For you to be successful, you need to have the mentality of an entrepreneur. It doesn’t matter at this point if you have a physical business or are branding yourself online because a business is a business.
Many people make the mistake of having a lazy mentality when blogging online because they are in the comfort of their own home. This can eliminate the tedious work of getting up early in the morning, driving to work, and attending meetings. Many people will agree working from home does have its benefits, however, you have negatives, too. Personally, it eliminates the “entrepreneur” mentality and limits the amounts of success you can gain.
If you have started an online business then you have to keep the following 7 factors in mind going forward. If you can learn from them, applying them to your business, you can increase the level of success attained like never before.
Let’s jump right into it…
Not Thinking Business
One of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen people make is not thinking their business is an “actual business”. It doesn’t matter if you’re online and writing content for your readers, you have to ensure you always have the business mentality. This concept applies especially to those getting started because making the transition from a 9-5 can be difficult. These beginners often get lazy and work odd hours of the day, forgetting their blog is their main source of income. The best way to succeed in these circumstances is to train yourself, still working 9-5, but from home. When you are comfortable, you can shift things around to better fit your schedule. Here’s the point…
A business, whether physical or online, should be treated as a business. If it’s going to be your main source of income, then it’s a business…plain and simple!
You’re Not Passionate
If you don’t love what you do, then you’ll put 50% effort when you should be putting 100%. Having passion for the work you’re involved in will help you stay motivated and go that extra mile that otherwise would have been impossible in other niches you don’t love. Ask any successful person and they’ll tell you they love what they do and kept doing it even when there was no monetary value involved. For example,
Before I started blogging, I did research, trying to find ways to stand out in my niche. During my research, I read several blogs and how they got started. One huge trend I noticed among all the successful bloggers was they made no money for 1-2 years when they first started out. However, they still worked hard because they love what they do and knew they were making a difference helping others. It’s that simple!
If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you have to be able to put 100% effort without getting anything back in return. Only then will you succeed and others will be able to see your passion in your work. This is great for brand awareness and credibility.
Poor Managing Money
It’s important that you know when to spend your money and when to hold on to it. If you want to buy a new computer, desk, or go out to fancy lunches, then step back and ask yourself this question: Do I really need these things right now? If you’ve just started out, you need to save because hard times can be around the corner. If you’re making huge money online, you still need to be great at managing your finances. The more money, the more problems, which means you waste it on things that might not be good for you or your business.
Only spend money when you know it will help productivity and keep a close eye on your bank account. Set a monthly budget and stick to it because it is better to be safe than sorry.
Not Networking With Others
No matter what business you’re in, you have to learn how to work with others. You’re going to have competition and some of these people have been in your niche for years. They built a strong following through social networks and branding themselves. If you don’t embrace your competition, you won’t last long, so learn how to work with them, helping each other. This is great for you as it does the following…
- You can learn from their experience
- Generate traffic through their blog
- Guest posting opportunities
- Increase social engagement
- Build your brand recognition
No Game Plan
Relying on one business model can set you up for failure especially online because it’s so unpredictable. As time goes on, you’ll be hit with adversity and you must have a game plan to overcome these obstacles. Before starting your business, do some research, finding out the problems faced within your industry. You can then come up with a game plan for each obstacle along the way. This helps you stay focused and not lose motivation if you’re hit with the unexpected.
For example, what are you going to do if…
- Your marketing plan isn’t working?
- You need to change your website and don’t know coding?
- Need expert content written?
- Hosting provider cannot handle your traffic?
Having the answers to these simple questions will keep you from panicking when it happens, so keep an open mind and write out some quick solutions now.
Poor Time Management
Prioritize your time from the start and always give preference to your work before your recreational time. It’s been said that many people simply fail because they don’t know what’s important to them and this keeps their focus in other places other than work. You’ve made the transition to working from home, which can make you very lazy and you now have time that you would not otherwise have when trapped at work from 9-5. When you are running your own business, you won’t have anyone telling you to complete your projects and designate your time for you. You have to be willing to put in time when you have other things to do and, more importantly, learn how to manage your work.
Mr Know It All!
If you think you have all the answers, then it’ll stop you from finding them out. The truth is, you don’t know everything and writing high quality content does require research. If you think you have all the answers, then your content quality will suffer. No one wants to read content that is outdated and provides inadequate information so do your research every time before publishing. It’s better to be safe than sorry and providing up-to-date information means getting rewarded later on.