{"id":773,"date":"2018-11-25T22:48:00","date_gmt":"2018-11-25T22:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alexsheach.com\/?p=773"},"modified":"2021-05-29T14:43:44","modified_gmt":"2021-05-29T13:43:44","slug":"10-things-ive-learned-about-an-online-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alexsheach.com\/motivation-for-entrepreneurs\/10-things-ive-learned-about-an-online-business\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Things I\u2019ve Learned About an Online Business"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

1. Your first idea probably sucks. Yeh really sucks.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We start with all these big intentions and we think we know exactly what it is our customers are wanting \u2013 add to that a good dollop of what we\u2019re really<\/em> good at and we think we\u2019re on to a winning idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tumbleweeds!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll probably end up pivoting (that means changing course slightly) to better fit the market and what your clients are asking for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t be ashamed \u2013 it happens. There are only a very few lucky, lucky, lucky<\/em> online entrepreneurs get it right first time and immediately hit the market with a viable product. It\u2019s all a lesson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So don\u2019t throw in the towel just yet \u2013 just take your idea back to the drawing board and give it a good tweak and you\u2019ll come up with something even better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. You need a website.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are always going to be people say you DON’T need a website. BUT they fall into one of just a few categories:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a) Built their following before websites were a “thing”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

b) Are putting “all their eggs” in a Social Media basket<\/p>\n\n\n\n

c) Won’t admit the truth that building a website intimidates the shit out of them and they’re scared to do it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s 2021 and everyone is online. If you haven\u2019t got a website you are literally throwing cash away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Marketing is a key fundamental.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

God I hate it. I mean seriously truly hate it. I\u2019m British and we\u2019re pretty crap at putting ourselves out there and saying \u201chey YOU! I\u2019ve got something your\u2019e going to love \u2013 come buy my stuff\u201d. Ugh. Icky!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, we need to suck it up and get on with it. Without marketing your business is really just a fancy shmancy idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My challenge right now is to work on my Social Media because it\u2019s an area I tend to neglect because I simply don\u2019t embrace it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Systems!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Yay! You got a customer.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yay! You got 2 customers!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh heck! You got 20 customers\u2026 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

OK, 20+ customers is bloody brilliant right? Well\u2026 not if you\u2019re still doing a fair chunk of your work manually \u2013 including the admin \u2013 and you\u2019re repeating tasks over and over which is not only costing you time \u2013 time you\u2019d be better serving more customers \u2013 aka more cash!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get your systems up and running early \u2013 and by this I mean your auto-responders (email sales\/newsletter), accounting systems, invoicing, payment gateways (Paypal\/Stripe\/Etc.) and CRM (customer relationship model). If you\u2019re running a service based business you will also want to put in place processes in order to make sure you don\u2019t miss any eensy-teensy step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I use the Dubsado CRM when I\u2019m performing a technical job for a client. Because I\u2019ve worked out my processes I have around 40 steps to deliver a full website. Most of these are \u201cduh-uh\u201d for a web designer, but it ensures I never, ever miss a step and therefore under-deliver. Because each step has a completion checkbox I always know exactly where my clients are in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Masterminds.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Get into a group of fellow female entrepreneurs so you can enjoy the highs \u2013 and unfortunately the inevitable lows of running your own business. It\u2019s not all unicorns and roses \u2013 there are really tough and shit days when you\u2019ll wonder whether you ought to just go back to corporate \u2013 or even take that cashier job in the village shop because it comes with no worries and no responsibilities!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you\u2019ve got your group of gals (or guys!) you\u2019ll have people to bounce ideas around and everyone will have a different take or vision on your problem or path which can be immensely useful if you\u2019re stuck in a \u201ccan\u2019t see the wood for the trees<\/em>\u201d scenario.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lot of these Masterminds are paid-for. Don\u2019t worry about that \u2013 they\u2019re mostly expensive too. Find a group of local gals starting out just like you \u2013 of course with Facebook they don\u2019t even need to be local. Keep it small and personal with a maximum number of 12 members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When business is really taking off and you want to expand that\u2019s when the paid Masterminds really come into their own. But until you can comfortably pay for that \u2013 why stress about it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Lack of Regular Income.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Oh yeh\u2026 everyone\u2019s all about the \u201cevergreen funnel\u201d and consistent clients\u2026 but the truth is when you first start out it\u2019ll be a trickle. That\u2019s cool too because it gives you a chance to perfect your systems and offerings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it does mean that your revenue can be patchy and inconsistent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well\u2026 that\u2019s just the name of the game really. Be cautious when buying programmes and or bits \u2018n\u2019 bobs for your business until you can be sure they\u2019ll pay for themselves \u2013 or\u2026 if you really really just WANT IT<\/em> \u2013 and what the hell\u2019s wrong with that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep a close eye on your numbers and be mindful for upcoming expenses \u2013 including the dreaded tax man!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Accountability (to yourself).<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll put my hands up to this one. There have been times when I\u2019ve had a major personal upheaval (divorce and poor health) where I\u2019ve just thrown my hands up and said \u201cmeh\u2026 I need some time out and I don\u2019t care right now\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luckily my mastermind gals gave me a good kick up the ass and told me to get back on it and just put it all behind me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m a firm believer in actually taking some time to yourself and recovering mentally and physically after a big life-event. I know there are people who stress the importance of powering through it all \u2013 but for me, life is so short I think we need to look after ourselves and be the kindest to our own self we can possibly be. I barely took a breath throughout my 20s and I regret now that I didn\u2019t slow down at all to take care of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. Lists and Planners<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

