Who Is Starting Their Own Online Businesses?
Starting an online business is one of the smartest moves you can make to invest in your future. Now more than ever, people are putting their ideas into practice and becoming first-time entrepreneurs.
Beginning a new business owner in today’s world is much easier than it was even ten years. Booming online businesses make up a massive percent of products sold. It’s evident that e-commerce is here to stay.
The beauty of running an online business is that the startup costs are meager – you can even start some businesses without having to come up with any money at all. Young or old, people of all ages can create a business they love from whatever they’re passionate about. Whether it’s selling antique pieces of history, gift ideas, or selling services, there’s a niche tailor-made for your talents.
So, who are the people who are breaking free from their ordinary routines, or from their cubicles and taking control of their lives?
Many of the people who are first time entrepreneurs are moms. Whether they’re staying at home moms or currently work in an office, mothers make up a vast majority of those running Internet businesses.
Putting their years of expertise from both life and business to work for them, many baby boomers are stepping out and taking the plunge into a new endeavor of starting their own online business.
Sometimes in a tough job economy, baby boomers are some of the first people to get laid off. Employers aim to keep the younger, less experienced people on the job because they can pay them less.
No, it’s not fair, but it does happen. If you’re in that category, losing a job can be the springboard that catapults you into an adventure that can bring so much good into your life as you start working for yourself.
In specific jobs, there are government mandates in place for when people must retire from that job, which is unfortunate in many cases because it’s those years of experience on the job that make them better employees than the newly hired.
Thanks to smart financial planning, most retirees aren’t forced to work due to needing the income after retirement, but many choose to keep their minds active and to give themselves something to look forward to.
Changing from a life of busy work to being home all day can be quite an adjustment and running an online business can make that adjustment a lot easier on the one retiring and his or her family. Plus, for those wanting to retire but who want to stay busy, there are plenty of opportunities available online to start and run a successful business.
When Will You Find Time to Work an Online Business?
How many times have we all said, “If only I had more time, then I could get more done in my online business?” The solution is not getting more time – we all have the same amount. The key is to manage the time we do have and make it work more effectively for us.
Even if you think you don’t have time to take on anything else, you might be surprised to discover how much time you’re actually wasting during the day. You can start an online business, whether you hold down a full-time job or not.
Sometimes when it comes to starting a business, many people have the mental picture that it’s all or nothing – that to be their own boss, they have to take the plunge, quit their day job, and put all of their efforts into building an online business.
If you have a day job that pays the bills and provides you with health benefits, keeps the job while you work on launching and growing your business part-time. You can get up an hour earlier in the mornings to work on your business.
You can spend your lunch hour working on the business.
Since your job will be online, you’ll be able to access it anywhere. If you commute to work via train or other methods where someone else is in charge of driving, you can work on it then, too.
You can also temporarily give up the hours you used to spend sitting in front of the television. You can give up one hour of sleep at night to work on the business and work two weekends a month.
It seems like a lot of time, but if you work it around your day job and stick with it, you can steadily increase your income with the online business until you can comfortably afford to let go of the job you now have.
For some reason, let’s suppose you’re in a position now where you can no longer wait to leave your day job – it’s become unbearable, the stress is going to wreak too much havoc, or there’s something to cause you to abandon your current career now.
Suddenly, you find yourself having the same forty plus hours you gave at the office to work on your online business.
Always begin right away. If you start out working your online business when you feel like it, you could lose valuable initiative. Let the excitement drive you and propel you forward.
With the benefit of working your online business full time, you’ll be able to devote the constant attention the business needs to grow continually. Rather than squeezing it into the schedule, you’ll have the time you need.
It’s not so much about finding the time as it is taking the time, and if you’ve always wanted to start your own online business, there’s no better time than this moment. Today will soon be yesterday and you won’t ever get that opportunity back.
What Kind of Online Businesses Can You Launch?
Starting an online business can be one of the most exciting experiences of your life. It can also be the most confusing if you’re not sure what kind of business you’d like to have.
There are lots of opportunities for anyone wanting to start their own online business. You just have to look and think about it. What might work for you? What are you interested in? That should involve some research on your part. There are lots of ideas and resources for home businesses. Here is a resource you definitely should check out if you want to start a successful online business.
There’s a famous saying that says, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
That means you need to make sure that your online income doesn’t all come from just one source. A way that you can diversify that source is to start selling info products. You can create an information product in as little as a day, depending on what the product is.
Sell Your Own eBook
One of the best info products to sell is to write and sell your own eBook. You need to write an eBook on a topic that people are searching for information about. The topic can be one that you’re very knowledgeable about, or it can be one that you become knowledgeable about by researching the information you need to know. Other than eBooks, you can also create online courses or workshops sharing your expertise.
Affiliate Marketing
You can also promote products as an affiliate. You find a product that you believe is good and will sell well, and you begin to promote it for a commission. Promoting just means that you’re raising awareness about a product by driving traffic to it.
You can promote products without cost to you, and many people find this type of an online business one of the easiest to break into. You can promote products by writing articles about it and submitting them to article directories, or you can blog about it, promote it on your own website, or any of the popular social sites such as Twitter or Facebook.
Create Membership Sites
Many budding entrepreneurs create membership sites. A membership site means that you get paid to pass your knowledge onto others. Here’s an example:
Let’s say you’re an expert on how to fix computers. You set up a site where people can log in and get access to answers to their questions; they can participate in a forum there, etc.
Once you’ve gotten the hang of how to set up and profit from your membership site, you can turn around and teach others how to do it by writing a how-to eBook or by setting up a course!
Freelance Services
Another way you can launch an online business is by offering freelance services. Freelance just means that you are your own boss – you can take on the gigs you want and turn down the ones that you don’t.
