Lesson 2 – Is an online business right for you?

Is an online business right for you?

You may find that a strange question, if most of the emails you get are anything to go by. It’s a lot more common to be told by the gurus that anybody can make money online.

You’re told that if you have a computer, Internet connection and can press a few buttons you can ‘do this’ – and it doesn’t matter what ‘this’ is.

Sorry to say, I’m going to be controversial here, and say I don’t agree with that idea.

Now I realize that’s something you probably don’t want to hear but I believe in telling it like it is.

Let me explain why I say that.

You see it’s a fact that not everyone is cut out for running a business, whether that be online or offline.

One of the main reasons I say that is because a business, any business, involves an element of risk. So if you’re the type of person that is looking for security, a 9 – 5 lifestyle with
regular paychecks and holidays, then you might want to stick with a regular job.

Think about decisions you have had to make in the past. Are you the type of person that would be happy investing in stocks & bonds? or are you generally a conservative type of person.

Are you adventurous by nature? Do you hate having to do what other people tell you to do? Does the thought of spending the rest of your life making money for someone else get to you? Do
any or all of these things matter enough to you to want to do something about it?

We’ll look at the type of skills you will need to become a business owner in another lesson but at this stage it’s important to be clear in your own mind whether you really want to be a
business owner.

It’s important that you want to run a business, that you see yourself as a business owner and have an entrepreneurial attitude, before you even consider starting a business.

Having said that there is an element of risk in all businesses, which there is, once you become a successful business owner your business can be a lot less risky than having a job these days.

There are other things, like all of the statutory accounting and legal requirements, that go with running a business but your attitude, whether you have a business mindset or not, is the most
important consideration.

Doing things online can be looked at in a couple different ways. If you’ve come online because you’ve received an email from someone telling you that if you follow this or that tactic you
will make money, then that, in my view, isn’t a business and isn’t what I’m talking about here.

If you actually get all of the information you need to put the tactic into action and make some money (which is very rare, you only usually get part of the information) I consider that to be
an online job. When the tactic no longer works you have to find another one to make some more money or you’re back to square one.

That’s definitely not what I consider to be an online business.

My definition of an online business is one that, when set up properly, pays you a residual income whether you work or not. The sort of business that can support regular mortgage or car
payments, without you worrying where the money is coming from each month.

Another point you need to understand is that having a website doesn’t necessarily mean you have a business. Yes an online business will usually have one or many websites but it’s not the
websites that make it a business, it’s the fact that you have products to sell that customers want to buy that makes it a business.

I believe that it’s important to identify right at the start whether you’re cut out for running a business or not before you spend a lot of time and money coming to the conclusion the hard
way that you’re not cut out for it.

You may want to get independent advice about what running a business is all about to be sure in your own mind before you start. I suggest that you contact a local business community like
your local Chamber of Commerce for instance or an independent business adviser to discuss the pros and cons of running a business from an unbiased viewpoint if you are completely new to
the idea of being a business owner.

The last thing I want to mention in this lesson is concerning the time it’s going to take to build your business. Through these lessons we will be building a business on a sound foundation that will provide you with a solid income for years to come. To achieve that will take some time and commitment. It will also help if you have the support of your family and those close to
you so at some point, when you have a clear idea of what your business is going to be, you will need to discuss your plans with them.

Don’t do it now, wait until you have a good handle on what the business is going to look like and how you will make money from it. Remember that most people consider a job to be safe and
running a business to be risky so you need to be sure of your facts before you go public on your plans.

In terms of time commitment, it will take a lot less time to set up your online business than most offline businesses but it will still take some time and you need to be prepared for that.

Starting a business can be a scary prospect even when you are clear in your mind that it is something you want to do. One of my mentors, Bob Proctor, says that your goal should be one that both scares you and excites you at the same time. It’s OK to be a bit scared in fact it’s quite normal.

I’ve seen instances where people have started a business because they got laid off from their job and couldn’t see any other way of surviving. This can often be the drive they need to finally
take things into their own hands and ‘sack’ a boss for good. However, without a real desire to become a business owner, many of them fail and eventually go back to a job.

In my free ebook Online Income Fast Track I explain about what to do if you need to make money now as opposed to building a business. If you didn’t download your copy yet you can get a copy
here.

There are lots of ways that you can make money using the Internet which, while still working for yourself, are more like having a job in that you do some work and get paid for it. If that sounds more like you then I suggest that you start by trying out some of my suggestions in my Online Income Fast Track ebook.

If, on the other hand, you decide that a business is for you, I’ll see you in the next lesson where we’ll talk about the biggest thing that decides your success in business.

Until next time,

Kind regards,

Trevor