Everyone's seen those reports on TV or the Internet about people who make a pile of money running a YouTube channel. Or who make stuff at home and sell it online for a nice sum. As you sit in commuter traffic or get yelled at by the boss, those daydreams of owning your own online business probably rise up again. How hard is it really, and how much would you make? While it's difficult to come up with solid numbers on Internet-based solo entrepreneurs, tax data shows that rising numbers of one-person businesses are making pretty decent money. Forbes reporter Elaine Rofeldt, who's been covering the phenomenon, ascribes a lot of that growth to Internet-based retail's ability to pull in customers from far and wide, not just in one town, and she expects that growth will continue. But even so, if you're going to tap into the Internet's potential for making money, there are certain skills you'll need. Some are the same ones you would have needed to start your own shop in the pre-Internet era - good planning, effective execution and people skills, as well as having a desirable product.

But there are other required skills directly related to running an online enterprise. The good news, though, is that the Internet itself provides you most of the tools and information to be successful. Here are 10 skills that would be very useful for running an online business solo. You're a would-be digital mogul, you've got an insanely great idea, and you can start a business with just a few keystrokes, without changing out of your pajamas even. So you might think that a business plan - a written document that describes your business concept, market potential, strategy for growth, potential risks and capital needs - is as obsolete as paper ledgers and accordion files. The truth is, though, in the undisciplined, disorganized online world, being disciplined and organized is all the more crucial for turning that idea of yours into a viable business model. Otherwise, when you suddenly discover that everybody wants your revolutionary new widget, you may have no idea how to scale up to meet the demand, and you'll end up losing the market opportunity.

The U.S. Small Business Administration's website provides an easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide. Unless you're building sculptures out of trash and selling them on eBay, you're going to need some money to get started. This cash will cover the cost of purchasing inventory or raw materials to make your products, as well as necessities like online ads. So develop a realistic estimate of how much money you'll need until revenue starts flowing. But if you have a more expensive dream business and no wealthy Uncle Ned, don't despair. These days, you may be able to turn to a crowdfunding site such as Fundable, which proclaims that it's raised money for more than 377,000 startups. Your ability to write persuasive copy to sell others on your business idea will come in handy for this site, as well as for applying for any bank or SBA loans. The online world is pretty much the same, except that your passers-by are passing by a lot faster.

The good news is that you can learn to design a beautiful website by using resources such as Lifehacker.com's free "night school" for web design. Once you've mastered HTML and CSS (the codes your browser reads to determine the look of your site), you can design your website from scratch. Or cheat a little by using a website template with the design already in place. All you have to do is customize it. So make sure your website has a responsive design, one that can accommodate both big-screen and small-screen customers. There are websites (like Mofuse) that help you create mobile versions of existing websites. The Internet might be just a bunch of electrons moving through space, but you've got to have something a bit more substantial to sell. Unless you're a consultant offering services or an artisan who makes his or her own products, you have to find a source to provide you with inventory.

You also can arrange to have your product manufactured to your specifications by an overseas manufacturer, through a Web portal such as Alibaba or IndiaMart. One downside is that the expense of a minimum order could run into the thousands of dollars. Finally, there's also the option of dropshipping, in which you basically serve as the user interface for a manufacturer who not only makes the product but handles shipping as well. You can find such a partner through one of several dropshipping aggregators on the Web, such as WorldWide Brands. Instead, think of it as doing research to understand what challenges you face from competitors and the marketplace itself, so that you can devise ways to overcome them and become successful. If you were planning to open a gourmet hamburger stand, you'd be foolish not to look around and see how close your location is the nearest Five Guys or BurgerFi.

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