The world of technology today is full of advancements that people even decades ago never thought would be possible.
We can talk to people on the other side of the world for no cost other than an internet connection.
We can buy almost anything imaginable with just the click of a mouse.
We can keep in touch with long lost friends through social networking websites.
We can find directions to any place in the world through satellites orbiting the earth.
The internet has made opportunities available that were never possible before.
One of these opportunities is working from home, the ideal working opportunity for most Americans.
This is made possible for many people through something called e-commerce.
E-commerce stands for electronic commerce and is the business that is transacted through the internet through the sale of virtual or physical goods through electronic means.
Virtual goods might include characters, goods, or levels on web-based video games or access to content on a website.
Physical goods could include literally any product in the world, from books to sporting goods to vehicles and even real estate.
E-commerce businesses are internet-based companies that sell their goods via the internet to people all over the world.
Part of what makes this possible is something called drop shipping.
Stores that have physical locations, often called brick and mortar businesses, must keep an on-site inventory of goods so that people who come into the store can find what they are looking for.
A brick and mortar store's business is based on the availability of their products.
Internet stores have a luxury that physical stores do not.
By utilizing something called drop shipping, internet businesses are not required to keep an on-site inventory.
Drop shipping means that instead of spending the up-front funds on keeping up an inventory, a company can use a manufacturer or wholesaler that has inventory for several companies and ships products directly to the consumer in behalf of the internet business.
This is beneficial to both the internet business and the consumer because both save costs.
In order to provide this opportunity, some internet businesses make it possible to set up an e-commerce store that is customizable.
By providing websites and products available through wholesale partners, these companies offer the opportunity for motivated individuals to set up their own e-commerce store and make money working from home.
Through the technology of the internet, anyone can have the opportunity to work at home through their very own e-commerce store.