Anyone can start up a business these days, with the prospect of online business meaning you don’t even need to hire an office as all you need is a laptop and an internet connection.
People make mistakes which can lead to their online business failing, here are the common ones;
Waiting Too Long to Launch a Product or Service
The problem with waiting too long to launch your product or service is that the market won’t wait for you. Many people who are trying to start out in online business want to wait for a certain amount of subscribers or page visits before launching anything. But what they forget is that a product/service that people want or need is going to drive traffic anyway, so why wait?
Solving Unimportant Issues
A lot of businesses end up failing pretty quickly due to spending too much time trying to solve issues that no one actually cares about. If you launch your product/service and it’s not selling, it may not be the size of the audience that’s hindering you – so don’t just automatically try and target a larger one.
Not Listening to Customers
In the world of social media, if your customers have a problem with something they’re probably going to let you know. It is important to listen to them because if your customers are not happy then you’r business is not going to do very well.
Not Standing Out Enough
In this market, it’s not enough to just have one attribute that stands out from competitors. You want to be noticed and you want to be noticed in a positive way. Give customers a reason to choose your brand over another.
Choosing Something You’re Not Passionate About
Don’t just do something because you think it might make money. If you have no passion or drive in what you’re doing you aren’t going to care that much and this is going to hinder you greatly.
Starting with the Wrong Expectations
If you think you can run a successful business on the side of a full time job, then you’re probably mistaken. Although it’s not impossible, there is a much higher chance of failing if you can’t dedicate enough time and energy into it.
It’s also foolish to think that you can plan from week to week, or even month to month. Your plan should be long term and should start with at least a year. Having large goals to work on is far more motivating and fulfilling.
Spending too Much Time Thinking Instead of Doing
At least 80% of your time should be spent doing, not thinking. Although thinking is important for a business, it’s not what brings the customers in, so use your time wisely.
Going Solo
This isn’t to say that you couldn’t do it alone, it’s just a lot more difficult. Having a business partner not only means that you’ll not only have someone to motivate you more, but there will be more ideas and opinions floating around to help you make the best decisions. Brain storming and ideas is the key to innovation.
Confusing Blog with Business
Contrary to popular belief these days, a blog is not a business. Yes, some bloggers have made businesses out of what they do, but they have expanded into different product ranges. This success has stemmed from their popularity of their blog, but if they didn’t allow the business to grow they wouldn’t be where they are now – and neither will you.
