How long do you think it takes to create a profitable online business? Mike Edwards at Learn to Make Money Blogging has a good system set up and describes it in a recent post. It doesn’t take as long as you think …

Online money-making and work-at-home programs are designed so that those who purchase or buy into the programs will not achieve the advertised results. Think about it — why would the know-it-alls who are behind online money-making and work-at-home programs really share all the secrets of the systems behind their fortune and create their own competition? Here’s the real secret …

Do you have a pleasant voice and demeanor? Are you well-organized and can keep track of details? Then you may have what it takes to be a virtual administrative assistant. Every company needs someone to answer the phone, take messages, and schedule appointments. And not just big companies — individual business people like realtors, salespeople, and freelances often have the greatest need. Since in most cases they are their company, these individuals have a lot on their plates. While taking calls and maintaining a schedule is important, these professionals are usually more focused on doing what makes money. That means they will pay you to answer their phone number, take messages, and maybe keep their schedule and do some minor office duties like faxing.

And you can do all of this with your computer, from your house. You just need a voice-over-Internet (VOIP) service and the software you already have (like a word processor and spreadsheet programs). The trick is finding professionals that can use your service. Place ads in local newspapers or online in places like craigslist.org. Create a small, simple Web site to attract customers. Is there demand for this work? See for yourself.

If you read a lot of forum posts, eventually you’ll see “Just my 2 cents.” in someone’s post. That person obviously doesn’t know what you know now: You can get paid to post to forums, and more than 2 cents per post. Typically you can make 10 to 25 cents per post, depending on the length of your post, how many replies it receives, and the total number of posts you’ve made as an agent of one of the companies that pays people to post. Most pay through Paypal, so you’ll need an account there before you begin.

David Filo and Jerry Yang did it. So did Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Today, they’re millionaires (maybe even billionaires). Create a Web page with a list of links to other sites. But don’t try to link to every site on the Web (David, Jerry, Larry, and Sergey pretty much have that covered). Instead, create a directory of links to sites for a particular niche, something that you know well. A hobby or other interest. Fly fishing. Bundt cake recipes. Information on testicular cancer. Whatever your thing is, there are Web sites with information out there about it and someone with your knowledge and understanding can put together a better directory of those sites then the big search engines. When you do, you can place ads on your site or charge for membership and make money. Start out with a page from a free hosting company, then move up to a regular host when your directory becomes popular.

Feel like your opinion is worth more than two cents? Companies will pay you (more than two cents) to fill out surveys on the Web.

Get paid for not using your computer! Companies with too much work and not enough computers to do it will pay you to let them “borrow” yours when you’re not using it. Of course, in this situation, your computer never leaves your house or office. Instead, instructions and work are sent to it through the Internet and it crunches them when it’s not busy with you. Your computer works, you make money. Isn’t that how it’s supposed to work?