I was involved recently in a panel discussion with some very successful entrepreneurs debating how newbies (those just starting out in business) best cultivate their internet businesses.
Specifically, the debate came down to…
- Should newbies go slow, start out part-time and ease their way into internet marketing over a period of months or even years or…
- Should they start out BIG and throw all of their resources (money and time) into the pot to really make their online business big fast?
This is indeed a very important question, I’m sure if you are reading this and have entertained the idea of starting your own online business you have had similar questions and thoughts?
How does this relate to your life now?
We get many people over at Information Marketer’s Zone that are at the very beginning of launching their internet business. For some, this is their very first foray into ANY business they have owned while for others it is a transition from an offline business toward an online marketing arm.
The questions that often come up are:
- Can I launch a new online business part-time, spending 12-15 hours a week?
- How long would it take me (on this part-time basis) to build a 5-figure or 6-figure business so I can go full-time?
- Should I drop my current job or take a hiatus from my job/business and put everything into this business for a few months to really get it rolling? Is that enough to get it earning a profit?
- What are the risks of either starting slow and growing over time versus throwing everything into this business right now?
How To Launch Your Internet Business
I want to begin by saying that I have seen many examples where either approach works. I know entrepreneurs that started out while still working a full-time job and over a year or more evolved their online business into a completely new career. At the same time I know other internet marketers that dropped everything, went BIG and had their own profitable online business within 3-6 months.
Let me share a few important points based on our own experience (building our own businesses and helping others to grow their online businesses):
1. Strategy And Plan
You do need to have a solid strategy to succeed in business – this is as true for internet marketing and online business as it is for offline business. Yes, a certain portion of your learning can be done through studying material, coaching, mentoring, etc…but there is a also a very significant portion that requires trial-and-error.
The best learning comes from executing…you get immediate and powerful feedback that you can instantly incorporate into your strategy and re-position for higher success.
So, whether you go BIG or start out slowly, what matters MOST is that you quickly come up with an initial plan and then get to execution FAST. 10-hours a week focused on execution will beat 40-hours of studying and fiddling every time.
What do we mean by execution?
- Building products
- Producing content
- Producing tools, templates or other elements of leverage (to help partners promote your business for example)
- Developing partnerships and getting THEM to help you execute
- Communicating with your marketplace and building followers
- Creating and improving your sales funnel
- Setting up and refining operations (payment processing, affiliate management, autoresponder sequences, analytics, etc…)
- Teaching others to help scale your business (partners, outsourced personnel, employees)
- Marketing (press releases, social networking, videos, SEO, paid advertising, etc…)
If you are not spending 90% of your time on these tasks, it doesn’t matter how much time and energy you put into your business, it won’t succeed.
2.The Low-Risk, Start-Slow Fallacy
I do believe that far too many IM’ers do start out too small (in thinking and planning that is). A common draw toward internet marketing is that it can be started with just a few hours each week, with little or no budget and involve little to no risk .
In reality, this is often a recipe for failure. To succeed at anything challenging in life we need to give 110% and already be convinced (even scared into) the fact that we must succeed. Our backs need to be against the wall in order for us to have the urgency and conviction to execute in a BIG way.
I’m not saying that you need to be reckless and spend vast amounts of money you don’t have…what I am saying is that starting a business (any business) is a major lifestyle and financial event that you must commit to 110%.
There should be no room for thinking “If I spend X time and stick with this for a few months maybe I will succeed”
If that’s your thinking, you don’t stand a chance.
On the other hand, if you say..I’m going to put myself in a financial situation over the next few months where I will have 3-months of leeway, I will then take that 3-months and definitely succeed at building an initial profit center (set your financial goal) and set deadlines…you will have put your conviction front and center and have a much greater chance of succeeding.
YOUR TURN…
What are your thoughts, go BIG or go Home? Or would you prefer to take the cautious, slow approach to building your online business?
