If you are contemplating setting up an online business from home, but are not sure if it is the right option for you here are some reasons that may help you to make up your mind. The internet has allowed many people to earn their living in a new and exciting way. While it is not as easy as some of the hyped up sales pages would suggest, there are real reasons why this way of working may be for you.If you are looking for security in the way you earn your income, setting up an online business is perhaps one of the best ways to ensure that your means of earning a living is secure forever. Why? Once you have learnt the skills needed to make money online, and like any other skills they are easily learnable, if you take the time and effort to do so – you will be able to turn your hand to earning money in a variety of different ways on the internet. It is a smart way of working rather than working hard at a single job over which you have no control. This single job may be taken away from you for a number of reasons like redundancy due to the current poor economy or the owner may decide to retire and close down.If you are a mother with young children at home then setting up an online business from home can be a solution to many problems like the costs of childcare, commuting expenses and office clothing costs too. With some careful consideration and organization you can work from home and take care of your children at the same time. During short breaks from your computer you can then attend to household chores such as hanging out the laundry, bringing it in, cleaning and care of your home, preparing evening meals for the family and be at home with school age children who may be ill for the day. Although these appear to be mundane issues, they can cause problems for working parents of young children. Working from home gives you the chance to take care of them and still be in a position to earn some income too.Setting up an online business allows you the freedom to choose a niche area in which to work, When choosing a niche market to serve with your online business you are able to make that choice yourself. This means that we are able to determine our own working conditions and environment, and do something that will make us happy. When you start a small business online you are in control of your very own destiny. This means that whatever you do will increase your income and not that of an employer. You can also decide when you want to work and when you will take time off to be with your family and attend important events without having to consult with an employer.As the internet has a global reach you will be able to compete on an equal footing with the “bigger boys” who in the offline world may have had more resources to reach customers further away than a smaller business who has a smaller budget with which to work. Setting up an online business allows you to expand your potential customer base and therefore gives you the freedom to think big.It is realistically possible to start a small business online with very little funds. When you are starting out all you really need is a domain name, hosting and an autoresponder service. You can begin setting up an online business for less than forty dollars. Of course you will short cut the learning curve if you are able to take a course on how to start an online business from home. Forty dollars would not allow you to start an offline, more traditional brick and mortar business.The biggest reason to consider setting up an online business is the potential to earn as much income as you want. When most people work in a normal corporate job their earnings are limited in the hours they can work each day. On the internet, you can set up an online business where you earn multiple streams of income and where you are not required to be there to make the money. Once you have set up a product and marketed it, that site, potentially, if done correctly, can earn income for you while you sleep or set up other sites.So, as you can see the internet enables you to work smart not hard. Don’t you think you owe it to yourself to consider setting up an online business to reap all these rewards?
