Doing business on the internet can be like walking on a razor’s edge. On one side you have the largest single money making resource the world has ever seen, and on the other hand you also have the largest most efficient time waster the world has ever seen. Too often, people getting into online marketing see only the rewards and not the work it will take to get there. Yes, we’re talking about the internet, and yes, we’re talking about having to do some real work in order to succeed.
People can quickly be let down by working endless hours with seemingly little results. As grandpa used to say, that’s just the way it is.
Succeeding in an online business takes just as much if not more self discipline that succeeding in any other job. To give you a better idea of just what it takes, I’ve thrown together a list of ideas for internet success based on my own experience. Enjoy and learn (and mostly learn).
- Set work hours like any other job.
Just because you might not get up, dress up, and go to a place to do your job doesn’t mean you’re not at work. Believe me; it’s all too easy to get caught up in doing things besides work during the “working hours.” It’s even more difficult if you office at home. Distractions start by doing the lawn during your “lunch” and the laundry on your “break.” Eventually that turns into your spouse or partner asking, “Well, since you’re home why you can’t just…”
Be clear about your work time, and make sure people around you are equally clear.
- Separate work time from play time.
You’d do this at your regular job, wouldn’t you? Just because you’re not in an office doesn’t mean you can spend time on your favorite social networking site, or playing games because there’s no boss there to tell you not to. You have to be the boss. Keep yourself in line.
- Avoid the email trap.
What did we do before email? Really. Because sometimes I’d like to go back to those days. I get so much email that my little indicator just keeps going and going. Email used to be thought of as a useful productivity tool, but now it’s often a trap that can be the biggest single time killer in our day. Avoid the trap by checking your email only at specific times during the day. Checking once in the morning and once right before the end of the day would be good.
Run your online marketing business like a regular business, and with some discipline and hard work you’ll be reaping the rewards.
September 27th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
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