3 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Starting an Online Business

Although making money online seems to be very appealing and quite enticing, there are traps that one must avoid otherwise you will be another business failure statistic. More than 50% of business start-ups will fail within its first 5 years. In other words, your chance of failure is greater than your chance of success. If the failure rate is so high, what makes one want to start an online business?

There are many reasons why. Maybe you are totally frustrated with your daytime job and you feel trapped. You want to get out of the Rat Race. Maybe you are tired of working for someone else and it is time for you to be your own boss. Maybe you just lost your job and you have nowhere else to turn. Whatever the reason, an option of starting an online business has crossed your mind, otherwise you would not be reading this article. Let me make one thing clear. Starting an online business requires work.

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If anyone tells you otherwise don't believe them, run the other way.

If you want to start an online business allow me to share with you 3 common mistakes to avoid when starting an online business.

1) Starting an online business without a Game Plan
2) Not having the finances it takes to start and maintain an online business
3) Not Being Patient enough to see things through once you get your business off the ground

1) Starting an Online Business without a Game Plan:

Starting an online business can be very exciting however, before you jump in you must have a game plan. Can you imagine a football team going into a big game not having some sort of game plan? Take the time to put your ideas on paper. I know you have it all in your head, but that is not good enough. You got to write it down on paper. What is it that you want to accomplish? Write it down. What are your goals? Write it down. I know you want to make all this money, but be specific. Make 6 month goals, 1 year goals, and 5 year goals. What is the lifestyle you see yourself living in the future? Write it down. Although, this is not a hard task, many people start a business without knowing the desired outcome.

Now that you have your goals written down, create a game plan as to how you will get there. How are you going to arrive? At this point you may not know all of the specific details however you can have a general idea of how you will accomplish your goals. Put a Game Plan together and write it down. Then, visualise how you will feel once you have arrived. Create a vision board and see and act as if you are already there.

* What is it that you want to accomplish?
* Write a Game Plan as to how you will get there.
* Visualize as if you are already there.

2) Not having the finances it takes to start and maintain an online business:

There are expenses associated with starting an online business. It takes a little bit of money to make money. Although, there are many free online tools that can help you build your business, there are some expenses. Some of these costs are one time cost however there are some fees that are recurring monthly expenses. You must plan and account for expenses. Before starting an online business you will need to set some money aside to get your business started. Once you get your business up and running and you start making some money you may want to consider outsourcing. This will free up your time, however this is optional.

* Register a Domain Name
* Host your Domain Name
* AWeber account to gather a list
* Outsourcing (optional)

3) Not Being Patient enough to see things through once you get your business off the ground:

Starting an online business means you will need to nurture your business constantly. I like to relate a business person like a farmer who wants to plant a peach tree. He starts with a seed, soil, water, sunlight and fertiliser. Once the seed is planted the farmers work is not done. If so, the farmer will never see the fruits of that tree. However, if the farmer nurtures the seed daily by giving it proper sunlight, water and fertiliser in due time the farmer will reap the rewards of his patience and dedication of his daily care. So it is with starting and maintaining a successful online business. You cannot just start it and let it go and expect to rake in all this money. It will take time, however, if you are patient and dedicated and nurture your business properly your business someday will take care of your family financially.

Summary:

Owning an online business can be one of the most rewarding things you will ever do. There are certain expectations required to run a successful online business. Anyone can start an online business, but I do not think that is your goal. I would think your goal is to start, run, and maintain a successful online business for years to come. Like I said anyone can start a business, but not anyone can run a successful business.

Create an online business - grab our free Social Media checklist and free training here 

By Duane Clark - Article Source: EzineArticles.com/6115927