As we continue with Part 3 of our series bestbusinesscommunity regarding how to “Avoid Becoming An Online Business Statistic”, if you’ve missed the other 2 installments and the introduction of this series you can easily find them in sequential order under “Past Articles” on the right hand margin of this page. Let’s pick up where we left off.
“The ability to discipline yourself to delay gratification in the short term in order to enjoy greater rewards in the long term is the indispensable pre-requisite for success.”~Brian Tracy
Essential Questions for Planning A Successful Online Business
After taking an inventory of your skills, abilities and passionate aspirations and after fleshing out the mission and passionate purpose for your business, you are now ready to create your business plan and complete your foundation. Your business plan must answer the following questions:
- What is the problem you will solve, service you will provide or need you desire to meet for your target market?
- Explain in detail how the business will provide that service or meet that need.
- Describe in detail your target market (see video in training section on identifying your target market)
- How will you reach them? What is your marketing strategy?
- What are the best way for you to turn the solution, service or met need into a financial transaction?
Identifying with your target market is essential however you need to go far deeper and most unfortunately barely scratch the surface. Doing your due-diligence and gathering this information is key to unearthing the viability of a potential business idea. I don’t understand how anyone can run head-first over the entrepreneurial cliff without gathering this critical information before hand.
If for example, you have an online business opportunity to market then it needs to be more than “to help people be financially independent”. Or if you have an online business service it needs to be more in-depth than “to provide a service that helps other be successful”. This is where most who attempt a business plan totally falter and drop the ball because they neglect to be specific. Those are good opening mission statements however you will need to take the time to identify and communicate the obstacles, challenges and frustrations that you will eradicate through your deliverables. If you can’t identify the obstacle or pain that your business, product or service is designed to alleviate for your target market, there is no compelling reason for potential customers to be attracted enough to motivate their eventual financial commitment.
Staying with our previous example; if you’re marketing a business opportunity your opening statement might be: “To educate and empower others who desire a more fulfilling life to achieve financial independence by providing……”. There should then be bullet points describing how your business will be designed to solve the problems and meet the needs of your target market. You will then take each one of those bullet points and drill down, fleshing each out so that they specifically detail how you intend to carry out those efforts to support your overall mission and reach your goals. This same methodology should be utilized no matter what business you might be creating the foundation for and aspiring to launch.
The #1 Threat To Your Business
After you’ve identified the pain, challenge and obstacle of your target market and how your deliverables are positioned to eradicate and/or solve those issues, you’re then ready to specifically identify your action items. Your action items will constitute a list of objectives you need to have completed in order to bring the business into reality so that it is designed to meet the commitments you’ve detailed in your business plan. These action items will be divided into the same 3 categories you used when you first conceptualized your business.
- Those that you desire to perform because you are passionate about which utilize skills & abilities you currently possess
- Those you desire to perform but require self-education to acquire the knowledge needed to properly execute the action step so that it meets the listed objective
- Those that you require or choose to delegate to accomplish because they either require expertise you do not currently posses or are not passionate about (usually both).
This is the #1 largest killer of online businesses in the first year so listen up folks. The key is identification of what you will passionately pursue, what you will commit to self education and what you will choose to delegate. So many fall into the trap of trying to do everything themselves but seriously, why would you put yourself through that self-imposed hell if you didn’t need to? I’ve found without a doubt that committing to this 3 category identification system combined with strategic partnering & delegation will prevent business owner burn out while at the same time, propel more businesses to be successful than any other single business strategy. The fact is that identifying what action steps you don’t want to be bothered with allows you the freedom to create the type of business that is custom fit for you.
There is another observation that I’ve found to be repeatedly proven true. At the start, most aspiring entrepreneurs have grandiose visions of the empire they desire to create predicated upon unrealistic expectations regarding scope of the functions they will have the time and expertise to complete while still enjoying performing those tasks. They are soon after punched in the stomach by the reality that they are doing too many things at or below average, while having the majority of their time spent completing tasks that do not fulfill them.
As they recalibrate their business plan they then dream smaller to fit their shrinking perception of their abilities, instead of dreaming larger through strategically utilizing the natural strengths of others to become successful. I’ve seen this cycle played over and over and spiral out of control like a home business owner circling a drain. Trust me; there is an enormous amount to learn in order to perform the action steps you are actually motivated to complete. Sentencing yourself to be a lone ranger has proven to be a recipe for failure.
Commitment To Self-Educate
Once you’ve identified what tasks you will perform, you immediately need to commit to identifying resources that will train, coach and educate you in those areas. If refusing to identify and allocate daily business functions and action steps effectively is the #1 cause of business failure, then refusing to truly commit to self-education to equip yourself to be successful in your passionate pursuit is the 2nd largest threat to your business.
This is why I’ve committed myself to training and coaching entrepreneurs to learn the proven best practices of online business building. I have found that if you are not challenged, motivated, coached and encouraged the commitment to self-education by online entrepreneurs wanes. This is why I’ve created systems of success and will continue to convey strategies of the online business high achievers to stoke that passionate fire and equip you for success.
Achieving emotional and financial fulfillment in your business is not a result of some magic potion but rather proven steps to success that need to be conveyed so that it is understood and demystified. It’s the same for Internet and an affiliate marketing business, online network marketing business or any home business started to earn money online. The bottom line is that your eventual long term success is not based on luck, or some roll of the dice. Those who are successful have painfully learned through trial and error which is why I’m passionate about guiding others through the pitfalls that have snuffed out the entrepreneurial flame of so many.
Conclusion
I say all this to encourage you to stay committed to equipping yourself to be successful from reliable sources of training, coaching and information. The patience, perseverance and passion to deliberately take these steps: to create a thorough business plan, to accurately allocate every action step, commit to self-educate and learn from your failures, WILL ensure your success…. It’s just a matter of time.
Your Coach & Fan
Patrick Daugherty
The”Biz Coach”
CEO of “Learn2Earn it now” Training & Support
Creator of [http://TheBizcoachBlog.com]
Author of: “The Success Steps For Building Wealth Online” [http://members.Learn2earnitnow.biz/ss] The step by step training program that teaches serious online entrepreneurs how to earn money online by launching an internet marketing home business. Learn SEO along with Internet marketing training, affiliate marketing programs, effective social media marketing, getting free traffic and everything you need to know to design any online home business opportunity to reach your goals. All the keys to earn money online are the same and we teach you all of them! You can also learn about how to get FREE coaching and support for your business!
WARNING: We teach people to semi-retire in 12months. It is designed only for those who are truly serious about realizing those goals!
