They sell everything from handmade journals to rhythm tracks for musicians to designer soaps to giant barbecues, so “what” they are selling is not the key factor. How old they are, how much formal education they have, or how well they know the Internet doesn’t appear to affect their ability to make money online either.

So what are the traits these home based business owners have in common?

They take action.

Most of them started out with almost no budget and little knowledge of marketing on the Internet. Typically, this was their first website. But they didn’t wait until they knew everything and their websites were perfect — they put up a website and then got busy learning and making improvements.

It’s too easy to put off the reality of starting your own business by doing more research, or aiming for perfection. Your site does not have to be perfect to make money, but you can’t make money until you start! Take the first steps (no matter how small) to starting your own business.

They focus on one thing and do it well.

The entrepreneurs we interviewed focused on one Internet marketing task at a time, and did it well. When they had maximized their profits with one technique they moved on to the next one. They could look ahead at all the things they planned to do and know that there were more improvements to come.

It’s easy for people starting an online business to be distracted by the latest, most exciting, most revolutionary new Internet marketing strategy. Don’t get derailed by trying every new thing that comes along and not finishing all the other stuff you’ve been working on. You can’t make progress that way.

Instead, start by getting your website up and getting the basics down. Then make a list of all the different ways to increase the sales to your website. Start with one, and leave the rest on your “to-do” list until you have squeezed every dollar out of the traffic generation technique, sales strategy, or email marketing campaign you are working on.

They don’t reinvent the wheel.

All entrepreneurs make mistakes, and these home based business owners are no exception. They all said that they could have been earning a MUCH bigger income MUCH faster if they had only started their Internet education earlier and learned from the experience of others.

Other people have already cut a path through the Internet jungle for you. Great ideas are transferable. What works for others can be adapted for your online business, too. So look for courses, training, or even mentoring that will get you to your destination faster.

Starting your own business online is a journey, not a destination. Keep learning, keep doing, and “starting” will turn into “growing.”

What traits do you think are most important for someone who’s starting a small or home based business? Leave a comment!

Well, give us an inside peek at your day-to-day online existence as you build or run your online business.

We’re wondering about what the average e-commerce pro is up to on the Web each day. What chores take up the bulk of your time? Are you spending more hours running your business, or promoting it?

Please take a moment to share your answers to these five quick questions in  our not-terribly-scientific survey:

1. How many hours do you spend online each day?

2. What are the tasks that occupy most of your time online each day (emailing, researching, working on your website, news reading, talking to customers, eBay selling, blogging, Twittering, instant messaging, etc.)? About how many hours a day or week do you spend on each task?

3. Are you active on social media websites (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc.)? Which ones take up most of your “social” time?

4. Are you spending more time online simply running your business, or marketing it?

5. Do you wish you were using your time online differently? What tasks would you like to spend less time on — and what do you wish you were doing more often?

Just leave your responses in the comments section below — and feel free to add any other thoughts along with your answers. All the commenters who answer our questions will be eligible to win a FREE year-long subscription to our new StartUp online magazine. We’ll announce the winner in a week.

StartUp is designed to give busy online business owners — and folks ramping up to start online businesses — a quality dose of the information and inspiration they need every month. Every issue includes:

• must-know Internet marketing how-tos
• up-to-the-minute e-commerce news and strategies
• a case study from a successful online business
• guidance from some of the top entrepreneurial minds on the Web
• potential niche markets that we’ve discovered… and that you might want to investigate further

Click here to get 10 days’ free access to this month’s StartUp, featuring an in-depth audio interview with a time management expert!

… and don’t forget to share your answers below. Thanks!