The internet has brought a wide range of entrepreneurial opportunities for us. It has leveled the playing ground and allowed the small businesses and one man business owners to enjoy the liberties that were previous available to the rich and the multi-million companies – ability to reach millions of potential customers across the globe! However, with all these beneficial features, the internet is also filled with a lot of ‘justifiable time wasters’ that has infected most online business owners with ‘medium success’. If so, then, how can you be more effective in your online business?
Be Organized
Work With An Attainable Goal: Before you can get anywhere with your online business, you must learn how to set attainable goals. Plan and write out a long term goal and let your short term goals be strategic roles that will lead to the achievement of your long term goal. If you have not planned to achieve anything, you have automatically planed to fail!
Retain The Focus: Focus is the only quality that will help you to concentrate on your work. You can easily retain your focus by rewarding yourself at the end of each short task… Say, watch your favorite movie, buy yourself a good lunch or get yourself a gift by the weekend.
Avoid Information Overload And Take Action: Have you heard the term “Analysis Paralysis”. It often results when people keep looking for another book recommendation, a new guide, mentor, etc without utilizing the little they have learnt… probably because they are afraid they will fail or don’t want to make mistakes. The little thing you learnt today is enough to put you a step ahead if only you can take action on it.
Keep To Your Working Routine: Procrastination has never had a good record from time immemorial. “Don’t put anything aside for tomorrow that today can accomplish for you” – I forgot where I read that but it got stuck in my head since then. You will achieve more if you schedule your most favorable period of the day to doing as much as you can.
Maintain A Tidy Working Space: Take a look at your table, your room and even the storage disk on your PC. Are they well organized and tidy? Get rid of unnecessary papers and books on the table. Ensure that the room is clean and only contain items necessary for your business (if the room is strictly used for this) and properly save your documents in an easy-to-find manner – using folders and subfolders for individual business activities and projects.
Learn To Mind Your Business
Say No When It Is Not Right For You: Many of us find it difficult to say no to people, even when it is not good for us. Your family may want you to accompany them to the mall in the morning; your best friend asking for you in his house in the afternoon and your classmate in abroad may want to have a long chat a night. Do your work when it is time and let your family and friends know that such period is dedicated to your work – not to maintain their relationship with you.
Avoid Time Wasting Events: How long do you spend on Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, etc? How long do you spend on your inbox in the morning while you are supposed to be working? It is so easy to leave work and check a new tweet with the title “Funniest Video Ever – Going down soon!!!” If you are going to do any better, you need to put your business hours on activities that will profit you business-wise.
What Is Giving You A Cold Heart?
Don’t Pretend To Be Busy: Most times, the difference between our current status and where we want to be might just be a ‘new skill’ which may seem too difficult. There is no doubt that we can easily get overwhelmed; it happens to everybody. In such conditions, I normally ask myself the question I learnt from Kiyosaki “how do you eat an elephant?” …it all starts with a bite. If you find it too difficult to learn effective video creation, php coding or any other skill you know will make the difference and you don’t have the money to outsource, take it a bite at a time and stop pretending to be too busy.
Stop Looking For A Shortcut: Long lasting success can never be achieved by such means. Money and riches follow people who create value… history has a record of this.
How many of these factors are you guilty of? Are you really doing all you can to improve your online business? Remember to take a bite at a time… those little steps will mean a lot on the long run. Consistent action is a sure way to success!
Nick’s last online venture is the OutdoorGearMadness Reviews & Coupons where he gives outdoor gear tips, reviews and discount coupons.
