Shameless plugs are okay if they're billed as such, right? Right.

Well, with that in mind, I'm happy to report that one of my dearest friends (of ~14 yrs) has just launched his first business: selling custom poker tables and accessories.

Does he have a retail store? Of course not. He's gone all web.

The site needs work (just went live yesterday after a few hours work), with some obvious changes needed: all the text is actually graphics, which means it's not search engine friendly; typos abound; the trust factor isn't addressed.

But guess what? He has an effective sales channel with an integrated shopping cart courtesy of Paypal. Total cost so far? Less than $100.00.

Not necessarily news to people reading this... but a nice reminder of the power that online represents, and just how readily available it is to make your dreams come true.