You’ve been thinking about starting your own business for a while now. You heard about the woman whose Julia and Me blog was turned into a blog and a popular movie. You’ve heard about young entrepreneurs who’ve made billions creating popular Web sites such as Facebook. But you’ve been slow to jump on the bandwagon. You’re a busy person, after all. You have a full-time job, whether it’s running your home or working outside your home. Or perhaps you’ve been laid off or are going through some other life changing event and are ready to take off in a new direction, but the economic upheavals of recent years leave you understandably reluctant to make a big career change.
Well, I have news for you: Now is the perfect time to turn your dream into reality by starting your own online business. More individuals than ever before — regular folks just like you — are making money and enriching their lives by operating businesses online. The clock and your location are no longer limiting factors. Small business owners can now work any time of the night or day in their spare bedrooms, local libraries, or neighborhood coffee shops.
If you like the idea of being in business for yourself but don’t have a particular product or service in mind at the moment, relax and keep yourself open for inspiration. Many different kinds of commercial enterprises can hit it big on the Internet. Among the entrepreneurs I interviewed for this blog are a woman who sells her own insect repellent; a mapmaker; a woman who provides office services for the medical community; a housewife who sells sweetener and coffee on eBay; a sculptor and painter; a young man who started selling electronics online at age 16; and several folks who create Web pages for other businesses. With the help of this blog, you can start a new endeavor and be in charge of your own cyberbusiness, too.
What’s that? You say you wouldn’t know a merchant account, a profit and loss statement, or a clickthrough advertising rate if it came up to you on the street and introduced itself? Don’t worry: The Internet (and this blog) levels the playing field so that a novice has just as good a chance at succeeding as MBAs who love to throw around business terms at cocktail parties.
The Internet is a pervasive and everyday part of the business landscape these days. Whether you’ve been in business for 20 years or 20 minutes, the keys to success are the same:
✓ Having a good idea: If you have something to sell that people have an appetite for, and if your competition is slim, your chances of success are hefty.
✓ Working hard: When you’re your own boss, you can make yourself work harder than any of your former bosses ever could. But if you put in the effort and persist through the inevitable ups and downs, you’ll be a winner.
✓ Believing in yourself: One of the most surprising and useful things I discovered from the online business people I interviewed was that if you believe that you’ll succeed, you probably will. Believe in yourself and proceed as though you’ll be successful. Together with your good ideas and hard work, your confidence will pay off.
✓ Working hard: When you’re your own boss, you can make yourself work harder than any of your former bosses ever could. But if you put in the effort and persist through the inevitable ups and downs, you’ll be a winner.
✓ Believing in yourself: One of the most surprising and useful things I discovered from the online business people I interviewed was that if you believe that you’ll succeed, you probably will. Believe in yourself and proceed as though you’ll be successful. Together with your good ideas and hard work, your confidence will pay off.
If you’re the cautious type who wants to test the waters before you launch your new business on the Internet, let this blog lead you gently up the learning curve. After you’re online, you can master techniques to improve your presence. This blog includes helpful hints for doing market research and reworking your Web site until you get the success you want.
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