If you’re reading this book, then you have already instilled some of the motivation needed to be a successful online entrepreneur. But are you ready to invest the time and money needed to realize your vision?
Before you ever start the first formal step of launching your cyberbusiness, you have to have the right mindset and a list of goals that you plan to accomplish one step at a time.
First, you need to gather the support of those who will be closely involved with you in your endeavor. It may be a work partner or your spouse and children if you’re working solo from home.
Even if you’re interested in signing up with an established affiliate program, you should still set and try to maintain your own personal goals. While some seasoned marketers have long-term success, those who sustain their victories in the marketplace know that they have to put in equal effort to building a successful affiliate network.
Sit down with a list of things you hope to accomplish with this business and be as specific as possible. It may help convince others (and even yourself) if you map out a simple business plan to show them how your idea will come to life. You can see a small business plan outline at www.sba.gov.
If you run into opposition, or self-doubts, then you may want to take some time to thoroughly review your business plan and try to solve any areas of concern before you begin investing too much time or money into your operation.
If you’re considering joining an affiliate program, look at it carefully to determine what its drawbacks are, if any. Then, if you still have concerns, contact the administrator or a sponsor of the program and open a dialogue so that you can find out for yourself if these problems really exist, and if so, how they are solved.
Along with the plan itself, you should have several stages of goals that you hope to reach and the timeline to accompany them. Too many people sit down one day and decide to start a business with no direction to go. These people wind up off the path very quickly, and all the time and funds they devoted to their business goes down the drain.
Don’t bite off more than you can chew with your goals. Start small and remember that goals are to be viewed as a “living list,” and can be altered at any time depending on the success rate of your business.
You might want to set monetary goals – such as hoping to make $2,000 per month within the first three months. Remember that most new businesses don’t even see a profit until after the first year, so don’t despair if yours is slow to grow.
On the Internet, your growth rate will be much quicker because your audience is global, not limited to your physical location. Another bonus with online selling is that many products are informational, and don’t require the standard upfront investment that other companies do.
When you find a business opportunity that piques your interest, you need to make sure that there is a system in place that offers plenty of member support and training to get your own enterprise underway.
For example, Empowerism is not only a site that houses one of the largest learning environments on the ‘Net, but it’s also a community where members can interact with one another and get answers on issues that are important to them.
Look for a company that doesn’t stop at just putting the facts and figures out there. You want one that takes an active interest in your success, offers a turnkey marketing system, and wants to make sure that your growth spurs more growth within the industry, which is exactly what a company called Empowerism has accomplished since 1998.