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Starting an Online Business – Top 8 Myths Shattered
I recently dove into the world of online business. There were several reasons for this choice but the most prominent was trying to imagine what else I could do that would yield the results in the time frame that this would if I stick with it. I admit that when I started, I held some of the same beliefs and assumptions about an online business that many people have. Through my mentors, research and my own experiences, I have learned that running a business online is pretty much exactly the same as starting a business offline, the internet just means a different way of going about it.Here are 8 of the most widely held myths about starting an online business:Myth #1 – It is easy and effortlessTruth – It is not easy or effortlessThe truth is that starting an online business is very difficult. Demanding, Exhausting. Frustrating. Slow. Overwhelming. Not everyone can do it. That is why there are so many people who quit. It seems easy because people assume you just sit on your computer leisurely at home playing around. In reality, when you get started, it feels like you are learning a new language. There is just SO much information to absorb and it feels like it needs to be learned all at once because everything connects to something else on the internet. You will feel all of the above emotions all at once – frustration, overwhelm, exhaustion and you will question whether this is the right choice for you. Yes there will be days when you find yourself in the zone and feeling especially productive, but those days usually come later after all the hard stuff has been worked out first. And even then, there will still be days of utter frustration when you spend the entire day trying to re-size a photo and then realize with horror that nothing else was accomplished that day.Myth #2 – You will immediately have ton of ‘time freedom’ to spend time with your childrenTruth – No you will notRunning an online business is no different that starting an offline business. It takes time and a lot of work. To make a business succeed, you will need to take it seriously and treat it like a business, and in the beginning all businesses are very very time consuming. The time freedom will not come until much later. Most likely sooner than a traditional business, but still not right away. If you have children and housework and possibly a ‘real job’, you will constantly feel the pressure that one of these things is slipping or that you are constantly two steps behind with everything. You will second guess yourself and think maybe you are just not cut out to do this. You will feel guilt all the time for neglecting your children/spouse/chores/friends in order to pursue this all consuming business.Myth #3 – You will not have to spend any money to start or run the businessTruth – Yes you will.Try to think of an offline traditional business that needs no money to start. Offline, you need supplies, equipment, software, possibly staff or a building space. All these cost money. Most businesses will be in the red for at least the first year. That means that they have put more money into the business than they have made back. Online business is no different. There are just different things to put money into. Usually substantially less money is required, but still don’t count on being able to start a business with absolutely nothing.Myth #4 – You will get wealthy right awayTruth – No you will notThe truth is that setting up a web presence takes time. Getting your blog established and noticed takes time. Generating traffic takes time. All those websites and blogs that have hundreds of subscribers and are generating massive income didn’t start out that way. It took months, maybe years or diligent efforts to achieve that status.Myth #5 – Once my website is finished, the hard work is over and i can relax and let the people begin to chase me down.Truth – No, you can’t and no they won’tUnfortunately, this is not the case. The website is only one of the first steps. First, your website needs to be able to be found by people typing in your product or service into the search engines. It is not automatic. This takes knowledge to make happen. Next, people want to see that you are more than just a fancy website. They want to see that you have maybe some articles, videos, social media, a blog or other content online that backs up your expertise and shows you are a real person. You will need to research paid and free methods to get your site to the first page of the search engines. You will need to research keywords and use them effectively in articles, videos, blog posts. This takes time and patience. And work. If your product or service is unique and something much needed, and you are able to get it onto the first page of the search engines, then maybe you might have a chance of getting your desired effect by virtue of having something that everyone wants but no one could previously find. Other than that, there are thousands of competing businesses out there that you need to work hard to compete for business with.Myth # 6 – I won’t have to deal with or talk to people. Everything can be done through email.Truth – Actually you will need to talk to people.After the initial contact is made you will need to develop real relationships in a more personal way than emailing. You will use email in the beginning for networking, attracting prospects or administrative things but after that, the phone shows that you are a real person and allows you to show your personality to your customers. And often a call is a much quicker method for answering questions than lengthy emails. The internet is simply a connector but after that, it takes work to maintain a relationship.Myth # 7 – I can run the entire business on auto-pilot and be making money while sleeping or on the beachTruth – True, but not right awayYou need to sow the seeds of hard work first before you can reap the benefits of a prosperous business on autopilot. Yes, you can outsource many of the tasks but you will need to still know how to do everything because you will need to be there to answer any questions your outsourcers have. Also, you need to consider that outsourcing certain things may not allow you the freedom the make changes when you want or inject your personality. People whose businesses run smoothly with minimal effort from them had to put a lot of work in to get to that point.Myth # 8 – In a matter of months I can work anywhere I want at any time I want and will be free to quit my job.Truth – No, do not quit your job yetYou will need to be sure you are established in your business first before quitting your job. That will take more than a few months. There is no magic income level or time frame that you will reach before you know it is time to quit. That is something that is completely based on what you feel comfortable with. But you need to be smart about it and make sure you business is making an income consistently, not just once.As you can see, there are many myths associated with starting an online business. It can be scary starting something unknown but with the right knowledge and help the rewards are amazing.