The bad news…
Starting a business has never been easier. There are so many options for making money online. The bad news is that starting a business has never been easier. Years ago, I was lucky enough to see a live panel of the top performers in a Nationwide Franchise Business Model discuss what made them successful. They all had different sales and marketing strategies. Each had different methods of hiring and managing employees. Some of them were very high energy, some were very easy going, but there was one thing they all had in common. The major take-away for me was that they were committed and driven to success.
No Plan B
Each one of them said something to the effect of, ‘I had no plan B, my kids were hungry. We had to make this work, our backs were against the wall’. These people had invested everything they had in their businesses, taken out huge loans. They signed legally binding contracts and failure was not an option for them. This level of commitment drove them to market more aggressively and sell more passionately. They were committed to do whatever it took to make their business successful. The problem with a business being easy to start is that it’s also easy to quit.
Easy In, Easy Out
It’s easy to start a business when you don’t have to come up with any capital or get any investors. The problem is that it’s also really easy to walk away when you haven’t invested much money or have big loans to pay off. It’s easy to start a business when you don’t have to find an negotiate a commercial lease and sign a 10 year personal guarantee that you will keep paying even if the business fails. The problem is, it’s also very easy to walk away when you don’t have a contract that says you owe money whether the business is successful or not. It’s easy to make money online, but it’s also easy to give up.
Low Barrier to Entry
The amazing thing about online business today is that the barrier to entry is so low. It’s so easy to get started. Anyone can get set up and start making money online relatively quickly. Nevermind the fact that there is potential for more competition. The competition from other online businesses isn’t your biggest worry. Your biggest concern is the competition for YOUR time, energy and focus and commitment. You have to find a way to put in the time, do the work, and stay committed when don’t have a lot invested in your business.
A Good Problem to have
Don’t get me wrong, this is a good problem to have, but it’s still a problem. You have to find a way to commit yourself to your own success, to get up early, stay up late, give yourself deadlines, work when you don’t feel like it, do whatever it takes and not give up. When you have no other option, you find a way. When you have too many options, you get distracted, doubt creeps in, maybe it’s a waste of time, maybe it’s not worth it, maybe all my friends and family are right, maybe it won’t work. You can make money online if you stay committed.
What can you do?
There are a lot of things you can and should do, but the bottom line is that in order to be successful, you need a proven business model and you need to be committed to make it work if you want to make money online.
Do your research
There are so many options out there, it’s important to have some awareness of what they are, but don’t get too caught up in research, the goal is to find a path forward and take it, not just search indefinitely. You don’t really start learning how to run a business until you start running a business, so get started.
Find a Mastermind group
Join online groups of people who are doing what you are trying to do. We are constantly being influenced by the people we are in contact with. If everyone you know is talking politics, sports, movies, etc, that is where your focus will go. Find a group that is focused on making money online and participate in the conversation.
Hire a coach
One of the best things you can do is to hire a coach. Find someone who has spent some time in the trenches and knows what to focus on and what to avoid. It’s easy to get caught up doing things that won’t move your business forward, you can spin your wheels and not get anywhere, your coach can help you avoid this. A coach can help hold you accountable and help get you making money online faster.
Get some training
There is a lot of free training available and you can learn a lot without paying any money. Once you’ve done some research and found some experts, pick one or two to learn from. Most experts have free training, webinars, books, podcasts. They often share their best material for free, consider paying for additional training if you like what are offering for free. I have been following Jeff Lerner for some time and I think he has a great training for making money online. You can find out more in the link below.
