Don't Try To Know It All Before You Start Your Business Online

I don’t know enough.

Many businesses fail even before they have started. People procrastinate because they think they don’t know enough. When is it the right time to start?

Now. Yes, I really do believe the right time will never come if you don’t start now. Irrespective of what you want to do. Whether you want to start with a family, start a business online or whatever you want to do, there will always be a reason to procrastinate. “We have to wait until there is enough money”, or “I don’t know enough yet”. If you are going to wait until you have enough money or until you know enough before you commit to something, you most likely will never start.

I am not saying you should just dive in blindly, go into debt, or recklessly just start your business online without proper planning or thinking it over. To the contrary, that is exactly where you should start. Commit yourself and start planning your business. Determine how much money you are going to need (by the way – this is an important part of what you need to know before you start your business). What skills do you need? If you want to start a business online, do you know your subject? Do you know your way around the internet?  

Knowing enough

Once you started this process, you have committed yourself. You have gained some momentum. So now you realize you don’t know enough about social media, you know even less about blogging…..oh yes, and then there are e-mail lists. How on earth can you start if you don’t know enough yet? When will you know enough to start your business? Never. Yes, never.

The good news is that every successful business man, everybody that is successful in whatever they do, started exactly where you are now. Not knowing anything.

So when do you know enough to start? As soon as you know just enough to take the first step. Then you start learning and gathering enough information to take the next step…. and the next…..and the next, until you start achieving your goals.

There is a saying that says: “the more we learn, the more we realize how little we know”. The bottom line is; you will never know enough. Any business is constantly changing; the internet is constantly changing, so you will never stop learning. Wait until you know enough, and you will never get started.  

Create a Map

As I already mentioned, I do not say that you must just blindly start doing business online without proper planning. No, planning is absolutely essential.

Carefully think about the following: What exactly do you want to do? Why do you want to do it? How will you achieve it (your action plan)? Once you achieved your goal, how will it affect you/your life? Do you have a strong desire to achieve your goal? Are you motivated? Can you persevere?

You need to know; the challenges will come. Achieving your goals are not going to happen in a straight line. Some of your strategies might not work the way you thought it would. There might be delays. If you don’t really have a strong desire, which will motivate you, you won’t necessarily persevere, and you might just give it all up.

Set your goals. Aim high. Dare to dream. Then start creating your plan of action. Break it all up into smaller goals (action steps) which are easy to achieve. This is like creating a map to reach you final destination.

Once you have this in place, take action. Only focus on your next step. If your next step doesn’t give you the desired result, don’t quit, be flexible and change your strategy, as long as it keeps you on track to your ultimate goal.

You Don’t Have To Do It Alone

If it is your goal to make money online, there are different channels you can follow. You can create and market your own product, or you can render a service. Information marketing is often very successful.  You can also join one of the many affiliate programs online, in which case you will market someone else’s product. There are some excellent affiliate programs available. You can join such a program at no cost to you and earn commission when you refer customers to the vendor’s website and a sale is made.

You can also take part in joint ventures, profit sharing programs (such as Google Adsense) etc.

What is important though, especially if you are new to online marketing, is not to be the “Lone Ranger”. It is important for you to interact with people. If possible, have a mentor to guide you along the way.

If I can make a recommendation, it would be to look at a company called Strong Future International (SFI). They give you the opportunity to get involved in a great affiliate program; they also have an online store from where you can generate sales and consider it as your own online store. It gives you the opportunity to create a passive income. Membership to Strong Future International (SFI) is free.

They have an excellent support structure, and you can visit their forum where you can meet fellow online marketers and experts. Discuss your own obstacles and get advice from other experienced marketers. You can also see what problems other people are struggling with and maybe you can offer the solution to their problem.

So how much do you need to know before you start your business? Just enough to take the first step.