Not understanding the difference between ‘need’ and ‘want’ is a major mistake many people make when starting an online business. Those simple words underscore one’s motivation – the why of going it on your own.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Children want many things, whether they have lasting value or not. An immature eye focuses on glitter, or what one does not have. Children want something now, getting immediate gratification.
The mature approach understands we need many things we may not want. Think eating vegetables instead of a juicy burger with fries.
With maturity comes patience. Ever hear the term ‘patient money’? Patient money is opposite pulling up carrots from the ground to see how they are growing. More about business patience later.
I recall a world-class track and field coach asked how he taught athletes to soar over the high jump bar – many setting records under his tutelage. His answer was simple, “I tell them to throw their heart over the bar and their body will follow.”
Where is your heart, your passion, your want?
Many of us start online businesses because the idea of great wealth with little work appeals to us. We see videos of people like us rising from lowly beginnings to traveling to exotic vacation spots, driving expensive cars, and living like rock stars.
The reality is some of us do make a lot of money online. The big money-makers are the top 3% of all online business people. Usually people who start an online business make just a few hundred dollars a year. These are the ‘less-than-serious’ dabblers. They never understand what is necessary to earn a livable income online.
Just because you want to make money online does not mean you will; just like wanting to be a professional golfer does not mean you will be a PGA star. Yet, just about anyone can make money online. In most situations you can make more online than you make at your regular J-O-B.
And that’s a fact.
I have friends making $100,000+ a month from various online endeavors. Most of us earning our living online bring in less, but we make much more than most of you reading this.
The key to a successful online business is not the old saying, “Do what you like and the money will follow.” Online success comes when you like what you do. Online success comes when you are willing to learn what you do not know. Online success comes when you energetically apply that knowledge and training.
A lot of well-educated people fail at business. They lack the training required to achieve success. Education teaches you the why of things. Training gives you the how.
A few years ago I took oil painting classes. I learned that to progress I had to paint every day. Often I painted the same image over and over, everyday. I learned techniques of painting with oils.
This is what you have to do to run a business. You must learn the techniques. A friend is fond of saying, “There’s a big difference between knowing something and just being able to figure it out.” Brand that concept on your brain – as you learn your new online business. Just figuring it out is not enough.
It takes discipline to work alone, usually from home. Making money online means you have to set your own deadlines, stick to an orderly business process, and keep the traffic flowing into your sales funnel.
What you know that brought success until now may not serve you well with an online business. So, be prepared to learn new things and apply yourself and success is surely yours to have.
Here are important points I want you to embrace when starting your online business adventure. In future posts I’ll walk you through making your first money online and determining the niche for your business building focus.
Today pay attention to these tips…clip them and save for reference.
- When committed to an online business direction – go full force
- When you decide which online marketing method to pursue, go at it…ignoring distractions. Read The Ultimate Online Profit Model for details of the three most common online money-making businesses.
- Let’s say you decide to be an affiliate marketer – decide which market you intend pursuing. I suggest it be something you are passionate about, preferably something you already are involved with and know something about.
- I have a couple of websites devoted to fishing. I began fishing with my grandfather when 4-years-old or so. Fishing is of great interest to me. One site focuses on surf fishing, another is off shore fishing another is fresh water fishing; another is learning how to fish rivers, lakes and streams, and another reviews fishing gear.
- I earn money marketing fishing products from these web sites and they deliver some income every month. My fishing sites are examples of niche affiliate marketing. The poorest performing niche site usually brings in at least $25 – $50 a month and costs only $10 a year to register the URL. It is rather easy to outsource post writing for a few dollars, keeping each site up-to-date and profitable. I know a young man in Taiwan who has hundreds of niche sites and makes mucho bucks from them.
- Focus on your business
- Do not buy anything that does not support your business. That includes web sites, WordPress plug-ins, training courses, eBooks, services, or anything else that is not directly contributing to the success of your business. I agreed to mentor a Newbie last year and the first thing the fellow wanted to do was start a blog. I asked why and he didn’t have an answer. But he registered his URL, set up hosting, set up WordPress and had nothing to say to potential readers. He had no plan – just another case of ready, fire, aim. An example of wasted time, money and his energy.
- Do not attend webinars, seminars, or any other gathering not directly related to your business success. It is too easy for new glitter and claims of easy money to distract you. Pick you starting point and go for it without distraction. Think of a vacation and while en route to your destination you endlessly take attractive off ramps to things that catch your interest. You never get to your original destination or arrive too late to enjoy all the planned destination has to offer.
- Do not justify doing any of the no-no things I warn you about above. You simply must focus to succeed. A top baseball pitcher doesn’t spend time shagging flies. A top golfer doesn’t spend time playing a video game when he/she needs time on the practice tee. Virtually every PGA tour winner heads to the practice tee or putting green with a coach in tow after finishing a competitive round. Visit a professional sports training camp and watch the top players. I bet the top players are the last to leave the practice field. They are always working on something, correcting small errors.
- Put playtime in your schedule, but only after you take care of business. Playtime is important. You need battery charging time away from business and day-to-day obligations.
- Avoid the no-no time vampires with great energy and restraint. Determine what’s of interest and what you can influence. I have many interests, but focus on what I can influence. How does watching an interesting video that has nothing to do with my business put money in my account?
- Online business opportunities promise great reward working fewer hours. Top online money makers actually put in more hours than most 9-5 folks. What they do just doesn’t seem like work. When I do a video for surf fishing it is not work in the traditional sense. I find a way to incorporate in my business what I like to do. My friend John Chow has two great video series: Driving with John Chow and Eating with John Chow. When he drives from one place to another he turns on his video camera and records business tips. When at a restaurant he interviews people and comments on the menu and his meal. These videos are very, very successful.
Dear friend, you can make money online. How well you apply proven principles for online money-making determines how much money you make. Return to this site for Step 4 in the progression of Starting Your Online Business.
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