Every year more and more people come to the internet and try to start an online business. They come from all over the world. They come with all types of educational backgrounds. Some are financially well off but most are not. Many of them speak English but many of them don't. Some are children while others are working adults. Others are unemployed or retired. The only thing they all share is the dream of making money online.
Unfortunately the dream of making money online will stay a dream and will not become a reality for most.
You see, almost everyone who tries to start an online business believes the myth that anyone can do it. They believe that all you need is the desire, some positive thinking and a web site. And if it were really that easy we'd all be rich.
The truth is you need a lot more than desire, positive thinking and a web site to have a successful online business. You need to understand that an online business is in fact a business. And because it's a business you need to treat it like one. You must plan, set goals, do research, make hard decisions, work some long hours, learn new things and avoid being scammed.
In addition, you also need to understand that an online business is an internet marketing business. In other words, if you have an online business you're selling something. Whether it's an opportunity, product or service... whether it's yours or someone else's... or whether you've put adsense type ads on a content site ... you're in the marketing business. And since you're in the marketing business you must learn how to market or have the money to hire someone to do it for you.
Another myth believed by most starting an online business is that it's the least expensive and easiest way to have a business. And while it may be the least expensive it's not always the easiest. To have a successful online business you must know about and be comfortable with 3 three things...
- your opportunity, product or service
- your computer and the necessary tools of internet marketing
- how to market
If you don't know about these things you must be willing to learn. Even if you intend to hire someone to do many of the tasks required for an online business, you must know something about what they're doing in order to judge whether they've done a good job.
Another reason so many fail at having a successful online business isn't a myth. It is true that there are many ways to make money online. There are thousands of legitimate opportunities on the internet. Unfortunately, not every legitimate opportunity or business model will work for everyone. You have to find the right one for you.
And not every online opportunity is legitimate. Just like in the physical world there are some online who are out to take advantage of you. They make empty promises, take your time and money and then disappear. And because it's not easy to tell which opportunities are real and which are not almost everyone with an online business will be scammed at least once.
So while I wish I could say that having a successful online business was as easy as having the desire to make money, having positive thoughts and having a web site. The truth is it's not. You must do many of the things required for a brick and mortar business. And you must learn to do many things that are unique to internet marketing.
Whether you have an online business or not please leave a comment and let us know if you agree with what I've said.
To Your Success,
Susan
P.S. Because of all the hype used to promote online business opportunities I've created a free report that tells you about the 10 most commonly used statements and what those statements really mean. You can get a free copy here.
Tags: online business, internet marketing business, online business myth
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