blockhead's Blog

For those of you who work fulltime online like I do, you know that you often measure daily success in terms of how much you produced online. Some days I work for 10 hours, and all I can show for my work is a couple of articles, a couple of emails, and some editing work.

I thought I was going to do some research online, but 4 hours later, I still have nothing - it ends up being useless surfing. Solution: set time frames on looking for new information. For example, if you have not found the answer in 15 minutes, decide you will look for the info tomorrow, instead of continuing to surf.

Some days I only work for 4 hours, but because I came to the table rested and focused, I am able to write 15 articles, submit them to my favorite article directory, send off a powerful email to my subscribers, write a new chapter in my latest online product creation, and take a few minutes to log in to my paypal account to see how much money I have made.

The key to having that kind of day is focus. Know before your work begins what you want to accomplish. Write it out in a list, and then go through the list, checking off each item as you finish it. With that list, you will become much more profitable online. Do not allow yourself to work online aimlessly.

Always have a back-up item you can do when you are starting to become less productive online. I always know that if I have a few spare minutes, I can crank out a few articles, and I will get a few new subscribers tomorrow.

Do you really want an online business? This is a simple question, but you should really mull over what you are getting into, and whether you really can or want to make the commitment. People who are new to the Internet, are sometimes mislead into believing that a website is easy to do. The answer to that belief is -- Yes and No. I’ll give you a hint at what skills you need and what to be aware of before you venture online.

Computer Skills

First and foremost, you should enjoy working on a computer. Why? You will find that you may have to commit quite a few hours on the computer when you are building your online business. If you don’t enjoy the computer, you might want to rethink your options.

Second, to eliminate frustration and keep your productivity up, you should have some keyboarding skills. Meaning, you should at least be able to type 25 wpm and know or learn, how to cut and paste. To help to increase your keyboarding skills, look at the site Learn 2 Type (http://www.learn2type.com/index.cfm?action=TypingTest). It’s a free site that can help you with your basic typing skills.

Third, since you are going to be the chief cook and bottle washer of your business, you also need to know how to maintain your computer. On the Internet you need to protect your computer from hacker attacks. So acquaint yourself and your computer with anti-virus, anti-spam, and firewall software – you won’t regret the outlay.

Internet Skills

You should have some basic Internet skills. Such as, uploading and downloading pictures images, and files from the Internet, and understanding basic Internet terminology – the rest will come later. I’m not saying you can’t learn it – you can. But the quickness of your success will pretty much be gauged by what Internet knowledge you bring to the table when you first begin online.

Email Skills

This one is important. Okay, you may be saying – “Email is email. What is the big deal? But on the Internet, you will be acquainted with scammers. Phishing scams abound. It is the newbie that these people hope to catch.

For instance, if you receive an email stating that there is something wrong with your account, and to click on the link to verify that it is okay – DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINK. If you do, you’ve just invited a hacker, worm or virus on to your system.

Your Passion

With any business, online or offline, you must have a passion for what you want to venture into. Why? Passion is the juice that will get you up in the morning and to your computer-even when you are ill.

Your passion will even make you think differently about any situation you may face in your online journey. Think about it, if you like what you do, any bump in the road – is just that—a bump in the road. If you hate what you are doing – any bump in the road will derail you. If you don’t have the passion, don’t even think about setting up a website.

Building A Website

If you want to build a website, but you don’t have any programming knowledge, don’t fret. Most web hosting services offer programs that can get you building your own website without any programming knowledge. But you still have to do the work.

Working Your Site

Learning how to make your site profitable will take time, if you have little or no knowledge. You just can’t put a website up and say, “Here is my creation people now come to my site”. It would be nice if it worked that way, but alas, it doesn’t.

You have to invite the search engines to your site. How do you do that? You have to optimize your site for the search engines – and then let the search engines and your target market know that you are out there. Search engine optimization is a long-term strategy of getting hits to your site. It’s long-term because you have to tweak and incorporate keywords into your site without taking away from the quality of the content that you want to give to your audience. After optimization is done, then you should submit your site to the search engines for indexing.

