Crazy ways to make an online buck

Mondays can sometimes be just a tad too serious. Most folks dread the moment the weekend will come to an end and the looks on their faces during the morning commute certainly tell that somber story. As the U.S. workforce drags their unwilling bodies into the office, smiles are a rare commodity.

So for today’s blog installment, we thought that we would turn those frowns upside down and introduce something a little more invigorating than catching up on e-mails or crying in our coffee. In an article posted on BusinessPundit.com, editors described some of the most inventive (or preposterous) ways that people have harnessed the power of the Internet for profit.

Here are our favorites of the bunch:

The Million Dollar Homepage – This is probably the most iconic of all the crazy ideas that have ever been born. This guy decided to set up a site and sell one million pixels for $1 a piece. He got a huge amount of publicity and ended up making his million dollars. He has since gone on to other moneymaking projects.

Hungry Pod – Catherine Keane decided to make a business out of loading music on people’s iPod’s and it has paid off big time. She’s making more than $100k a year, after helping out a friend and realizing the kind of market that was out there.

I Do Now I Don’t – Joshua Opperman got stuck holding the bag, a very expensive one, after his financee returned her engagement ring. Stuck with a ring that he couldn’t get the value back on he started a service online for everyone in this situation. He now runs a very successful home business.

SantaMail – Ok, this one takes advantage of little kids, but you got to hand it to Byron Reese for making millions off of this idea. Parents send him ten bucks and he writes their kids as “Santa.”

Amazing Butterflies – Selling butterflies and making millions? Doesn’t seem conceivable, but Jose Muniz has managed to pull it off. You can get your very own live butterfly from Jose, who started the business on a bet. I guess it paid off.

Doggles – If there is one thing dogs don’t need, it’s a pair of goggles, but this idea, which got its start online, has made millions of dollars and real stores have opened up all over the world. They took their original idea, of UV protective doggles and continued expanding their product line to include vests, other eyewear and even jewelry. People will spend countless dollars on their pets and this site more than proves it can pay off big time if you have a pet related product or idea.

If you didn’t even once eek out the tiniest grin while reading, you might need more than just a Monday-morning pick-me-up. What you might need is a total change of career. So let these stories be an inspiration that no matter the oddball idea, it might just make you millions.