There are so many ways you can branch into having an online service business. You can do graphic design work, build websites, edit what other people wrote, or you can write articles from scratch for other people.
What’s great about all of these businesses is that start-up costs are often cheaper than buying a meal out! To get started, you need to set up a website, and you need a way to accept payment (PayPal is a great way to do that).
Once you begin to get to work and build your reputation, you’ll be able to take your pick of the kind of jobs you’d like to take on. One word of caution, though – if you don’t take a freelance job through an online service that matches jobs with those seeking them, make sure you define the work you’ll be doing in email or message board documentation so that there are no surprises down the road.
Be an Influencer
An influencer is an individual who has the power to affect the purchase decisions of others because of their authority, knowledge, fame, position or relationship with his/her audience.
To be an influencer, you should become popular in a niche and draw business to you as an influencer.
Building up a broad audience means you become attractive to companies. Who, in turn, will offer money to help direct that audience to the products or services they provide.
You can also be a YouTube Celebrity. There are lots of them lately, calling themselves as a vlogger. Even though they might look like they are just doing it for a hobby, most of them make considerable money through advertising, affiliate marketing, and membership subscriptions through YouTube itself.
The only requirement is that you create compelling, entertaining videos for your YouTube channel regularly that draws in the views.
Sell Domains
By purchasing domains on the cheap and reselling those same domains, it is possible to make a considerable amount of money. It is like real estate, but instead of physical properties, you will buy and sell domains instead.
Be a Consultant
You can become an SEO consultant.
By becoming an expert in SEO, you can offer your services to businesses around the world in directly advertising their goods and services. Just what is an SEO Consultant?
Here are two videos of two people talking about SEO. It is a critical part of each one’s business.
SEO for Dummies: Introduction to SEO
by A Nerd’s World
Published on Youtube on Oct 9, 2019
What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of fine-tuning a website to achieve higher rankings in search results like Google.
My 4 Back-to-the-Basics SEO steps:
1. Are the keywords that you want to rank for actually on your page?
2. Are you worthy of a Google ranking?
3. Are your website users enjoying your website and content?
4. Are other websites of authority linking to you?
SEO for Beginners: Rank #1 In Google in 2020
by Brian Dean
Published on Youtube on Jun 11, 2020
This video is a complete SEO for beginners walk through and guide.
So if you’re new to search engine optimization, and want a crash course, this SEO tutorial is for you.
Here are some of the things that I’ll go over in this new video:
First, I’ll show you how to get started with keyword research. It doesn’t matter if you’re an SEO newbie or SEO expert, keyword research is HUGE. And in the beginning of the video you’ll see how to find the right keywords for you.
Then I’ll show you how to create epic content around each of the keywords that you just found. In the old days of SEO, as long as your on-page SEO was in place, you could rank. Not anymore. To rank on the first page of Google today, your content needs to be LEGIT.
Next up, you’ll learn how to optimize your content for users and search engines. This step includes a ton of tactical examples from my experience.
Finally, I show you how to optimize your post for SEO. This is the exact checklist that I use to optimize my own blog content at Backlinko. And it works.
All in all, you’ll have an SEO beginner’s guide that you can use to help rank your site on the first page of Google. Enjoy!
Another online consultant is a social media consultant.
Here, you offer advice to business owners about how to run their social media accounts.
You can also become a travel consultant if travel is your thing.
While the travel agency has taken a hit, you can build a successful online business as a consultant helping people find the travel options and deals that work best for their needs, and maybe help them with their itineraries.
There is also such a thing as an advertising consultant.
If you know about advertising options online, you can offer your expertise as a specialist in the field.
This helps businesses of all types better reach their customer base.
How to Say Goodbye to the Grind and Be Your Own Boss from Now On
Leaving behind a job you’ve become accustomed to is never easy, and there are many reasons that people say goodbye to a job. Some leave a job because they’ve outgrown the work and are no longer challenged mentally.
Others leave because of office politics or poor pay despite all their hard work. A few leave a job because they’ve decided that it’s time to be their own boss. Maybe that’s you, and you’re planning a new and exciting future away from the same old grind, but you’re not quite sure how to exit gracefully.
Never burn bridges.
Though it’s tempting to finally get everything you’ve been holding in off your chest, you never know when you might need that former boss as a reference or as a networking opportunity, so make sure that you leave gracefully.
Give a two-week notice and clear everything out of your to-do box to make the transition easier for the next person who will fill your shoes.
Gather all of the contact information from colleagues and customers so that you can stay in touch with those you like and also to form new loyalties in the future with your own business.
Remember that timing is important.
While it’s great to dream, you can’t pay the mortgage with a dream. So, get the finances in order before you wave adios to your boss. Plus, you don’t want the stress of finances nipping at your heels.
Work hard before you quit to pay a few months ahead on all of your utilities and credit cards and other financial obligations.
Tuck away enough money in savings to get support yourself while your business is in the start-up phase. You’ll be glad you don’t have that pressure
Being your own boss is exciting, but it can also be trying if you’ve never been responsible for business before.
First, do your homework. Have a focused marketing plan for your business and put it to work.
Remember that most businesses don’t see profit overnight. But with a steady dedication, you will succeed. Remember the colleagues you said goodbye to? Now is the time to network with them. Tap into their circle of contacts to spread the word about your business.
Don’t buy into the myth that you have to spend a lot of money to make money. Your business budget shouldn’t be spent on fancy gadgets for the office or advertising. Instead, look for all of the free avenues you can take to build your business.
You don’t have to spend money to make it. Have a business plan, and stick to the plan. You might even consider setting in place some trusted advisors and give them veto power to help keep you from making some of the mistakes that startup businesses commonly make.
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