Over the many years I’ve been involved in the online world, I’ve had the privilege of communicating with many successful small online business owners. I’ve learned much from the good and bad ecommerce has to offer; especially regarding the mindset of people who climb the ladder.
You’ve probably come across many information products that claim to help you generate a six figure income by using them. In some instances, you certainly can; but what isn’t mentioned on many of these sales pages is the critical element in order to make the tool successful – you.
No matter how much you spend on tools and the number of people you employ, if your heart isn’t in it, if you aren’t truly passionate about your chosen business, your venture will more than likely fail.
The following are some common traits I believe have been the major reasons for some site owners achieving massive success in online small business.
Determination
If you’re someone who retreats when told something can’t be done or handle disappointment poorly; then the online world is not for you. You must have total faith in yourself and your goals and be able to take the hard knocks. If there’s something that all successful people share in common, it’s certainly determination.
The 2nd job
Just about everyone I know who made it online under their own steam worked two full time jobs initially – one being their salaried employment, the other their business; and often the latter made them no money for quite a while.
The salaried employment provides a source of funding and security, and sometimes experience, until the online business up to standing on its own legs. Even after that, given the volatility of online business, it doesn’t hurt to have a job on the side just in case – but preferably one related to your own business.
I pulled the cash together for my first business by cleaning toilets early in the morning 7 days a week for a couple of years. I’d do that for a few hours each day and then hook into my own business for the rest of the day and into the night. It was tough, but worth it. Even now I still contract out to steady work, but all purely online and in fields that I’m passionate about.
So many times I’ve come across people who dream of having an online business but just can’t make this sort of time commitment or aren’t prepared to work unglamorous jobs to get that crucial kick start.
Passion
Passion is key to making it in my opinion. It helps in creating a positive vibe with your prospective clients, but equally important is the passion to succeed, for *yourself* – not so much as a “head” thing (determination), but in your heart. It must be a burning desire.
Endurance/discipline
I’ll let you in on a little secret. Most of the people who say they earned 6k in 6 days selling X product fail to mention they spent hundreds of hours in prepping the product and promotion *before* it was released; not to mention the thousands of hours in failed attempts to market other products in the past. All that accrued experience allows for short cuts, but prep work is still a big time sucker and being your own boss means the only person who will motivate you is you.
Get into good working habits and stay in them – routine is essential, especially when your business revolves around you. It’s so easy to let things slide for a couple of days because you’re tired or you’ve been kicked around a bit – and then so hard to get back into routine again. Lighten up the pace a little if you need to, but never totally ignore your business, even for a single day, unless it’s absolutely necessary.
Focus
Beware of time burglars. These are things such as people who waste your time for nothing in return and petty issues that distract you from your business. Hobbies can also be time burglars. While a little rest and recreation is essential for maintaining sanity; every minute you spend not working on your business is a minute longer it will take you to achieve your online dreams.
Even within your business there will be some tasks better farmed out to others – so outsource those where you can. Think about what your time is worth in relation to tasks that no-one else can do and then about tasks that others can. A great example is bookkeeping.
Leadership
Even the successful one-man shows have solid leadership qualities. While you may have no staff to begin with, you will have service providers to deal with and yourself to lead. Listen and act on solid counsel, give clear instructions, and draw the line when someone you are dealing with oversteps their mark or fails to deliver.
Research
Many people fail in online business simply because they’ve had a really good idea, but no-one else, especially their target market, has shared their optimism. Just because you think something’s great and should sell, it doesn’t mean that will translate to sales. Successful entrepreneurs research the market thoroughly before betting the farm.
Family co-operation/planning
This is probably the toughest aspect of all and without the support of family, many of today’s success stories would have been dismal failures. If your family doesn’t believe in your dream, you’ll be expending energy pushing against their will for you to do something else.
When kicking off in your online business, be sure your family knows what lays ahead and how much attention it’s going to need. Let them know how much time you think it will take to achieve your goals so they know it won’t be forever.
Realism balance
Season your unbridled optimism with a dose of realism. Sure, you *can* make 6k in 6 days – but it can be a little like the lottery at times; so expect it to take a lot longer. By being realistic, it will also soften any of the blows along the way.
Dollars and sense
Good gamblers only spend what they are prepared to lose and successful online business owners are the same. Successful people also know the gravy train can derail at any time, so they sock some of the cash they’ve made away for a rainy day.
Action
There’s so many good ideas out there, but so few who are able to actually action them. Procrastination in the online world is very dangerous as things move so quickly and trends appear/disappear every other day. Do your research and once you are satisfied that a particular strategy or tool will work – implement it immediately; work day and night until it’s done.
Promote and network
Succesful entrepreneurs are always promoting at every opportunity, even to the grocery store checkout person they are on semi-familiar terms with. Don’t be shy – you’ll be surprised in where you can generate interest. Even if the person you are talking to you about your business isn’t really interested, they may know of someone who will be. Sow seeds wherever you can, without being overbearing of course – try to talk about other things with people too 
.
Co-opetition
Sometimes small business owners tend to become overly concerned about what the competition is doing, but will also shun communicating with competitors. This can be quite counterproductive. There’s a whole swag of profits to be made through what I term “co-opetition”; working with competitors from time to time to achieve a common goal.
I hope these points have given you some insight into what makes some of the well known online small biz entrepreneurs so successful. Good luck to you in your in ecommerce venture!
