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Five tips before starting an online business.

Guest post by: Kevin Mukai

Article Overview: These are just a few tips I learned from my experiences and would like to share with others who choose the road of entrepreneuring.

Five tips before starting an online business.

Five tips to know before starting an online business. People start online or internet business for many reasons.

• They want to work from home.

• They want to be entrepreneurs.

• They want to fire their bosses or their bosses have fired them.

• They want to make money online.

• They are looking to add to their existing cash flow.

• They can't find another job that pays well.

For what ever reason people like us start online home businesses, it has been my experience that by doing a little homework will save you a lot of time and most of all money and avoid the pitfalls that most online entrepreneurs run into.

Don't get me wrong, I encourage capitalism and the spirit of entrepreneurs all over the world. But there's nothing more frustrating, heartbreaking and depressing than putting so much effort into a business and watching it die before it even gets off the ground.

I would like to share my personal experiences of running a few online businesses as well as a small retail business and the five things that I believe people can benefit from. The experiences have been both good, bad and at time painful and humbling, but thru the pain and frustration comes enlightenment, knowledge and a rekindling of my own faith and confidence in starting a new online venture and moving forward.

The first thing is your STATE OF MIND.

Some call it "mindset" or "attitude" but it's the same thing and it starts here. You must be absolutely positive and committed to success and not be afraid to fail. Being industrious, confident, enthusiastic and completely focused on the end result will help you through the very frustrating time of the start up phase. At times you will feel overwhelmed, but know that it's perfectly normal. But you need to push through it. Without a good solid state of mind, your business will surely fail. It's just like building the tallest building upon sand. No matter how big the vision, without a strong base it can't help but crumble. My business coach taught me to work on myself twice as hard as I worked on my business. That's because the success of the business is a result of what goes on in my head. Key: Read great books about great people everyday.

The second thing is RESEARCH.

There are literally thousands of online business opportunities on the web. And they are all competing for your money. They sound good, they look good and some are very are very enticing, but few can deliver what they say they can. Do not make the same mistake that I have made in the past. Don't decide right away and never make a decision based on emotion or how "cool" the site looks and especially when they say it's EASY. Anything worthwhile is going to require hard work on your part. Research companies that you're interested in. Check their track record. Research, research and more research. You'll thank yourself later. Key: Use the internet to research businesses.

The next thing is your BUDGET.

No matter what, you're going to have to invest some money on building your business. Building an online business is no different that any other type of business. Make sure you know exactly how much you are willing to invest and spend it wisely. You don't have to spend a lot of money at first (and I don't recommend that you do so), but as your business grows, you will definitely want to direct more money into your marketing plan. Successful marketing is the key to any great business. Key: Sit down and write down on a piece of paper exactly how much you want to invest.

The fourth thing is DISCIPLINE.

If you are going to be working from home, you really need to learn to block out distractions and master your time management. Working from home sounds really exciting when you think about it. No bosses, spouses or kids to bother you are wonderful things, but without self discipline you'll end up watching TV, taking a nap, going to mall to buy something for the business, then you get side tracked. Next thing you know, it's been a few hours and nothing got done. Make a schedule the night before and follow it no matter what unless there's an emergency or something. You can always tell if you displayed discipline and proper time management by asking yourself at the end of each day "did I accomplish everything that I needed to for my business to succeed'?

The final element is PERSISTANCE.

So many of us, including myself have given up when success was right around the corner. Work hard and with enthusiasm and things will start to happen. It may take a time and while I can't tell you exactly how long it may take because every person and every business is different, I can tell you this, winners of races don't always go to the fastest or strongest, but a lot of time to the person who never gave up and stayed in the race. Abraham Lincoln failed twice in business, lost eight political elections before becoming president and suffered a nervous breakdown before he was elected president.

There are other traits and element to success but you'll find they will fall within one of these categories. I wish you all the best on your journey. May you find or create the right online business for yourselves.

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Article Tags: experiences, starting an online business, tips for online entrepreneurs



Related Forum Posts
Re: 10 Tips to Start an Online Business - Thanks for the tips Anya101. They make a useful checklist for anybody building a new website or starting an online business.
First decide online or off-line - I’ve emailed you the complete details see if you like my idea for starting new online business. You can run business from anywhere in the world if it’s online.
Re: How to develop sales contacts? - Gary, What kind of products are you selling? Are they something you could sell online? The internet opens up a whole lot of possibilities to generate leads, prospects and eventually customers. You've been given great advice already. The same tips can also apply online as well if you have a website or plan to start selling online. I'm interested to hear about your business and your products. Take Care, Alan
Re: Best way to start a business? - I'd have to agree with christew. When I started my business I really didn't have a clue as to what I was getting into or what it would take to see it through. I had to learn the ins and outs while already running it. I think the best way to learn is to just get your feet wet... or dive right in. I'm definitely a "hands-on" learner, and there's no better time to learn than when you "have" to learn. If I wanted my website to become a success, I was going to have to learn, otherwise it would've failed. Granted I don't think this works for every business out there. This is more manageable when starting an online business, but I do think you need to do your research and learn before starting an offline business. There's a lot of money at stake and a lot more risk involved. In that sense, yes, an apprenticeship might be a viable option.
Re: Good day everyone! New here. - [quote="Jason Fonceca":24f354xx]I feel you're on the right track Calflowers, there's a great group here, very helpful and engaging. Speaking of, is there anything we can do to help? What's your business? What are your main desires for it?[/quote:24f354xx] Hi Jason! I'm very sorry for the late reply my email was jammed and didn't noticed that you've already answered back. Actually I am a freelancer doing online marketing. But I am planning on starting my own affiliate program online business. But I don't know where to start, that's why I want to ask different online businessmen some ideas that could help me. I still don't know what's a good niche?


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