The retail shop of her dreams is open every day, but owner Michelle Leising can work when she chooses. She’s a one-woman business, but she spends Saturdays at home.

How can this be? Leising is one of a growing number of young entrepreneurs who turn to the Internet to foster their careers.

&uot;I first went online about three years ago when I had another full-time job,&uot; Leising said, showing visitors around the spare bedroom turned into her office and shipping department. &uot;I knew I was going to be married, and I wanted a business I could take with me. I wanted a shop but not to spend every Saturday in a gift shop.&uot;

Today, her own specialty gift shop, thetwiggery.com, is growing. In June she was able to give herself a paycheck. However, she still puts back into the business much of the profit &045; mostly still marketing the Web site in magazines such as &uot;Southern Lady,&uot; &uot;Romantic Homes,&uot; &uot;Tea Time Magazine&uot; and soon to be released, an ad in &uot;Taste of the South.&uot;

Since settling in Natchez earlier this year with her husband, Wayne, a physical therapist at Promise Specialty Hospital in Ferriday, La., she has put a small display of her products at the Antique Mall on Franklin Street. That, however, is about as far as she wants to get into the traditional retail business.

Many of her products complement antiques and old-fashioned things &045; friendship balls, an old English tradition of passing small objects between friends in decorative balls; scented soaps and candles; garden ornaments; and potpourri, for instance.

She will continue to build the Web site and customer base and eventually create a catalog for direct-mail shopping, she said. With her degree in marketing and experience working as an advertising manager for a small company, she has the right experience to manage online and direct-mail businesses.

She has tips for anyone who might consider starting an online business.

4You should choose high quality pictures for the Web site.

4Keep the site clean and uncluttered, without any flashy, cheap-looking things.

&uot;Customers don’t know you,&uot; she said. &uot;They take a risk ordering something off a Web site. I’ve asked customers why they chose my Web site and they have told me, ‘I liked your pictures better.’ If it’s a quality Web site, they feel more comfortable about you.&uot;

Leising recommends bigstep.com. That’s the company she employed to build her site. The company designed templates for her and provided a merchant account through which customers can use their credit cards to make purchases.

4Deciding on a name is very important, she said.

&uot;When I chose The Twiggery, I knew it would make people smile. I’ve had so many people say they love the name.

4A Web business requires paying attention to detail, she said.

&uot;Respond quickly to customers. Provide excellent customer service,&uot; she said.

&uot;When I ship, I try to add fragrance to the box. I put a dragonfly stamp on the box and put dragon-fly tissue paper in the top of the box before closing it. The added touches have been successful,&uot; she said. &uot;Someone I know said, ‘people buy a promise and re-buy results.&uot;

The purchase that stands out will be one that gets re-ordered, she said. The same goes for the company in general.

&uot;Many people don’t grasp the concept of an Internet business,&uot; she said. &uot;I put in just as much time as if I were in an office. I just do it at home.&uot;

Leising wants the business to grow but not to get huge. &uot;I want it to be successful but not to grow too fast. I want to have a family,&uot; she said. &uot;I don’t want to hire a staff or rent a warehouse. Those are things I was trying to get away from.&uot;

She does have a game plan for how she wants it to grow. She wants to maintain her flexibility and control.

Meanwhile, she is shipping to places all over the world, even to an island in the Pacific, she said. &uot;My inventory is here in the closet. And this is my shipping department,&uot; she said, gesturing to one part of the room.

Some final tips, advice she has learned first hand. &uot;Make sure you advertise to your target market. Pick out products that are good, popular and that you’re excited about.&uot;