In this second episode of the Online Business FM podcast, I review some of the best reasons why starting, running or owning an online business might be the best decision and investment you will ever make.
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Transcription
Hey, hey everybody! I hope you’re feeling awesome today, I know I am!
Thank you for joining me in the second episode of the Online Business FM podcast.
My name is Louie and I appreciate you listening!
I have a great show for you today: we are going to be reviewing some of the best reasons why starting, running or owning an online business might be the best decision and investment you will ever make.
I’ll start by giving you my own definition of online business, then we’ll move on to the fifteen best reasons, benefits or advantages of having an online business and we’ll finish up with the most critical step you have to take if you ever want to reach success in any kind of business, be it online or not.
But, before we start, I would like invite you to hit the “Subscribe” button on iTunes or other directories like Stitcher and Google Play so you won’t miss an episode going forward.
We have great content in store for you just around the corner, so don’t miss out and subscribe today.
All right, let’s get the party started with episode number 2!
What Is an Online Business?
If you have ever wondered what an online business really is or, if you are lacking a good definition, let me help clarify this concept for you.
An online business is any kind of business on the Internet that either:
a. Sells or promotes products, services or tools. (An example of this are those big online shopping platforms like Amazon and eBay or big websites like Google — which, as you know, besides offering lots of free stuff, also sells services — and also niche, affiliate or authority websites, which we’ll talk about more in future episodes of this show.);
And/or,
b. Online properties making money from selling advertising space. (Think of Twitter, Facebook, Google again, and, for example, The Huffington Post or even personal blogs.)
Who Can Call Themselves Online Business Owners?
Any person who does any kind of business over the Internet is running an online business, regardless of how big or small that business is or how much money they are making.
As I said before, even a blog can be or become an online business.
Now… anyone can start an online business and become an online business owner as long as they have an idea, a service or a product — even an affiliate product could perfectly do it — and are able to figure out a way to either sell or promote it online to a specific audience.
One of the Many Benefits of Starting and Running an Online Business Is that It Is Open 24/7
Online businesses go beyond traditional “brick and mortar” kind of businesses since your storefront or office is online, allowing it be open 24 hours a day and not requiring your physical presence to make transactions happen.
That is one of the many advantages of starting and running an online business, but there are more, which is precisely what we will talk about next.
What Are the 15 Reasons Why Starting and Running an Online Business Is a Great Investment?
What can an online business offer you?
Starting, running or owning an online business has plenty more advantages than disadvantages; especially if you compare them to traditional kind of businesses — or offline businesses (so to speak).
Let’s review some of the best reasons why they are a really great investment and the best decision you can possibly make if you’re considering starting a business of your own:
Controllability
- You have a lot more control over what you can do with your business.
- At the same time, and also related to the controllability benefit, there is much less risk involved, if you start small.
Scalability
- An online business is much easier to scale.
- Through processes, standard operating procedures, systems of automation, outsourcing, more effective and efficient planning (and, sometimes, higher investment, too) you will be able to exponentially grow your business.
- This isn’t about the amount of effort you put in, or the number of hours you spend on your business or how much work you can do, but how smart you work.
Freedom
- You have more freedom to choose what to do on your business.
- You’re free to set your own schedule, working hours, deadlines, goals, objectives, tasks and projects.
- You’re free to work from anywhere in the World, at any time you wish.
- Basically, all that is required is a computer (or a similar kind of a device, like a tablet or a smartphone — although these come with some limitations, obviously, when compared to a desktop or laptop computer) and an Internet connection.
Time
- As opposed to a traditional business or a (quote, unquote) “regular” 9-5 job, you’re not trading your time for money. Meaning it’s not the amount of time you work that determines how much money you can make, but how productive, effective and efficient (and there’s an important distinction between being effective and efficient) in the time you spend working on your business that will determine that and all of this relates to the Scalability and Freedom reasons we’ve just reviewed.
Lower Upfront Investment
- Depending on the kind of online business you’re planning to start, of course, a lower investment is required upfront when compared to an offline kind of business where you would have to purchase or rent a physical location, buy furniture, hire employees and buy and hold inventory.
