I recently covered a principle of profitability in a masters class on manufacturing that I believe strongly applied to the profitability of a web site. With in the scope of manufacturing the idea is this: if a process does not add value to the end product then it should be eliminated. If the final infrastructure contains only value added processes then we have refined the operation to a greater state of efficiency and consequently a greater state of profitability. How does this apply to making money online? Well, if developing the site is our process only those elements that will bring profit are the ones we should concern ourselves with. The processes that are going to bring us profit are going to be the processes that bring in traffic. This means a great deal of time spent on graphic development will not yield the best return on investment in regards to your time. Everyone wants the coolest looking site around but with so many content management systems (cms) available, with relatively aesthetically pleasing templates, there is very little need to learn such programs as Photoshop and Illustrator. If the graphic development thing is something you like to do for fun great but realize unless you are providing that as a service it isn’t going to bring in the dollar bills.