Making money online takes commitment. Just like any other business. Very rarely is any business a success overnight. Some companies seem like very little work was put into it, especially when you see businesses online. You want to know how to build an online business because you know you can do it.
Yes you can build an online business, but you need to be committed. There is a fine line but a big difference between being committed and giving it a try. That difference is one in which will determine if you are successful or not in business. Okay, well you could get lucky but with commitment you will have a greater chance of becoming successful. Now you could also fail if you have the wrong niche for your online business, no matter how committed you are in your endeavor.
You could be the most committed person and not succeed at your business. For example, you could be a door to door book bound encyclopedia sales person that is very committed. Chances are you are not going to be very successful as there really is no market for book bound encyclopedias now days, as we all know. In that case no level of commitment would make you a successful sales person.
On the other hand if you have a good niche and you just try something, you might be successful, but to truly increase your chances for success you must make a commitment. Let me give you an example. I obviously write this blog; I also teach English as a foreign language; and I recently started a private restaurant with my wife. Okay that would keep anyone busy. If I am only trying the restaurant, teaching, or the blog; I would not be as successful as I could be if I was committed to those things.
Busy Days
My normal day starts at around 4:30 AM. My wife and I get up; send out our daily reminder for the restaurant. We then go to the market and buy fresh produce. After that we start prep work for the day. At 10 o’clock I take a 30 minute break and make sure I have everything ready for my classes that day. Then by 10:30 cooking for lunch orders has begun. This continues until 1:00. At 3:00 I go to the school teach 1 class, back home and cook from 4-7. At 7 I go back for 2 more classes. Finally at 9:00 I come home and clean up the mess from earlier. Do the accounting for the day. Review my blog stuff. Send out thank you notes to all our patrons. We normally get to bed around 11:30.
If I was just trying any one of those things I would not be successful in them. The simple reason is I would get burnt out on it, even if I am passionate about it. It takes commitment to really push through when you feel so tired you want to give up.
Trying or Committed
Think of the difference between trying something and being committed like this:
A person that is trying something is like the kamikaze pilot that is on his 10th mission. He keeps trying. He gets in his plane takes off but just doesn’t finish the job he started.
Now don’t get all historical on me saying that they only had enough fuel to get there so they really had no choice. My point is that he just isn’t committed. The same is true with online business. You really need to be committed. Success does not happen overnight. There is no quick fix solution to make millions of dollars overnight.
How Committed are You
Don’t be scared of commitment. It is something that we all hear, although you hear it said more to men than women. Okay all joking aside. If you are serious about making money you need to make a commitment. What does that mean? A Business does not make money the first day. Most businesses do not even break even in the first two years. Online businesses can become successful much quicker than that. There is the good news.
The average person, who is committed to an online business, takes about 3 months to make their first dollar online. It takes an additional 6 months before they have consistent income. After a year they can have a reasonable income from that business. So don’t think that this will happen tomorrow if you are just starting. While you could be very lucky, it is going to take some time.
In order to be successful with online business, you need to set a schedule and stick to that schedule. Above I outlined my schedule for each and every day. This is for three different jobs. Am I successful at them? Yes I am because of commitment. My restaurant business, we actually broke even after 2 months. I am the lead teacher trainer at my school and manage the other teachers and their schedule. My blog I made my first dollar in just less than 30 days with proper guidance and support.
What to Expect
Since we are talking about making money online I will focus a little more on the blog. So you are committed you are ready to put in some real effort over the next year. Set aside time and stick to that schedule no matter how tired or limited time is. You will want to be able to write 2-3 posts, minimum, a week, the more the better. Each post, at first will take you about 2-3 hours at first, as you become more proficient at it that time will become less and less. You will want to set time aside to interact with your readers. Finally you should get some training and a support network. After a year you should have a nice little business in place. If it was done correctly you will have residual income with very little effort.
The best training that I have found is at Wealthy Affiliates. You can read my about my top recommendation in my review on it here. The best part is you can give it a try for free for as long as you want. This way you can see if it is right for you. If you are ready to make that commitment to building a sustainable online business then that is the place to start.