- Because of that, it is less risky — since you don’t need to put so much money on the line.
- And, taking into account that your ongoing expenses are lower, if you succeed, your profit margins can also be much higher.
Doesn’t Cost Much to Get Started
- Related to the previous benefit — the lower upfront investment — is this one: it doesn’t cost much to start an online business.
- The simpler ones (by “simpler” I don’t mean that they are less profitable or that you can’t earn a lot from them, but simply just less complex) can cost you around $100 USD only or even less to get launched.
- Your biggest investment will be time. But the time you spend now will positively reflect on what you’ll end up achieving months or years from now.
You Don’t Need to Hold Inventory
- Again, depending on the type of online business you choose to pursue, there is also a greater flexibility and efficiency in product delivery.
- In many online businesses, you don’t even need to hold inventory like, for example, if you sell digital products or if you’re doing drop shipping.
Broader Market at a Distance of a Click
- Another benefit is that you’ll have access to a broader market, sometimes even a worldwide market, which will naturally open the doors to a much bigger audience than what you would have access to if you were stuck in an office or store that are basically limited to a radius from the business location, a geographical area of influence or reach.
- Plus there is that great advantage — a luxury, actually — of being able to target specific audiences, demographics, countries, regions or states.
- That means you can do business with or in other countries without actually being there. I can sell stuff to the US from anywhere in the World without ever setting foot in the United States of America.
Open All the Time
- Your business is also open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 30 days a month, 365 days a year! It’s open all the time working for you even while you sleep which sends us to the next advantage.
Your Physical Presence Is Not Required
- As I said just now, your online business is working for you even while you sleep because your physical presence is not required to have transactions happening. It is all handled automatically by your systems of automation that you’ve set in place beforehand.
Personal Reasons
Besides all these awesome business benefits we’ve just reviewed, there are also some personal reasons why starting an online business can be an excellent option for you.
More Free Time for Yourself
- Not being tied or stuck to a location, office or working schedule, gives you more free time for yourself.
- I don’t mean more time to do nothing or just be lazy (although there’s nothing wrong about it if you feel like doing it and it’s great to have that chance) but to do all sorts of other important things (not necessarily work related) that people with regular jobs usually aren’t able or cannot do during the day. Like going to the doctor or take a sick day, going shopping when there is almost no one at the stores and there’s a lot of free parking space available, do your home shores, etc.
- With more time in your hands, you’ll also be able to partake in many more experiences that you would otherwise miss out on if you were working a 9-5 job. Examples: take your kids to school, have lunch with your family and friends, go to the cinema on a work day, travel, etc., etc.
- More free time essentially means having a better quality of life and lower stress levels, too. (Being stress-free is one of my favorite reasons to having an online business.)
You Are Your Own Boss
- Starting your own online business allows you to be in charge of operations, you are your own boss. No longer will you have to be bossed around or put up with unpleasant colleagues, last minute deadlines, sudden change of project plans or extra work hours you weren’t expecting, especially when you had other plans already lined up.
- No longer will you have to ask your boss or superior to take a day off or schedule your vacations.
- No longer will you have to justify to anyone but yourself why you got to work later than what you supposedly should.
You Can Work On Something You Actually Love Doing
- With an online business you can dedicate your time to working on something that you actually enjoy or love doing. (Actually, that’s one of the advices many online business and digital marketing experts have for beginners: focus on your passions or interests. By doing that, you’ll have better chances of keeping your projects going when the obstacles and hurdles show up – and, trust me, they will definitely show up.)
- Doing what you love — besides being an extra motivation booster –, also allows you to perfectly understand who you target audience is, what they want, need and feel; what their struggles and pains are and this is really a great benefit as I’ll explain in a minute.
You Can Work On Something You’re Naturally Skilled At
- Sometimes we can make it easy for ourselves and simply leverage whatever it is we are naturally good at. You’ll probably have some natural inclinations in doing activity A or activity B that other people regard as being difficult or tough to accomplish.
- If you can’t find or aren’t certain about a passion of yours to pursue as an online business, you can always bet on working on something you’re naturally skilled at doing.
