In the post March 2020 world more people than ever before are looking for ways to earn income online. Being able to generate income from home aside, the advantages of an online business are many. In this post I’ll talk a little about those advantages and provide some resources I found invaluable when I started my online business 7 years ago.
For many years the image of the person sitting on the idyllic beach with a laptop and big smile has been the avatar of the internet entrepreneur. Good looking, obviously fit and healthy and often with a supercar parked nearby, they represent the dream of the laptop lifestyle. But is it accurate?
Well one of the advantages of an online business is that pretty much anything is possible. Certainly income-wise their are no limits. Amazon ceo Jeff Bezos is set to become a trillionaire and common or garden internet millionaires are ten a penny these days. The other stuff in that iconic image simply represents another advantage of an online business – freedom.
The Image V The Reality
Since all you basically need is a laptop and a broadband connection you can work from anywhere. Finally online businesses use a lot of automation and thereby don’t take a lot of time to run. If you want to use some of the free time in the gym and on your appearance you can have that too.
But the truth is that isn’t every internet entrepreneurs bag. We come in all shapes and sizes and use our time, location and financial freedom in countless different ways. For me that is the true advantage of an online business.
Basically its nothing like a traditional business at all. You build an internet business around your life not the other way round. Don’t know about you but I always associated the idea of a business with hard graft, long hours, heavy stress and a certain ruthlessness. That comes from decades of having been employed by businesses ranging from small, family set ups to big corporates. I did it to provide income to pay for my passions and interests. The only way to get more money (which always meant sacrificing more time) was to adopt these traits.
When I was unceremoniously dumped by my last employer after years of faithful and profitable service at the age of 47 I decided I’d enough of that. By then (2011) the internet was already an economic behemoth and a very viable place to set up shop and build a new life. While people like me were being laid off in recessions, the digital side of things was thriving. It was a no brainer.
Online Business Mindset
My internet business is as far from the traditional business mindset as I can make it. I pick and choose the products and services I sell online. They are things I use myself both for business and for pleasure.
I choose who I work with, when I work and where I work. There’s no magic systems, tricks or other “dotcom secrets” involved. I just use the kind of automation that is possible on the internet. The whole sales process is basically automated. This takes a bit of setting up and a bit of ongoing tinkering and tweaking but it’s neither difficult or hugely time consuming.
I used to be a business development manager for a branch of a large corporate business. I had a strict territory in which to look for new business so as not to impinge on other branches. Now my territory is the world wide net. Automation means that time zones are irrelevant. The business is running even when I’m on holiday, asleep or in the gym (never)
In a good way my life and business are deeply intertwined. I market my goods and services mainly with video and writing. Since both of these are passions of mine It seldom feels like work. My everyday life often provides insights and ideas which I repurpose as videos and blog posts that work really well for some of the personal development products I promote.
More Advantages Of An Online Business
At this point I should clarify that I am an affiliate marketer. I recommend other peoples products and services and receive a commission on any sales that are made. This means that I don’t have to create, stock or deliver products myslef. Neither do I have to produce any of the marketing materials, provide support or do any personal selling.
I should establish at this point that I am not an internet millionare. I’m 55 and came to this with pretty much all of the material stuff I need. I earn a good living online which If I was motivated to do so I could scale up. More importantly to me and my partner It has enabled us to relocate to what was a dream location for many years. We live exactly the kind of stress free life we want to. Maybe most importantly we have the peace fo mind that we will be able to create income for as long as we need to.
I hope this has outlined some of the advantages of an online business – mainly that you can design it to suit you. If you’ve toyed with the idea for some time but havent done it yet I’d guess you’ve struggled as I did with a few common misconceptions. Possibly you imagine that you need to be very technically minded. Maybe you think you’ll need experience beyond surfing the web. You possibly think you are too old and it will be too difficult to learn a new skill.
Online Business Mentors
I’m here to tell you that I had all those doubts and lots more besides. None of the above is actually true but things are much easier if you have experienced mentors helping you. I threw in my lot with a fabulous mentoring community which also provides all of the tools and training I need . You can get a free series of video workshops by clicking on the link below and subscribing for them. Best thing I ever did.
