It could be because of the recession. Or maybe inspirational 'overnight internet millionaire' stories. Or just plain luck. Whatever it is, it is undeniably evident for those in my industry that there is a significant rise in the number of 'internet entrepreneurs' taking a plunge with an online idea.

Among the services we provide at KayWeb, we act as internet business consultants for clients and potential clients with ideas they hope will be 'as big as Google' or 'as big as Facebook'. The enquiries by this brand of internet services consumer have increased 10-fold over the last six months.

When we covered this story in our news section last week, I shared my theory that the reason for this rise is most likely the recession. I mean, many professionals are either out of work or looking over their shoulders for when their number will be up in their organisation.

This sort of uncertainty gets people thinking about where they are at and where they want to be.

Obviously, most are realising there are less job opportunities around with unemployment on the rise, and thus desiring to be in charge of their own destiny.

Starting up a business offline - like in retail, cafe, etc. - requires a lot of capital investment, and in this economic climate where governments feel the need to fill up family coffers to encourage festive spending, is not a very safe business investment.

Starting online... the overheads are far lower, and while the risks are high, the opportunities are also greater as the market for anything online is the entire world of internet users. In Australia alone, there are 14million users of the internet.

An internet start-up that is innovative can go a very long way.

Let's take Facebook as an example. Facebook was designed to have a few people within Harvard University network with one another and maintain contact when they have graduated. Within months, the vast majority of the campus had signed up. It then stretched throughout other universities in Boston, then across the United States. Now... forget universities... Facebook has over 175million users.

I will be sharing inspirational stories like this to engage the minds of our budding 'internet entrepreneurs' in coming weeks. I will also provide tips on what to look out for when starting a business online, as the potential pitfalls are plenty in this highly competitive industry.