You’re Able to Work ON Your Business and Not IN Your Business
- Owning an online business allows you to work on your business instead of working in it; meaning that you can set things up to work almost on auto-pilot so they do the heavy lifting for you and you’ll just have to manage them and focus on making important business decisions.
- (Now, please, don’t take this literally, as you do have to work hard. There is no business, online or offline, where things happen magically with just a push of a button. That’s a lie, an utopia, a dream.)
Running an Online Business Has Many More Advantages
As we saw, owning and/or running an online business has many advantages, many more than those that come with a traditional business.
You have more control, you take fewer risks, and you don’t have to spend as much money upfront or ongoing nor face the common difficulties that other businesses have.
You have greater flexibility, more time for yourself and more freedom.
Overall, it may be easier or more accessible to start an online business and it might very well be the best investment that you, as an entrepreneur, can choose to make.
Foundation of an Online Business
Do you want to know something that’s very important to me?
I like foundations — really strong foundations — in everything I do…
In fact, I have liked them ever since as was I still in school.
Back then, I knew that having a firm grasp of the basics and fundamentals was crucial in order to understand whatever came next in my classes.
The reason foundations are so important is because, just like for any of kind of building, you need a solid supporting structure that will be able to hold anything that will sit on top of it.
If you’re learning something new, you’ll need to perfectly comprehend the basics.
Those will be your learning foundations. Without them, it will be much harder — if not impossible — to understand everything else.
If you’re starting something from scratch — like an online business — you first need to understand and lay down a strong foundation prior to anything else, even before considering stuff like your business model and strategy, your monetization plan, and that sort of things.
That being said, the most important and fundamental online (and also offline) business foundation you will ever find all boils down to answering people’s questions or solving their problems; it’s all about serving them in the first place.
If you put solving, answering, helping, providing and adding value and serving others on the top of your priorities, you will have found the proper foundation for your business and its potential success.
The better you are at doing it, the more and greater rewards you will collect in the future.
How well you do it, how well you serve your online business customers, subscribers, readers or visitors, the higher earnings you will get back in return.
Your earnings will essentially be the consequence, the result of how well you treat, respect and serve your audience.
Why?
Simply because there are actual human beings, real people on the other end of your business actions and making them feel like so — instead of just a number — will eventually come back to you as a reward in the future.
No, making money shouldn’t be the number one item on your list of priorities.
If you go through that route, things will most certainly end up going wrong for you and your business. And by going wrong, I mean not succeeding or, at least, it will take you much more time to find success.
You shouldn’t build something with that “money first” objective in your mind.
You’ll probably end up getting blinded by the “making money now” thinking and do things wrong.
To follow the right path to success you have to find your niche (which is a group of people sharing the same common interests) or market, study and research it thoroughly so you can understand the problems, questions, needs, wants and struggles people in those niches or markets are going through or facing.
You need to know your audience, your target visitor, your target reader, your target subscriber or your target customer.
You have to clearly comprehend what it is they are looking for, what they need that they haven’t yet found the right or the full solution for.
Remember about the “do what you love” benefit I mentioned earlier?
Ideally (but not forcibly) you would have to be one of them, one of those people, part of that sort of community and experience what they experience to truly understand them.
Once you realize all of this, you will be so much closer to coming up with great products, building a successful business and brand. And even, maybe, help making this a better place.
This is the foundation you need to lay down first, the proper mindset you need to develop, the right “why” or “key motivation” to do what you intend to do to being with.
Conclusion
That’s it for today’s show where we reviewed some of best reasons why starting or owning an online business is the best decision and wisest investment you will ever make.
To get the show’s notes along with the episode’s transcription, head on over to onlinebusiness.fm/2 (again, onlinebusiness dot fm forward slash 2, the number two).
I hope you’ve enjoyed listening to this episode as much as I have liked recording it for you.
If you did, and you would like to show your appreciation while also supporting me, please subscribe to the show on iTunes, leave a rating and a review and let know via email so I can thank you personally. You can find my email address or a way to contact me on the show’s notes page, as well.
See you on the next episode of “Online Business FM with Louie Luc”.
I won’t miss it for the world, will you?
Thanks for Listening!
Thanks so much for joining me again this week.
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