Question:
"Steven, what is the one thing I need to do to drastically change my internet business?"
Answer:
I travel quite a bit (for my brick and mortar business), and in between spending time at the office, travel and spending time with my family I have precious little time to devote to my other "ventures".
So, I have become quite adept at setting schedules and goals.
And the latter, goal setting, has to be one of the most important yet overlooked aspect of starting an online business. So, if I had to choose just one thing Goal Setting would be it.
Many already have experience in setting short term and long term financial goals for their business (so, I won’t get into it here).
But, in addition to setting financial goals, I think its important to go beyond just a "number" and start adding more concrete and specific (personal) goals as well.
Now some will automatically think of "financial independence" or "quit my job" as a this type of a goal… which in and of itself is not a bad thing, but in my humble opinion it must be a lot more specific.
So, you can start getting specific by asking yourself "why" questions.
In other words, if you want financial independence, ask yourself: "why do I want financial independence"?
Perhaps, you want to spend time with your family or travel more? Or it might simply be to get out of a mountain of debt. Now we’re getting somewhere. But, the answers are still too general.
So, once you’ve uncovered the initial answer, get even more specific: ask yourself, "Why do I want to travel"; or "why do I want to spend time with my family"?
Once you start asking questions such as these, you will start to uncover some very specific and personal answers. The answer might even surprise you as it might not even be specifically about the initial goal of "financial independence" at all…
These answers are what will drive you through the bad times… when you feel like you’re not getting anywhere. Write these goals down, put them on a piece of paper and keep it in your wallet (or purse / day planner / anywhere and everywhere).
I also very much believe in the concept of "dream building". In other words, set some "materialistic" goals. Some of you may say that you aren’t materialistic… which is fine. But what I mean by materialistic goals are about expanding your horizons and perhaps setting some goals that will allow you to experience new things.
My personal goal is to be able to operate my business remotely from anywhere in the world. And I plan to spend time abroad for six to nine months out of the year (starting the summer of 2008).
But I digress.
I know you only asked for one thing, but I also have to add that it is hugely important that you set a schedule for yourself. In other words, treat your online business as a "job". For the longest time I treated my online business as a "hobby" that made me money, but I didn’t really start realizing a lot of success until I treated it as another job.
I set up a schedule, where I worked from 9pm to midnight five days a week (with Saturdays / Sundays being optional). I also have a specific game plan every month of things I want to accomplish, and break things down to a weekly level as I see fit (based around my regular schedule).
By the way, during my "work hours" (i.e. time alloted for your online ventures), I did not waste my time in forums, checking emails or anything that would distract me from my goals. If I missed a day, I made it up on the weekend.
I also set a specific time for learning new things as well (reading newly acquired ebooks etc.), which allowed me to stay on top of my business and keep focused.
Setting a very specific schedule eliminated a lot of clutter for me, and allowed me to focus on money making activities. It’s amazing what you can start getting done once you eliminate emails and forum reading…
Anyway, these are some things that come to mind when starting as a part-time entrepreneur.
[tags]success, mindset, internet marketing, goal setting, affiliate marketing[/tags]
Related posts:
