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.
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 for your new business!
Step One – Decide Why You Want An Internet Business
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?
Step Two – Choose the Best Niche for You
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:
- Meditation
- Exercise
- Health
- Fitness
- Bagels
- Tea
- Men’s Fashion
- Travel
- Cell Phones
- Hot Sauce
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!
Step Three – Set a Realistic Goal for Your First Fiscal Year
I’m sorry to report this, but you’re not going to get rich tomorrow on the Internet. 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.
Step Four – Determine Your Information Gap
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:
Web Design
Graphic Design
Copywriting
Sales and Marketing
Keyword Research
Search Engine Optimization
Pay Per Click Management
Social Media Development
Networking
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.
Step Five – Create an Internet Business Plan
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!
Tags:
how to start an internet business | internet business | online business
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There’s a new page on MindfulEntrepreneur.com for Coaching and Consulting. I am putting this new service into BETA testing, but I think it’s going to be a helpful addition to the site here. On a pretty regular basis, I get direct requests for this type of service, and I’m finally going to say “yes” and open the doors to anyone and everyone.
This is ideal if you’re new to the Internet Business world and looking for a good way to put things into perspective. I’m pretty flexible with the topics, so feel free to make a proposal for something you don’t see listed.
Let’s get coaching!
It’s always a good idea to be very aware of your own weaknesses and to be honest with yourself about your shortcomings. If there’s one thing we could all use a little more of, it’s self discipline and focus.
In my own experience building an Internet business, I have struggled with this problem many times and, frankly, it’s still a challenge today. Of course, this concept applies to far more than just becoming a successful internet entrepreneur. Whether you’re trying to start your own business or looking to create a new exercise routine, self discipline and focus are absolutely critical to your success.
If we all need more focus and discipline, what’s the answer? How do we develop the proper mindset to create more focus and self discipline in life?
I believe there is one very simple, incredibly obvious, and commonly overlooked answer to this problem – getting clear about your goals.
Sure, you’ve heard it before – but how current are you with your goals NOW? That’s really the only thing that matters. Nobody cares what your goals were six months ago or even six days ago – especially not your subconscious. As far as success is concerned, goal setting is about the HERE AND NOW. That’s why it’s so dang hard!
Any old chum can decide he wants to become a millionaire. And any gal can say she wants to build a new business from scratch. But how many will actually follow through? Based on the available evidence, very few. As Bear Bryant once said, “It’s not the will to win, but the will to prepare to win that makes the difference.”
As usual, we need a clear idea of how to create focus and self discipline, so let’s make a list of things we can all do TODAY or RIGHT NOW to make it happen:
1. Write Out Your Specific Goals
This is the best place to begin. You have to know where you’re going if you expect to get there. Try to keep your goals list focused on one key area.
2. Schedule Your Time
Really. Novel, isn’t it? Plot out your time in blocks and stick to it! Make sure your time is being used to achieve your goals.
3. Create Daily Reminders
You need a system for keeping you mindful of your purpose every day. I know some people have success with post-it notes and the like. I’ve always liked the note card on my dashboard.
4. Chunk It Down
Step one should help you get a clear idea of where you’re going, but you can’t get there in one week, one month, maybe even one year. So break it down and make it easier for you to identify and celebrate progress along the way.
5. Set Aside Time to Relax & Decompress
This is an area where I have a lot of trouble and I know it affects my progress. The amount of “down time” you’ll need will depend on you and your situation, so personalize this step.
Sounds like a lot of work? Well, it is! Focus and discipline is NOT easy, else we’d all just have it. You’re up against years of habitual behavior and thought-patterns. It’s not going to be easy to turn this around tomorrow. But stick with it and I know you’ll see results!
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If you’re a new Internet Entrepreneur, you definitely need to think about keeping your startup costs down and building your free stuff pile high.
I’ve compiled a list of great free resources for building your internet business below. Most of these are information resources, but valuable nonetheless. Take a look:
- I’m a long-time fan of iStockPhoto, but I just discovered a new free source for photos and images at stock.xhng – very useful!
- Analytics are great. Long-tail information is even better. Check out the free service over at Hit Tail today!
- I just discovered Caroline Middlebrook this month, and she has tons of free stuff for you at her website.
- Yaro Starak is a successful Internet Entrepreneur who has attracted a lot of attention lately with his Blog Mastermind group. Get his free report today.
- In this business, competitive information is everything. SpyFu has a tremendously powerful free service, which allows you to “spy” on your online advertising competition.
Have any other suggestions? Plop ‘em down below.
Are you looking for new ways to capture the success mindset and put it to work for you? If you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, I certainly hope cultivating a success mindset is at the very top of your list of things to do! Training your mind to think in terms of success and to deliver real results is a critical factor to achieving goals and getting to your desired destination.
But let’s take a step back and really look at this concept of training your mind to deliver success. I really want to zero in on the idea of “training” because it can make or break your results.
Looking back at my development as an entrepreneur, I can identify several key moments when my mind seemed very tuned for success. The result? Focus, drive, motivation, excitement, happiness. In fact, when I really think about it, I can conjure up very specific memories of “high points” when it seemed I really had a grasp on things, and I was on the right path.
Take a moment now and try to capture those memories for yourself. I know this seems silly, but it really works. It really doesn’t matter when the success feeling happened. Just think of anytime when you felt especially “on target.”
Got it? (Don’t read on until you have something clear in your mind.)
Now, here’s my question – what happened? Where did the feeling go? I hope some of you are honestly saying to yourself, “It’s still here!” If so, then you have the right idea. If not, that’s ok too.
Here’s what I’m driving at: If we were talking about “Physical Fitness Training” and I asked you when you last felt at your optimum in health & fitness you would likely point to a time when you were working out on a regular basis, eating well, and taking good care of your body. You would point to a time when you were DOING something on a regular basis. That’s the definition of training.
The problem with the idea of “success mindset training” is we often look for easy answers or “quick fix” solutions. Would you expect to exercise for one month in a year and still look and feel great all year? Of course not.
Just like physical training, success training is about consistency and regularity. The best way to approach this is to develop everyday habits and programs that you can put into place to keep you on track – just like a successful business system that generates quality results again and again. Consider some of the following ideas and see what works for you:
- Meditate for 15 minutes every day
- Read success literature 30 minutes every day
- Review your top 10 goals every day
- Visualize your success for 15 minutes every day
- Write 10 new affirmations every day
Notice the emphasis on specific quantities and daily activity. This should be something you do that becomes habitual and helps to create new mental patterns.
Success training never stops because success is about how you perceive life!
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