How do you start an online business

The beginning!

You want to know: How do you start an online business? 

What do you do and where do you go?

Online of course!

You begin by googling it: How do you start an online business. 

Read HERE too.

Another source read on business basics HERE:

You come up with a dazzling array of options.

One is this from an online magazine called Entrepreneur.

1. “Find a need and fill it.
2. Write copy that sells.
3. Design and build an easy-to-use website.
4. Use search engines to drive traffic to your site.
5. Establish an expert reputation for yourself.
6. Follow up with your customers and subscribers with email.
7. Increase your income through back-end sales and upselling.”

If you are ultra new to this then some of that, if not all, sounds like gobble de gook. Or you know a bit and it sounds easy.

In your search you will come across adverts for ‘amazing systems’ that promise the earth, cost a fortune but do very little. Or even worse have you constantly shelling out cold hard cash for the next level and the next, convinced that the big payday is round the next corner.

If something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

You watch the video, get fired up with enthusiasm, click through quickly to that ‘One time only offer!’ because you don’t want to miss out on the chance of a lifetime. Then you find the cost of this dream and hopefully hesitate, like any sensible person.

My first thought whenever I saw one of these was: Why do they need to sell this system if they are already so successful, earning mega bucks and going from holiday to holiday?

They can be very tempting and sound very believable BUT….. they rarely mention months of hard work. Usually it’s: “For 1-2 hours per week you too can  earn £5,000/10,000 or more per month.”

Some say: “We will set it all up for you, websites, funnel etc and you can sit back and enjoy the payday.”

Or ….. “3 clicks and its up and running, even a newbie can do it. No tech knowledge required. You can be earning within hours.”

If you see any of those, run for the hills as fast as you can holding on to your money tight.

If someone says they are an amazing business guru, run the other way. There is no such thing. They/we are all just people with varying degrees of knowledge.

What next?

You have dodged most if not all of the scam artists by now. You may be somewhat lighter in the pocket or not.

Now you start wondering if there is anything legitimate out there.

All you want is your own business. Is that too much to ask?

You still dream of arranging your hours to suit you …….. to have time for family, friends, hobbies etc. You probably saw yourself, getting up, doing a bit of work, then swanning off out and about to have fun.

You want to be rid of the 9-5 routine or shift work and the boss who lords it over you. Perhaps you like your boss but not the routine you are tied to.

Oh….. and you want to earn a lot of money each month.

One thing that keeps coming up by now is marketing if you are still researching.

Anything there sound familiar?

Then you begin to wonder if there is really such a thing as a laptop lifestyle.

Is there? Oh yes there really is. Not on 2 hours work a week but yes it is there. Want to go visiting family and friends for a long weekend or a week or two? As long as you have internet you can still work. It does mean that you have to take time away from others to do your work and maybe you scale it down while you are away but the work can go with you.

1 week in 4 I am only at home for one night and away for half a week as well during a month. That’s every month of the year. I couldn’t do that with a regular job. It’s not sitting on a beach with a laptop but its the lifestyle in a smaller way. I love what I do and am more than happy to work while I am away. I work on trains and even a bus, as a passenger in a car too. Such an adaptable type of work.

Still  following the dream!

So still following the dream you have been looking at marketing and discover affiliate marketing.  The payouts should be decent. Some say its hard work while others downplay the amount of work involved and there are plenty of the 2 hours a week adverts still about.

But if there is so much about, is it an overcrowded market? 

It’s been going for quite a few years but if anything it’s a growing market.

There are so many companies using affiliate marketers it’s unbelievable.

If there is a company then it is usually online as well as offline and using affiliate marketers.

There are also a growing number of companies that only trade online.

 

 

Consider the numbers from DataReportal.com

• Internet use around the world

  • There are 4.88 billion internet users in the world today.

  • The total number of internet users around the world grew by 222 million in the past 12 months – more than 600,000 new users each day.

  • Globally, internet user numbers are growing at an annual rate of almost 5 percent, but year-on-year growth is much higher in many developing economies. Research restrictions caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic have also limited updates to internet user numbers over the past year, so we anticipate that actual growth will be well above the rate implied in the latest data.

  • The average global internet user spends almost 7 hours online each day.

  • Added together, the world’s internet users will spend more than 1.3 billion years of human time online .

Now that is a lot of people!

So who do you pick?

Which companies are legitimate?

You need one that offers proper training. Even if, like me, you have been running an online business for years, you will still have a lot to learn. Until you start going through training you don’t realise the gaps you have in your knowledge. I certainly didn’t.

Well the one I found, after months of research, was Wealthy Affiliate. I dithered for a couple of months. Looked at it, read blogs, googled it, read more blogs. Went to the site and signed up for the free trial.

I figured that a look around to see what was on offer would tell me if it was a scam or not. The free training that came with it had me building a wordpress website within a couple of days.

I was very impressed by how good the training was and how easy to follow and learn from. Then there was the community, so friendly, always ready to help, so many created their own training for others to learn from. I knew I was going to sign up within a few days.

I did just that and haven’t regretted it, even for a moment. The knowledge base they have is excellent. The most basic questions are readily answered and I asked quite a few but so are the complicated ones. Always people ready with answers.

All the latest info on Wealthy Affiliate HERE!

The reality?

So maybe you sign up for the free trial. The dream is alive and shining like a guiding light.

The reality is long hours, very long, the pay is less, if any, at first. That time off for yourself becomes a distant dream as you plod along, always something more to learn. Other commitments eat away at your time, maybe a full time or part time job, plus other responsibilities.

The more you learn, the more you realise how much you don’t know.

One thing you can guarantee is that it will take at least a few months before you see a first payday. Longer if you don’t put in the work and do the training.

One thing you will be told over and over at Wealthy Affiliate is that it takes hard work to reach your goals. It is not a get rich quick scheme, you have to put n the effort. Yes you will have lot’s of help, an entire community but only you can do what’s needed to reach your goals.

Are you put off yet?

Will you make it?

It depends on the time and effort you are prepared to put in.

Many never go further than the free trial. Some sign up for a month but give up at the end of it. Others go for a few months then decide they aren’t getting anywhere and give up.

Sometimes families and friends say you are wasting your time because you are online so much and not spending your time with them. Some will not like it if you succeed and try to stop you before that point.

When you are getting outside pressure it is a testing time. Do you take the easy route and give up or keep going?

It’s your choice of course but then all the time and effort you have invested up to that point will be wasted if you give up.

It won’t be easy ………. but it gets easier as time goes on and the training kicks in. Much that seemed hard work at the start, no longer is.

You are building for the future. For your own future and (maybe) your family’s future.

Those that are destined to become a success, however big or small, don’t give up at this point. They keep going, sheer stubbornness/determination makes them go on fighting.

Then comes the day you finally earn some money, however small an amount. From that moment on you know that it works and put even more effort into your dream.

You keep going until you can give up that job.

Earning a living wage is a success. You are finally working for yourself!!!

You have YOUR own BUSINESS!!

—————————————————–

 

Have any questions? Please ask.

Enjoyed the post, found it helpful? Then please share, thank you.