actively seeking out and trying business opportunities that we think could work. Once we have evidence that they work for us we can pass them onto you with a clear conscience.

We can let you know the best ways of approaching your new business, tips we've learned along the way and any potential problems we've encountered.

Making money online is not as easy as some people would have you believe. It is not a matter of signing up to their programme, sitting back and watching the money come rolling in. If only it was that easy we'd all be doing it.

If you want to keep up-to-date with the latest business opportunities we are trying visit our opportunity home page and complete the form for all of the information.

If you have your own ideas and want to get started with an online business we can point you in the right direction for domain names, web hosting and website design and build.

It might not cost you as much as you think or have been quoted elsewhere. Just contact us for free advice and help.

Well done Virgin Mobile. My replacement Samsung U600 mobile phone has arrived exactly as promised.

However, in the meantime I had borrowed a beaten up Nokia 3510i from a friend of a friend.

Whereas my Samsung could barely get a signal at my workplace, the old Nokia gets a couple of bars, meaning I can make and receive calls!

OK, so it's not got a camera or any features, but the idea of a phone is for talking and texting and the Nokia does this just fine.

Plus I'm due my upgrade with Virgin in November so only a handful of weeks to wait for my next new phone. I'm definitely choosing Nokia this time!

So I'm not putting my new Samsung phone into service, I'm saving it for next month's competition prize.

It will come with a Virgin Mobile sim card and all of the other bits I can find (charger etc.). So come back after 15th October for a chance to win it.

In the meantime look at the competitions page for this months DVD competition.

Good luck to all.

Another £3 out of my free £15 at Wink Bingo has been wagered and no wins. In fact I didn't even get close. Only £9 left now and no sign of a win.

I originally played the 90-ball bingo last time so I thought I would try the 75-ball bingo this time. Only lasted 1 game as I couldn't make head nor tail of what was going on!

Plus there was only one prize whereas in the 90-ball game there are prizes for 1 line, 2 lines and then the full house.

Back to the 90-ball bingo and in an attempt to increase my chances I tried 18 cards at 5p and then 24 cards at 5p! Still couldn't get better than 2 numbers to go.

Very disappointing. I'm considering playing the other non-bingo games on the site for the remainder of my money. Perhaps slots are more my thing.

I did once win over $1,000 in Atlantic City on a slot machine jackpot. Which was lucky as I didn't have a hotel for the night.

Ended up staying in the Trump Taj Mahal with a cheap upgrade to a suite. Had massive room on the corner of the hotel with ocean views, 2 TVs (including a pop-up one at the end of the bed which swivelled around so I could watch it from the jacuzzi bath!!), 2 bathrooms - it was a great holiday I certainly won't forget.

Give Wink Bingo a try and let me know your experience of it. Have we got any Wink Winners out there??

I keep seeing adverts on TV for Wink Bingo, and in particular for their latest promotion of £15 free without needing to deposit.

As I love a gamble and anything that's free I had to give it a try. It was easy to sign up and the free £15 was in my account straight away and available to play.

So I played. I was only in the 5p room so it cost me 60p each time for 12 cards. Everything is automated and the numbers are marked for you. It all moves along smoothly and quickly and, if your numbers are coming up, enjoyably.

So far I've played 5 times (total of £3) and I came really close to the full house jackpot on my second go, having only one number needed (87 - my new bogey number!) for what seemed like an age.

After your initial free play amount is spent they offer to add 200% to your first deposit so you can play really cheaply initially, by which time hopefully you will have won a prize.

It is pretty addictive though, I feel like going back and trying again as I write this, so always remember the golden rule of gambling - never bet with money you cannot afford to lose.

My remaining £12 is calling me so I'm back off to Wink Bingo now. See you later.

PS. I remember now this is not my first brush with bingo. My sister arranged a bingo night for my 31st birthday at the local bingo club. The whole family went.

Being newbies we weren't quite sure of the etiquette (or even that there was etiquette in bingo!) and as the night wore on we made a couple of faux pas.

I started to use a fruit machine in the middle of a game, the sound of which caused all of the regulars to stare at and sshhhhh me. And my sister got very, very drunk and very, very loud too. We were near enough thrown out.

Only silver lining was that my Dad won a full house (not sure the regulars liked that either!) which covered the cost of the night so we all went home pretty happy.

I've not been back to bingo since so perhaps playing bingo online is a safer option.

Received an email yesterday evening from Visit Liverpool advising me of another prize win. Tickets to Underwater Street and a 1 night stay at the Holiday Inn. I've added this to my list of 2009 competition wins.

This comes almost exactly two years after my last win with Visit Liverpool in September 2007 (see competition wins 2007). That time we had a 2 night stay in a boutique hotel.

We really enjoyed our last trip to Liverpool and it will be nice to get back there and see if anything has changed. We have baby with us this time so it will be his first trip there.

Can't decide whether this should be on my 40th birthday or it could be for our wedding anniversary. Either way it is likely to be in December so hope weather is not too cold as we really enjoy walking around the city.

2009 has picked up just as I expected. As I've been able to enter more competitions more wins have started to flow. And with every win comes an extra spur to enter some more.

Good luck with your comping but don't win any prizes I want!