Advertising

You need to advertise your new site on the Internet. Several ways is through press releases and articles.

Press releases will get your site quickly out on the Internet. And articles, they can give you great one-way links that your website needs. And, that small resource box at the end of your article will, or should, entice traffic to your site – which is usually your target market.

As you can see, there is more to setting up a website, and you must have the total picture of what you are venturing into before you lay out your hard earned cash. But, if you have the passion, have the skills – or are a quick study, go for an online business and reap the rewards that it can offer you. What rewards? To name just a few: self-confidence, self-respect, self-worth and money.

It's not uncommon to have my members to come up to me with their problems-

But it's common to hear from them that they are not making as much money in their internet business as they would like. They tell me they cannot figure out what's the problem and want my help on it.

Usually I can spot on and tell them what the problem is. Right before my eyes, most of them have turned into what I called opportunity seekers. They have too many websites going at the same time, unable to spend quality time focusing on any SINGLE business. So they've put 20 or 30 sites up, averaging a few hundred bucks every month, with most of the sites only breaking even.

Why most opportunity seekers won't make much money, and cannot achieve their financial goals?

It's to do with a common mistake they're all making. They invest their energies into many of their interests and thus created too many sites. It's a scatter-gun approach that fragments their focus. When your efforts are scattered, so will your dream of building a 6-figure income.

The Key To Long-Term Success Is Focus

You need to stay focused if you want to succeed in your online business. Which means you start with one idea first, make it profitable, then move on to your next interest. Lots of people today are plagued with the get-rich-quick mentality. Likewise, almost all opportunity seekers have this mental virus.

It makes them hop around furiously seeking the next big idea, wishing that success will find them there finally.

They are always the first to jump onto the next big thing. Always on the bandwagon from one month to the next.

First they will try focusing on affiliate marketing. Before long they'll abandon it and next, scoot over to adsense publishing, etc.

Opportunity seekers are attracted to where the crowds go. If they see something is working fabulously well for others, they'll want a piece of it. Which explains their wanton behaviour of hopping around all over the place. There are no considerations taken for their own innate talents, abilities and real interests.

They are usually looking for ways and means to make some easy money. A pureblood entrepreneur does not think in such a manner. But only opportunists do. Opportunity seekers are always the shortcut seekers. Often out of their realms and out of their depths. Then they wonder why most things don't work for them.

Things do not work because you are not focusing. You must focus. You must want to think and act like an entrepreneur. Focus is one vital aspect you must possess for success. For these newbies/ opportunists my advice to them is to shut down 29 of their sites. Focus only on one site, one that brings out your highest passion.

Then make the best of it. Fine tune it. Streamline your sales process. Make your system produce the success you are after. Only AFTER after this is achieved, are you allowed to move on creating your next site. Not before.

Building Width Vs. Building Depth Business

Do you have what I call a 'building width business'? This is a horizontal business with sites spread out wide into many different range of niches such as hobby niches.

I have seen people who run horizontal businesses own up to 20 or more separate business ventures. However, I recommend having a vertical business instead. This vertical business has a depth structure, and encourages focus.

This means, if you do business in one particular niche, for example stock trading, then focus on selling products that are only related to that niche, nothing else. It means putting all your eggs in one basket, which creates a funnel effect. From this setup, you'll gather one highly targeted group of customers and you work to become a big fish in a small pond.

Doesn't matter if you have all your eggs in one place. You get to become THE expert egg layer, so to speak. And you get to watch like a hawk on all your eggs, until they all hatch with predictable success.

Does this make more sense to you?

Then what's the problem with a horizontal business? It won't make you specialized.

If you try this route, you'll find it next to impossible to make a six-figure income. Your business will suffer because you have to give time to all of them, and not enough time to any of them. Even John Reese can't do it, why make you think you can.

