Leverage is the ability to gain a hefty advantage from a lesser investment – whether that investment is time, effort or money.

We usually think of leverage as the mechanical improvement that results from using a lever. In fact, Archimedes once boasted, “Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.”

But leverage isn’t limited to the laws of physics – it applies in many other situations as well.

In the corporate world, Change Agents commonly speak of changing one or more business “levers” in order to bring about organizational change or transformation. Unfortunately, in this economic climate, those business levers are often perceived negatively, resulting in job cuts, down-sizing, bankruptcies, or other forms of corporate re-organization.

But leverage has many positive uses as well.

People apply financial leverage when they use borrowed funds to increase their ROIs, or when they use calls or puts to control large numbers of stock at a cost far less than outright purchase.

home based businesses use leverage when they work online. Simply by doing that, they’ve avoided the boundaries of geography (and largely, time as well) and leveraged their advertising dollars, since it costs the about the same amount to create an ad that reaches only a small number of people as it does to create an ad that reaches a global market.

If we were running a small “brick and mortar” store, we might be satisfied with traffic that numbered in the hundreds, but as an online business, we want traffic numbering in the hundreds of thousands, or even millions – and not just any prospects, but highly qualified prospects.

We are utilizing leverage when we use tools such as Google AdWords: we use the G0ogle technologies to generate targeted traffic for us and send it to our website.

The Web provides us with many forms of leverage, but they basically all boil down to the use of technology. Technology is one of the greatest levers ever invented.

Most affiliate internet marketers are familiar with the use of autoresponders and search engines, etc., but they frequently fail to make full use of the technology lever in their back office processes – including everything from managing sales leads to fulfilling the order and taking care of the follow-on billing and customer service issues.

Those home businesses that take fully leverage technology are the ones who will succeed in this competitive environment.

If you’d like to learn how to leverage technology for your online business and gain the most leverage from technology, check out the Infinite Income Plan.

Technology is a critical success factor for any internet marketing business, but frequently people just starting out don’t have a very good understanding of what kind of technology is required or how it will affect their businesses.

The following ten tips should help you get off to a good start.

Try to launch systems and processes that work together easily and are accessible 100% of the time to take care of customers and prospects. Establish an “automated money machine” that is backed by an excellent technical support team, if you want to make your life uncomplicated and your wallet full.

1. Web Hosting Service – You’ll need a hosting service to provide a “home” for your website. There are many web hosting companies available to meet the needs of home businesses and online marketers. Their products do differ, as do their costs, so be sure to shop around before making your decision.
2. Technical Support – A commonly overlooked requirement – is the need for first-rate technical support – for both your local hardware and software, but even more importantly, for any of your customer-facing websites and product systems.
3. Products – You’ll have to have one or more products to sell – products that you have developed yourself, or ones that have been created by one or more third parties. If you create your own products, then you’ll also have to worry about all the associated back office capabilities. If you get your products from other vendors, then you’ll have to worry about supply relationship management, ensuring that required products get shipped on time, customer satisfaction and receivables and collections.
4. Computer & Printer – If do internet marketing (IM), you’ll clearly need a computer of some sort – preferably one that you own, either a desktop model or a laptop. Purchase one with plenty of memory and speed. A broadband internet connection is faster than dial-up. You’ll also want a printer. If you can, get both with wireless capabilities.
5. Web 2.0 Capabilities – The Net is very dynamic, so if you want to be successful in today’s online world, you’ll want websites and services that enable blogging and interactive communities (i.e., ones that use Web 2.0 to facilitate a whole host of collaboration, interaction and participation, using the web as the network platform).
6. Telecommunications – Another basic tool is telecommunications, including an ISP and a telephone – either land-line, cellular, or VOIP, with or without headset. It should have both local and long distance capabilities, and if you plan to hold conferences for your downline, the ability to handle conference calls. If you’re going to do teleseminars, etc., you’ll probably want to invest in a teleconferencing service that can handle many, perhaps hundreds or even a thousand, callers at the same time.
7. Data & Systems Security – You’ll also require good security for your applications and data. This can take the form of physical security, plus software such as firewalls, and security applications like McAfee or Norton.
8. Data & Systems Backup/Restore Capability – Another requirement is for backup of your locally stored programs and data. Regardless of other security measures, there will eventually come a time when you experience some sort of a system crash, with either partial or complete loss of data and key programs. So you will also have to have a rigorous backup and restore program.
9. Your Own Domain Name – You’ll want a domain name that you’ve purchased, so that you can begin to develop your own brand. Further, some advertising media will not allow you to refer to an affiliate website, but only a domain that you own. A good quality domain name will be short (30 characters or less), sensible to the eye and the ear, and reflective of your product or service. The most popular names end in “.com” and such names are ideal for most internet marketing businesses, if available.
10. Affiliate Program Network – If you’re planning to sell many affiliate products, you’ll probably also want to join one or more Affilate Program Networks (APNs), such as ClickBank, Commission Junction, or LinkShare, etc. to handle your commissions, sales statistics, and other back office functions for you.

If your systems go down and you are powerless to get fast technical support from any/all your vendors, the resultant downtime can influence your advertising and marketing campaigns, you can lose or annoy potential customers, and ultimately, your profits will suffer (and your brand, as well).

Technology is the lifeblood of an online business, and Murphy’s Law being what it is, you have to to prepare for the eventual breakdowns and system crashes that come about as well. Implementing all these basic technologies will help ensure the success of your online business.

I’m taking this advice to heart and running my own internet marketing business. I invite you to take control of your future and your financial security by starting a legitimate home based business.