If you have any questions, comments, or your own personal stories of being committed, Please share them in the comments below. I love your feedback.
What an enormously busy day you have! Commitment is a big word and often I feel it’s commitment that’s missing. I have learned that you have to be able to read the sign of whether remaining committed is really the best thing for you. I had a situation where I remained committed way past the “use by date” and it caused me a terrible lot of heartache… but having said this, if something is really solid, commitment is the only way to go.
Thanks for sharing as you made some really good points.
Marilyn,
You make a great point. You can be blindly committed. That is why you must set goals and see how those goals pan out. This can be used a a guide as to whether or not to continue with your commitment.
Thank you for the great comment.
Marc
Hey Marc,
I think a lot of people get into business but don’t realize it’s going to take a lot of work. I have read that you’re not really a pro at something until you have 10,000 hours into it. Not sure where I read that but it has always stuck in my head. In my 6 years of business I have that much time invested into my online ventures.
One tool I have used that has helped me over the years is Evernote. It’s great for me because naturally kind of scatterbrained. I put the app on my iPhone and tablet because you never know when you’re going to get that idea that you just don’t want to forget.
I can’t stress enough that you have to get into a niche that you actually are passionate about. Also, I read that it typically takes 5 years to get your business really showing some good profits. I can personally attest to that.
Garen
Garen,
Thank you for the great comment. You are right that it takes a long time to really get things going. Many people think it is as simple as putting up a one page website and they visitors will come rolling in as well as the money.
I too have heard that it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert. But I have also heard practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect. What this means if you practice wrong you are reinforcing the bad behavior.
This is why I suggest that no one try to become successful online by themselves. In order to build that business you really need to work at it and get the support you need. That is what I think Wealthy Affiliates has that no other system I have found has. Not only do they teach you how to build an online business, they teach you how to avoid mistakes. This is all done through the active community they have.
Regards,
Marc
Hey Marc,
Very good post! I have had issues with commitment in the past; my last girl friend claimed I never finish anything so I told her we are finished. I always thought I wasn’t committed because I did not really know what I wanted out of life.
After a lot of soul searching and reading tons of self help books I’m finally in a place that works for me. Two things I am totally committed to is being the best person I can be and building a successful business.
P.S. I loved your analogy of the kamikaze pilot.
Keep up the good work.
Marlon,
Glad you enjoyed the post. As I said it is a fine line between being committed and trying, but there is a big difference.
Just know when starting an online business it is going to take a lot of work and you need to be committed to following through or you will not succeed. Especially with Big Daddy Google out there. You need to build trust with Google and build relationships with your readers. With out those two things you will not succeed. My point being is that you need to be committed and consistent or you will not get the traffic you need.
Best of luck to you.
Regards,
Marc
Thank you, Marc for this post.
I feel that this critical success factor for succeeding in an online business is so true but not emphasized often enough. Your personal example of commitment is an inspiration to others like myself.
Wishing you great success in all that you do!
Sue,
Thank you for the kind support. We all need the support and all the inspiration we need as we start any business. Keep up the work and try not to let life distract you. Remember it is about working hard today so that tomorrow you can have some fun.
Marc
Marc, thanks for a very motivational post.
I complements a blog I read today from Kyle at Wealth Affiliates that says consistent posting of quality content daily will eventually contribute to a successful online business.
I got a bit, slack, not because of commitment, but poor daily planning. Just started another courier business that consumes my time.
Thanks again, these two post got me focused.
keep,up,the good work
Regards
Ray
If you can put a new post up everyday that is ideal. I dont, I wish I could. I do, however, work on my blog everyday. A post does not need to be completed in one day. Most of my posts take a couple of days to complete. I am going on vacation in a few more weeks. At that time I will be writing several posts. My goal is at least one a day hoping for more, but will save them to post them over a few weeks. That does not mean that I will not continue to make new content when I am back. It means that I will have some runway though.
Your right it is all about daily planning and making a commitment to it not just giving it a try.
Marc