When you have a vertical business, you have fine-tuned your business so well competitors have a hard time keeping up with you. People can't compete. You also build a strong client base with satisfied customers.

But when you get a vertical business up, you'd have structured it so well that competitors find it very difficult to a one-up on you. They cannot compete. You get to build a solid and loyal client base as a result.

How To Think Like An Entrepreneur

Thnking like an authentic entrepreneur is the key. You cannot be jumping on the bandwagon circus. Don't be a shortcut seeker when choosing your niche. An entrepreneur thinks and visualizes over long term. You'd need to have a one-year, five year and ten year visions. Seek out how you want your business to grow over the long term. Get a big picture vision.

On a personal level, ask yourself this question: 'What do I want to accomplish ultimately?' Next, you decide whether or not your activities in your niche vertical business will take you there. This will stop you cold from jump around, in and out of various programs. You will be able to focus on one program, one site, and one great idea. This strong focus is what will take you into the six figures bracket. Not your knowledge, your skill sets, your experience, etc. You need only to singularly focus.

Time to sit down and reflect upon it.

Quit the opportunity bandwagon circus. Then you have far better chance not being suckered by unsuitable and false money-making 'opportunities'.

This is a far superior approach. Yes, it takes a lot of energy. But its worth it. In the long-term it's much less tiring than diversifying your business.

What I have advised above is a far superior approach. It takes true thinking and much energies to pull it off. But if it's your ultimate reward, then it's worth it. In the long term, this will be much less tiring to run compared to running a diversified business. You can count on that!

But once you became THE expert in your niche or industry, diversifying can then be the next natural progression. Diversifying into another vertical business that is somehow related, would seem best.

You'd like to start your own business, you'd like to get out of the mind-numbing job, you'd like to leave the corporate rat race. But, starting your own business is a very daunting enterprise. Looking into the future, it looks like a long, dark tunnel with no light at the end.

Confucius said, 'A journey of a thousand leagues begins with a single step.' Taking that first step is the most difficult thing to do. It means beating the Law of Inertia.

Two Laws That Affect Your Success

The Law of Inertia states that a body at rest tends to remain at rest unless acted upon by an outside force. Your life responds to the same laws and if you don't break the inertia, and take that first step, you'll be stuck right where you are. Without taking that first step you'll be forever stuck in that boring job, you'll never start a business.

The good news is that your life is also governed by the Law of Momentum -- it states that a body in motion tends to remain in motion unless acted upon by an outside force. Once you take that first step and set your business enterprise into motion, you're well on the way to success.

Success Comes To Those Who Dare

Success never comes to those who wish and pray for it, it only comes to those who reach out and grab it. Successful people make a decision to do something, then they begin moving toward the goal they have set. They start down that long, dark tunnel knowing that the light of success lies at the end.

The British SAS has the motto, 'Who dares wins.' Successful people don't let fear of the unknown stop them, they don't cling to the false security of a job, they are willing to face the uncertainty and step into the tunnel.

Just Do It

This one act of successful people separates them from the failures. The ability to launch themselves into an enterprise without any guarantee of success is the one thing that leads to success. A 12-year university study concluded that virtually all success was based on the ability to 'Just do it!'

The interesting thing is that as you move down the tunnel, opportunities appear to you along the way. These opportunities would never have been available to you if you had stayed at the mouth of the tunnel -- afraid to take that first step.

Taking That First Step

Successful business people choose their target, aim, and fire without hesitation. Determine what your goal is, make a plan for reaching that goal, then get moving toward that goal. Do something every day to take you closer to that goal.

The minute you start moving toward your goal, the Law of Momentum makes it much easier to continue making progress as you start a business, launch a new project, or set a campaign in motion. Just keep moving toward your goal and your success will follow.

Let Momentum Carry You To Success

Don't spend forever planning. Just take that first step into the tunnel. Get the momentum going. Before you know it, that momentum will carry you to success and you will have a business that allows you to say 'Sayonara' to that enslaving nine to five job.

Just do it!