How to be in business for the long term.
Sometimes I get asked the question, “should I be in business?” What are the requirements for being successful in business and do I have the right credentials?
You don't need any credentials to be in business but you do need good habits to be successful in business.
People feel much safer working for someone else than they do working for themselves. Why is this? There is this idea that working in a job provides more security.
Security comes from having no doubts.
Running a business is fraught with danger if you treat it as a hobby. Running a business requires you to trust yourself and working to a plan. Like study, you don't expect to be a doctor by half-heartedly studying or sometimes doing the work.
If you don't think you have the discipline to work to a schedule, then running a business may not be for you.
This does not mean you have to work day and night with no sleep and being anxious all the time. It means you have to do something each and every day to make your business become your haven from a regular job.
How much time do you spend on your business?
This all depends on how quickly you want your business to grow and how much time you have available.
If you have a full-time job and a family then you will have to create a schedule which you are willing to stick to. I would say you will need to spend a minimum of one hour per day to build your business.
Online marketing is all the rage but few people make it work for them because they have unrealistic expectations. Online marketing can be your dream occupation if you do it well.
How do I make money in business?
You will need to provide a product or a service to make money in online marketing.
There are many ways to do this. If you are a maker you could sell your products online. You could link to an affiliate who have a range of products you can advertise on your site and make a small commission or you could be a drop ship marketer.
Providing a service means you don't need a middleman and could market your services directly to your audience.
Whichever way you go you will need to find out where you fit in the marketplace.
Finding out what you are good at.
This is where you need to find your niche. Something you are good at, something you love to do and are willing to share with the rest of the world.
Choose your niche carefully. Don't just rush into something because you heard you could make a lot of money selling the latest and greatest.
You will find that whatever you choose to market will take time before it becomes profitable for you. People have to trust you, they want to know you are around for the duration and that you will answer their questions. If your customers have problems, they want to know they can come back to you for you to solve their problem.
This does take time and is where most new businesses fail, they don't plan for the long term.
Dedication and consistency, the key to a good thriving business.
When you start an online business, it takes the first three months to establish credibility. During this time you need to be consistent with your product/service. You will not get many people visit your site as your ranking with Google will still be new.
If you have been consistent for more than six months, you will just start to be noticed and you may even become an authority in your given niche.
Around one year, not only will your website be of interest but you will have learnt in the process what works and what doesn't work.
Within your second year, if you have monetised your site correctly, you will start to see an income from your efforts.
Of course, there are exceptions, some people will achieve success much more quickly because they bring different skills with them.
The main thing is to stick to your plan and keep working it until it works for you.
If you have any questions or need help in making a decision just ask in the comments or PM me.
