This has go to be one of the most popular questions on the web these days. So let’s see if we can bring some light on this how to start an online business stuff.
First: What kind of online business did you have in mind?
There are lots of things you can do to make money online. To start, you can even fill online questionaires for a few bucks online, but that’s probably not what you had in mind. Why? Because doing something online that requires you to sit down and do something for an hour, getting paid by the hour, is more or less what you’re doing in your regular job, isn’t it?
No, the target is a bit higher.
The ideal online business
The ideal online business would take some time to set up, surely, but then, once that’s done, it would run by itself.
No, we’ll dismiss this one too, because it’s more or less impossible. It’s a fiction. It’s something many people online are telling you’ll get, if only you give them those $27 for their all-mighty course.
But do you think they would do this if they had a business running on its own? Naa.
Selling fog to people – avoid Shiny Objects
If you receive an offer stating that all you have to do is pay something like $17 and you’ll be rich by next monday, close it. Delete it. It’s BS. It just does not work this way, never had and never will. Apart from you spending those $17, nothing will happen, nor will it change your life in any way. Lesson learned? Possibly, but not very likely.
We’re all somewhat subject to shiny objects, and this is what it is. You buy it, start learning something (provided it’s an actual course), but then discover you’d need at least four more tools that would cost $400+ to make it work – maybe. So you abandon it and immediately start looking for the next offer, only to repeat the circle.
Sounds familiar?
I’ve been there; I’ve purchased over a hundred courses, templates, magic flutes and other things that promised me heaven. The result was my wallet being lighter by some $5K, if not more, and that was it. I still look at most of the emails that come to my inboxes and sometimes have to try really hard not to buy another one of those tools. They’re just so convincing… 🙁
There are always exceptions, however, and this field is no different – there are offers online that deliver.
Have realistic expectations about an online business
Let’s face it, online business is a business and line any business, you’ll have to put something in in order to get something out. And I’m not talking about those $17 that I’ve mentioned, no, I’m talking about time, sweat and tears.
What does it even mean, you’ll say?
Have you ever heard of any, and I mean any business that would come out of nowhere just because someone had an idea? There are lots of examples, take Amazon for instance. It was a product of an idea and you know where it’s now.
But do you think Jeff Bezos had it ready the next day after the idea? Oh my, it took months of solitary confinement for him to make it publicly available – and years after that to become what it is now. It took hard work and dedication. It took lots of things before it started paying back.
Now, I’m not promissing you’ll become the new Jeff Bezos, don’t get me wrong. I would be there already if I knew that real secret. But I surely can give you a hint or two about how to start an online business with as little traction as possible and as fast as possible.
And yes, if you have the dedication to put in some money and lots of time, you can achieve a whole lot of success.
How to start a lucrative online business
There are many ways of running an online business, but let’s really focus down on two main models: affiliate marketing and creating products.
The main difference, stated many times before, is about what your roll is inside the business model.
In affiliate marketing, you’re literally a marketer. This means you sell things to people, things you do not own yourself. You’re selling other people’s products.
In return, you get rewarded each time you make a sale to someone, which is called a commission. So if you’re selling John’s product that’s priced at $100, you’ll receive a commission of $50 for every sale you make (50% is a standard commission rate, but can differ).
Is it clear enough? For instance, the whole Amazon model is based on that. I’m sure you’ve seen posts and ads that review some products on Amazon, and when you click, you’re directed directly to Amazon where you can buy it. In the backstage, someone just made a small commission to get you there. It’s not at your expense, really, since your price is fixed and Amazon pays it to the referrer.
The other type of business is something where you sell your own products online.
These could be products like courses, PDFs, video trainings, or anything else that is considered digital (I’m focusing on digital products here). Then, just like Amazon, you can invite other people to sell your products and pay them commissions for sales they make. Basically, you turn the affiliate marketing model upside down.
Which model is better for online business
Honestly, I don’t really know. Both work, but have different pros and cons. It totally depends on your knowledge, expertise and will to learn.
I am sure of one thing, though: it’s easier to start as an affiliate first. By a mile at least.
Knowledge needed for things to work properly
Yes, there’s a real need for certain knowledge you’ll need in order to make things happen. It’s nothing new and it’s no different to any other business you want to run. You just need to know some things.
There are thousands of posts and videos online that claim to give you the exact way to become rich. Out of those, there are some that are really gold and the rest is just BS, mostly, as I described it in the beginning.
How to get the needed knowledge?
Well, one way needs Google and lots of time. You’ll find lots of courses online, both free and paid. It might take you ages to filter them and decide which one will really make you a marketer, though, so I would suggest another way.
Get a good mentor.
In online marketing, like any other thing known to man kind, there’s no real need to invent hot water. These things ae not new, so there are many people that are doing it with great success and are willing to share their knowledge with you.
And the savings can be huge, even with prices being higher at the start.
Personally, I’m very fond of two people in this business – John Thornhill and Omar Martin. Surely enough, I’m a member of some of their best selling membership sites, and I can honestly recommend them with nothing held back. They’re both making lots and lots of money online, so they definitely know what they’re doing, and they’re honest to their word – if they promis you something, you will get it.
Disclaimer: No matter how good your teacher is, it all comes down to you in the end. If you don’t take action, you won’t see any results, simple as that.
Trainings I can honestly recommend
There are three trainings that I can honestly recommend right now:
- Master Affiliate Profits
- John Thornhill’s Ambassador Program
- Online Success Coaching
Each of these is targeting a little different group of people that want to go different ways to build an online business.
For more details, read this post: How to Make Money Online From Home – Best Business Models
Are you a blogger?
If you’re a blogger and have one or more sites around the web, you really can use the third model of online business.
It’s all about monetizing your website efficiently.
I will not really dive deep into this here, as there is a longer and more dedicated post already posted on the link below. Let’s just say that it’s a great way of monetizing your content that you create anyway, so why would you not monetize it?
Conclusion
If you want to start an online business to gain more financial independence, the first thing I’d suggest is learn. And I’m not talking about opening Google and searching for things like “make money online”, but rather learn how to repeat the steps successful people make. So, get a good mentor, invest a little something, and then dedicate a portion of your day to this goal.
In the end, you’ll be glad and have something that can really make you money online. You’ll have an online business.
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