Getting Started

Starting an online business is something most of us thought about at some point. There is no denying the appeal of escaping the 9 to 5 drag and becoming your own boss. However, the majority of us who brainstorm starting our own online business rarely take the leap into actually starting it. You might feel like you lack enough time, money or knowledge. The truth is, starting a successful online business has never been easier. Thousands of people have started and grown their online businesses by:

1. Finding a need and fulfilling it.
2. Creating/writing copy that sells.
3. Designing and building an easy-to-use and appealing website.
4. Using search engines and social media to drive traffic to their website.
5. Establishing a credible, expert reputation.
6. Following up with customers and subscribers via e-mail.
7. Increasing income through upselling and back-end sales.

These seven simple steps are the most widely used and successful plan for starting and growing a thriving cyber business. But they can seem daunting, especially if you feel underqualified.

The Importance of Proper Training

The most successful businesses—on- and offline—are leaders in their industry. What does it take to become a leader? It takes experience, training, support and access to the proper tools and services. The key to leadership is training. You can have decades of industry experience, a huge 24/7 support network and access to the most cutting edge tools and services available, but it’s all for nothing if you don’t know how to apply them.

Before embarking on the mission to start your own business, take some time to invest in proper training. You need to become educated in the Internet marketing and entrepreneurship world. You need to learn how to track and follow Internet trends in order to keep your marketing plan one step ahead of the competition. You need to learn the ins and outs of online marketing to ensure your strategies will pay off. Training is about gaining and learning survival skills. A great way to receive the best training is to enroll in an educational or training course that uses a mentorship or coaching program.

The Benefits of a Mentor

When it comes to achieving success, many entrepreneurs lack the benefit of working with a mentor or a personal coach. There’s nothing like learning from an expert, a leader who’s been in the trenches and had their fair share of failures and successes. They can impart the kind of wisdom and hands-on experience that will save you from pitfalls and setbacks, and inspire you with tangible ways to establish and expand your own business.

It’s important to understand that a mentor is far more than a teacher. Teachers teach a course. They rarely have the time to establish meaningful one-on-one student relationships due to the size of their class and schedule restraints. In contrast, mentors establish trusting one-on-one relationships with their student. They dive far past the course material, investing time and care into understanding their student’s dreams, ambitions and motivations. They become a trusted friend and counsel, creating a bond that can last years.

Why Community is Vital

Many new business owners shy away from online communities of like-minded professionals. Sometimes this is out of fear; fear of ideas being stolen, recycled or misused. But this is a narrow-minded concept. The benefits of frequenting a community where people share their experiences, ask questions, answer questions and share their successes and failures to building an online business far outweigh any imagined risk.

Imagine having an open channel to hundreds—even thousands—of successful business owners who’ve encountered the challenges you face and overcame them. Think of the knowledge they can impart, and their ability to answer any questions you have while pointing you to tools, services and resources that will make your job easier! Community support of this kind is time saving and invaluable.

Where You Can Get Started

Training, mentorship and community can give you a huge edge as you follow the seven steps to creating a successful online business. But where can you find them? You might be thinking of researching colleges, don’t. You need something faster and cheaper. You might be thinking of finding local workshops or conferences. There’s a better way.

Thousands of people from all over the world have joined a single online business community; a community specializing in proving the skills training, support and coaching, tools and services necessary to successfully launch and captain a thriving online business. What if you could establish your virtual office in the center of such a business community? Your mentors and neighbors—other starting up and veteran business owners—will always be a click away, ready to lend a helping hand and offer valuable advice and experience. Would you like to immerse yourself in such a place?

Wealthy Affiliate (WA) offers such a useful and educational place. They can be your launching pad, propelling you out of the 9 to 5 and into a business of your own. Free membership at WA provides access to:

• Up-to-date skills training.
• An online support community available 24/7.
• Personal coaching and mentorship.
• Cutting-edge tools and services designed to grow every aspect of your business, no matter your business’ age.
• Up-to-date tools for creating engaging search-engine friendly and optimized content for your website.
• Marketing campaign creation and management tools.
• A 24/7 technical support system for both website and hosting support.

The free membership offered by WA has no strings attached; no credit card need, no automatic billing to set-up and no time limit. Free members can build a free WordPress website with a free domain and web hosting. All of the tools you need to tackle the seven steps to starting your own online business will be handed to you.

What are you waiting for? It’s time to stop thinking about owning your own business and get started! Start your free membership with Wealthy Affiliate today by clicking here.

Learn more by reading my Wealthy Affiliate Review.

Need Help Getting Started?

Simply ask!

I would be happy to answer any questions you have to help you get started, please leave a comment below or contact me at my Wealthy Affiliate profile.