80/20 Strategies for Web Marketing, Business Systems, & Personal Productivity
If you are new to the Internet Business world, you are probably wondering how to start an internet business that can earn you money while you sleep and improve your current financial situation. For some, learning how to start an online business is about simply supplementing their monthly income, while for others it may be about much more. Your goal might be to start an internet business that will one day become your primary source of income.
Either way, the key to getting started in this business is finding the right niche for you. The following article will walk you through the basic process for determining how to start your internet business from home. By the time you’re finished reading the article, you will know exactly which steps to take next and how to find the best resources to get the ball rolling!
It should go without saying, but the very first step you should take when starting an internet business (or any business for that matter) is to determine why you want to have your own online business in the first place.
WARNING: If your answer to this question is a simple “I want to get rich” or “I just want to make easy money,” then this is NOT the right opportunity for you. Can an Internet Business make you rich? Sure. Is it easy money? Definitely not. At least not at first.
It’s unfortunate, but a lot of internet entrepreneurs out there give the rest of us a bad name. You’ll probably figure this out when you start talking to your family and friends about starting an internet business. You’re likely to get dismissive responses like, “Oh, so you’re one of those spammers, eh?” Have no fear! You don’t have to be a spammer to run a successful internet business. And, for that matter, please don’t!
My personal reason for putting so much energy into my growing business every day is simple: My goal is to generate mostly passive income from websites to create more financial and personal freedom in my life. In concrete terms, that means I want to be able to wake up in the morning and make my own decisions about how I will use my time. If you’re an employee, you don’t get this opportunity.
You should take time to spell this out for yourself. Even if your reason is the same as or very similar to mine. You still need to write it down and crystallize it for yourself. The trick with this crucial first step is to tap into your motivation. All of us are motivated by different forces and circumstances. So what’s pushing you? And what’s going to keep pushing you down the road?
Now that you’re clear about exactly why you want to run your own internet business, we can move on to the next step – choosing your niche. This step is actually a bit complicated because there are two ways to go. Some internet business entrepreneurs are actually niche entrepreneurs, meaning they make a business of finding and developing MANY different niches. You can take this approach eventually and develop many different profit centers, but let’s just focus on ONE niche for now.
In order to choose one niche, you will still need to pick several to determine the most viable option. Many aspiring internet business owners really screw up this part of the process – including me. Trust me: you’re going to fall into this trap at some point too. We all do. The important thing to remember when learning how to start an internet business is that you are going to trip and fall a lot. Just because you manage to get a nice looking website up and running and even some traffic does NOT mean you are going to be successful.
So here’s your task for step two. Make a list of ten topics or “areas” that interest you. Here’s a sample list I generated just to illustrate the process:
OK – I know what you’re thinking. Hot sauce?!? Yes, you can. In fact, it’s been done. There are really two important things to consider when picking your niche area. First, it should be something that interests you. And second, it should be something that is already in demand online. Now I don’t know about you, but I’m one of those guys who find EVERYTHING interesting. I really don’t have much of a limit when it comes to picking a niche. I have strong writing and research skills and I love learning new stuff. For me, choosing a niche is mostly about doing the proper research to determine whether or not a market exists and if it can be tapped.
If you are not in this boat, that’s fine too. You’ll just need to do enough research to determine whether or not the area you really want to build is going to work. When I started building content websites, I really didn’t understand the first thing about researching a market but now it’s the very first thing I do when looking at a new project. This step is absolutely essential and cannot be skipped!
I’m sorry to report this, but you’re not going to get rich tomorrow on the Internet or anywhere else. Anyone who tries to tell you how to start an internet business that will generate six figures your first month is either lying or crazy. Even if someone knows how to start an online business that will generate a lot of money in a short amount of time, they’re probably not going to share that information with you – at least not for free.
So let’s begin this process by setting a realistic goal. Maybe you want to generate $100 in extra income in three months, $500 in extra income in six months, and then a full $1000 by the end of your first year. These numbers are much better targets than something unrealistic like a million dollars. As one motivation guru once quipped, there’s no such thing as unrealistic goals, just unrealistic deadlines. So if you don’t reach your goal, just change your deadline.
OK – you have the foundation in place and you’re pretty much ready to start. This next step is about determining what additional information or skills you’re going to need to acquire to make this happen.
In some cases, you may want to learn how to do these things on your own. If you’re already well versed in web design, programming, or other similar tasks, you may be the best person for these tasks. On the other hand, plenty of very successful internet business owners who started their business online from scratch have never learned a lick of HTML or other programming language. These folks simply outsource their work. The good news is you can do the same.
We should take a moment to review some of the skills you may need (or need to hire) when you are ready to start your internet business:
Don’t feel intimidated if any of these terms are new to you. You’re not alone. If you are eager to learn, it’s very simple to learn how to do any and all of these things with a little effort and creativity.
The final step in our how to start an internet business lesson is creating a business plan. If you have any sort of business experience, you know just how important a plan is to your short- and long-term success. Unless you’re looking to go the formal startup route, you don’t really need something formal to show investors or venture capitalists. For our purposes, you just need a basic plan to help keep you on track over the months to come.
Here are some suggested things to include in your Internet Business plan:
*Purpose of Your Business
*12-month Financial Goal
*Target Niche Area
*Internet Marketing Strategy
*Daily/Weekly Tasks
For the most part, this plan is going to serve you, so write it with you in mind. Feel free to take any approach that pleases you. If you need it to look very formal and even bound, go for it. But I would suggest keeping it simple to complete the plan as quickly as possible.
With a plan in place, a good idea of what skills you need to develop or hire, a realistic financial goal, a target niche, and a very clear purpose, you will be very well prepared to start your internet business. In future articles, we’ll move beyond the basics of how to start an Internet business and begin looking at the step-by-step nuts and bolts of actually making it happen!
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