“It's not the plan that is important, it's the planning”.
Dr Graeme Edwards
There are over 25 million small businesses in the United States. Most of them would benefit from doing business online. The Internet becoming an ever more ingrained part of our lives, and business is becoming unimaginable without it. Yet, many business owners are unsure about how to succeed online.
Proper preparation does not guarantee success, but the lack of it almost certainly will result in failure. We all want to succeed when we start a business, but we often disregard the need for proper planning. The keyword is proper, not planning. If you do everything in your power to properly plan your business, you increase your chances for success.
Even if you have an existing business, your business plan should have an online business strategy. Succeeding online will require a new way of looking at your business. If you had a marketing plan for your brick and mortar business, your online presence is going to demand that you update your overall marketing strategy.
Treat you online business seriously. Many online businesses fail because people treat them like hobbies. If you only plan to work in your online business a couple of hours a week, you can’t expect great success. Doing business on the Internet requires dedication. You have to educate yourself about the many different options and technologies available. Just like with a brick and mortar business, you are only going to get out of your business what you put into it. If you are only willing to put in a few hours a week, expect to get a few hours a week of income. There are no shortcuts to earning a living online.
The biggest mistake many entrepreneurs make when starting an online business is that they don't sit down and write up a business plan. Don’t think that writing a business plan is an exercise for first year business majors only. You should never start a business based on a great idea. An idea is just that, an idea. It is not going to help you succeed in business.
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