OMG! The lists! So many, many lists!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love a good paper planner \u2013 so, so many pretty planners. Let me tell you why I love them so much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a) It keeps me on track. I\u2019m able to break tasks down and see exactly what the next step is which keeps me totally on track with what I need to do to move towards my goals and y\u2019know\u2026 get shit done!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

b) I scribble down all my ideas and plans \u2013 and often schedule them too! They don\u2019t always get done, but this is where paper planners really come into their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once every few months I\u2019ll dig them out and I\u2019ll stumble across an idea I\u2019d maybe penned 9 months ago and think \u201chell! That\u2019s beyond brilliant<\/em>\u201c. You get to come back to all the ideas you\u2019ve previously stuck in the parking-lot because they weren\u2019t quite a good fit for that time in your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know a lot of people really embrace digital planners, goal schedulers and the like but I have found that if you don\u2019t complete the task right there and then, the steps you\u2019ve chosen to take can soon disappear into the ether never to be seen (or remembered!) again. Writing stuff down actually sticks in your brain more than typing it into a digital format.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I do make a quick exception for digital notes. I\u2019ve got Evernote<\/a> on my phone and it\u2019s got a \u201cpull down\u201d menu thing from any page and I\u2019ll do this if I have a moment of brilliance (!) out and about \u2013 or even just catching up on Better Call Saul and so I send it over to Evernote and once every few days I\u2019ll check my Evernote account and transfer these gems to paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. Your purpose.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s one of the most asked questions about entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a lot of pressure on us female entrepreneurs to say \u201cI want to give back to the community and I want to help people and rescue donkeys and world peace\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hmmmph.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well yes, that\u2019s all very well worthy and of course the more cash you make the better placed you are to do these kind things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if I\u2019m totally honest \u2013 I\u2019m here for the lifestyle. I want to cut loose and go ride my horse. That\u2019s what truly makes me happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are you doing it for? Do you want to take the kids swimming? Go hiking with your dog? Spend more time curled up with murder-mystery books?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you\u2019ve got a better idea how your day really looks then it also aids motivation in that you know you\u2019ll be getting that reward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get your work done and then cut loose and enjoy yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy are you doing this\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. Coffee!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Where would any of us be without a good coffee?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the words of Dale Cooper<\/a>: \u201c\u201cYou know, this is \u2013 excuse me \u2013 a damn fine cup of coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*I think I\u2019ve just given my age away there! <\/strong><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1. Your first idea probably sucks. Yeh really sucks. We start with all these big intentions and we think we know exactly what it is our customers are wanting \u2013 add to that a good dollop of what we\u2019re really good at and we think we\u2019re on to a winning idea. Tumbleweeds! You\u2019ll probably end […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":775,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"10 Things I\u2019ve Learned About an Online Business","_seopress_titles_desc":"Your first idea probably sucks. Yeh really sucks. We start with all these big intentions and we think we know exactly what it is our customers are wanting \u2013 add to that a good dollop of what we\u2019re good at and we think we\u2019re on to a winning idea.","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alexsheach.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/773"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alexsheach.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alexsheach.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alexsheach.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alexsheach.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=773"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alexsheach.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/773\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alexsheach.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alexsheach.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alexsheach.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alexsheach.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}