The goal of your online business should be to generate enough of both active and passive income to support your desired lifestyle... while you provide continual value to your target audience to help them achieve their desired results in certain areas of their lives.
This business should improve your life progressively, and help transform the lives of others -- something that you can pass on to your next generation, and them the next... no matter how the internet marketing world will evolve in the future.
Note that I mentioned about earning BOTH active and passive income, and NOT just passive income alone. Because the idea of ‘passive income’ (especially in the internet marketing world) is just too hyped up nowadays.
Too many IM newbies are brainwashed into thinking that earning enough passive income that allows them to bask in the sun on some island in Mauritius is going to make them happy for the rest of their lives... (figuratively speaking)
The truth is, passive income should be one of your goals, but not your main goal. I'm sure people like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, or even Gary Vaynerchuk have more than enough passive income to last them a lifetime... but do they stop creating value to generate more active income and scale their impact, or do they go for even more?
My hope is, you will reach a point in life when making a difference and leaving a legacy mean more to you.
How many times have you watched or read in the news of some filthy rich public figures who destroyed their own lives with drugs? These people ended in misery because they didn't see the real purpose of possessing their great wealth...
Think about it this way -- at the end of your life... would you want to be remembered as merely someone who's made tons of money online and lived the high life... OR someone who's equally successful, but used his/her wealth to touch thousands, or even millions of lives?
Now that I've cleared this misconception about the passive income goal, let's get down to business...
Let's start by deciding how much you want to make every year, then break it down into the month and day...
Setting this basic financial goal goes a long way, and it should be the first thing you do before you get into the nitty-gritty of internet marketing...
Because once you have this ‘end in mind’ (your financial goal for your online business), then it’s easy for you to work backwards… to know how much you must make monthly, and even daily to achieve your goal – this will directly determine your marketing strategy.
So, let’s do a quick one now:
If you’re working for someone right now, your first goal should be to earn enough from your online business to replace your current income. And you should be able to make that amount consistently for at least 3-6 months before you decide to quit your day job.
If you’re currently unemployed, or a stay-at-home mom/dad, set a figure you’re comfortable to start with… or if you have little or no savings left, set a do-or-die figure right now.
For example, if you set $3000/month, you know that your online business must generate at least an average of $100/day – which means you only have to close an average of 1 sale of $100, 2 sales of $50, or 10 sales of $10 per day, depending on the value that you’re offering to your target market.
The great news is, it is very possible, especially when your online business is open 24/7, which means you can earn even when you’re asleep.
Having said that, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Now let’s go into the mechanics of building your evergreen online business in the next chapter.