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Summary
Don’t listen to the pessimists out there. There has simply never been a better time than now to forge your own way in business. The wide-open freedom of the Internet has provided unprecedented opportunities for entrepreneurs to do work they care about – in the circumstances and locations that they choose.
In today’s hyper-connected world, it is no longer necessary to be chained to a cubicle and suffer a grueling daily commute. Investigate the plethora of options for quickly getting started with your own online venture. It is possible to do it with little of the paperwork and hassle that was traditionally required in the past to open a business.
Whether you elect to build a website from scratch or take advantage of the numerous ready-to-go templates that are available in the online market for those who are less tech savvy, there is no excuse to delay in launching your own venture.
No matter what type of product or service you launch, there are a number of time-tested strategies and methods for business success you should keep in mind. Read on to learn more about what others have learned in kicking off their online ventures – and how you can follow their example and start to blaze your own path.
Transcript
The beauty of the internet is the freedom that it offers you. We still don’t fully appreciate just how profoundly our world has changed with the rise of the world wide web. Tasks and projects that took Herculean effort and large amounts of time can now be accomplished much faster.
The Great Equalizer
The web essentially acts as a great equalizer for knowledge. We all now have the sum of most human information at our fingertips. What this has done is to bring down the value of content knowledge – it simply isn’t as valuable anymore to be an expert on, say, a historical era. You can pull up the information you need from what is already available.
What have risen in value are skills. The person who can synthesize that information and data with a discrete skill set – such as knowledge in data science or analytics – can help to illustrate original connections and insights, making them far more valuable to employers and clients than someone lacking their abilities.
We all now have the ability to open our own makeshift internet businesses. You don’t need special credentials or the permission of a gatekeeper. That’s the beauty of it. The ubiquity and availability of information online has essentially thrown the doors wide open to allow anyone to get cracking on their own online ventures.
Liberation From The Office Walls
One of the most exciting aspects of online entrepreneurship is the freedom that it affords to work from anywhere you want, as long as it comes with a suitable WiFi connection. No longer is it an absolute to be tethered to an office and suffer an arduous commute to make a living. There are numerous examples of the proliferation of individuals online, who took action to achieve autonomy and independence in their work, allowing them to log-in from anywhere they want around the world. You may find that you have a dramatically different view on work once you have had a taste of doing it from an oceanfront!
The critical step to take is to create and choose the system that works best for you. Some would-be entrepreneurs are scared off from the perceived complexity of attempting to learn about matters like coding and programming. While it will surely always be an asset to upgrade your knowledge and skills in information technology, it is by no means a requirement to become a full-blown techie just to start up your business online.
You will find that there are a plethora of custom website services and templates available online for free or minimal cost. They have the benefit of looking professional enough to pass muster with customers and potential investors, while allowing you to quickly plug your content into a standard design and get started hustling without needing to spend huge amounts of time getting up to speed on the technology front.
Jump In And Get Started
As I have written previously, I am a big proponent of the power of affiliate marketing. Many individuals have found enormous success in using existing systems, such as selling products through websites like Amazon and eBay. Regardless of what type of product or strategy you decide to employ, the key is to simply begin getting started. Don’t get bogged down in endless rounds of market analysis. It is far better to have a bias toward action so that you are continually moving toward your goals.
Solve A Real Problem
While there is certainly no set formula for success, I have seen numerous others follow a set list of tasks and steps, and that seems to function very well. The first step should be to identify a need or problem that exists in the marketplace. Too many business aspirants try to come up with a great product or app without first considering the problems that are out there that customers are willing to pay some money to have addressed. This is a backwards strategy. By identifying a pain point, you will be far more likely to create a sustainable and compelling solution that solves a real problem.
Fortunately the Internet also makes market research far simpler than it was in past eras, through tools like online forums and message boards that correspond to niche topics you have an interest in. You can also use keyword searches to determine topics that lots of people are searching for information on, so you have an idea of what subjects are driving interest.
Communication Is Still Key
Once you have developed some concepts for subjects that are ripe for monetization, make sure to brush up on your writing skills. Even in a high-tech era, there is a high premium for the ability to effectively communicate your ideas in copy and marketing advertisements. Make sure to describe your product or service in terms of how it can help improve the lives of buyers, including testimonials from experts or satisfied customers to help establish your credibility. Remember to always keep in mind how to clearly articulate what is the net benefit of your business to the reader.
Keep It Simple
Regardless of what type of web presence you elect to build, you are well served to keep it simple. Remember that you will likely only have a few seconds to grab and maintain the interest of a visitor to your website before they move on to the plethora of other content available online. With that in mind, make it as pleasant and easy as possible for them to be visiting your site, with easy to navigate menus and unobtrusive text and graphics that support your pitch, rather than distract from it. If the visitor can’t easily navigate their way on the site with minimal assistance, then you are going to be missing out on some major revenue.
Build And Maintain Connections
Also be sure to include a mechanism for collecting email addresses and other contact information that can help you turn one-time visitors into recurring customers. You may have to keep them coming back with an investment in producing good, ongoing content but it is definitely worthwhile spending some time figuring out how to retain those customers who seek you out. A good example is generating ongoing, original content for a blog or email blast that provides actionable and pertinent information for your customers. This will help to further establish your brand’s credibility and build up loyalty among your base of supporters.
Create Win-Win Scenarios
It is inevitable that your operation will have competitors, but they don’t need to necessarily be sworn enemies. You may even find some ways that you can work together with others working in your field for mutually beneficial gain. For example, you may be able to cross-link content and promotions and work together to benefit from your pool of customers. Business doesn’t need to always be a zero-sum game, which is one of the most important insights that has emerged from the proliferation of online businesses that are available out there.
Another of these insights is that it really pays off to be good to your customers. Show your appreciation by following up sales with personalized thank you emails, offers of future rebates and deals, and other proactive engagement. While you certainly don’t want to come off as spamming them, you can find some huge benefits by going the extra mile to personalize your correspondence with those who frequent your business.
There is a lot of work that goes into building a successful online business. I have the highest confidence that these steps will help launch you on the right path – they certainly did for me.
You can also learn more by visiting my website: tonyneumeyer.com and registering to receive free trainings articles and more. Also subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me on Facebook. You can get your copy of The 7 Minute Millionaire and check out my other books here: https://tonyneumeyer.com/books/.
