By Greg and Paolo – “Gullo brothers”
InternetMarketersPlan.com
Here are the 10 most common mistakes people make when starting their own Internet business and how you can make sure to avoid killing your business before it even gets off the ground.
Deadly Mistake #10: Thinking you’ll be rich overnight
Many people make the mistake of searching the Internet for some kind of get-rich-quick scheme thinking that they’ll make so much money doing absolutely nothing.
The truth is you can’t just put up an “instant” website that someone sells you and instantly make a fortune. Nobody’s going to put free money in your pocket.
Anyhow if you’re eager to learn and you know where to look for information, you’ll already be miles ahead of the bunch.
When starting an online business, you need to build it from the ground up and that does take some work and discipline. It takes time and you need the motivation and a positive attitude. If you put in the effort required, the rewards you get back can be everything you’ve ever dreamed of and more.
Deadly Mistake #9: Not following your passion
Most people always make the mistake of starting their own business just to try and make a quick buck, whether it be brick-and-mortar or an online business. They don’t care what they do to make money – they just want it and fast.
But the fact is you’ll never make real solid money if you’re not doing something your passionate about.
You should start off by brainstorming a list of your own skills and interests and write them down, before you start building your business, or even considering any specific topic.
This list is what will help drive the process of finding a profitable market for your product or service and it will ensure that the business you build is one that you’ll enjoy managing and growing for years to come.
You’ll be much more passionate about creating your products if they are based on something you love and you will also find that with a business that is based on your own interests and skills, you’ll end up having a lot in common with your future customers. This will be a huge advantage for both of you.
That’s why before you even begin brainstorming any possible topics for your business, you need to seriously consider what you’re interested in, what you’re passionate about and what subject or topic you know so much about.
Deadly Mistake #8: Entering a market with a massive amount of competition
Another huge mistake that most people make when trying to sell a product online is that they look for the most popular products to sell which normally means there’s massive competition.
If there’s already a large amount of successful marketers selling to your intended market, why would you want to enter that market? It would be a wise choice for you to select a different market.
In fact what you should be looking for are products or services to sell to a market that has high demand and low supply, which means a lot less competition.
For example, if you wanted to start your own auction site like world known “eBay”, the largest auction site out there, it would be nearly impossible to compete with a giant like that.
It’s not 100% impossible to start a site like eBay and make some money. However, the more competitive a market, the more money and time it will cost for you to have any success.
Deadly Mistake #7: Choosing the wrong product to sell online
One of the most common mistakes people make when starting an online business is thinking that they need a good product idea before they can start.
Just because you think something is a good product, doesn’t mean others online will want to buy it. If you start with a product idea from the beginning, you’ll already be off to a bad start.
Unfortunately, most businesses that start off with a product idea that they think is good are destined for failure. Your product might be great but your business won’t get too far if nobody wants what you have to offer.
You have to find a need in a market, and then give them what they want. If you follow this formula, your business is bound for success right from the start.
That’s why looking for your market is the smartest thing to do first.
Deadly Mistake #6: Not finding your niche market
This is a critical mistake that makes most online businesses fail before they even start.
Many think that the Internet is another place to sell any widgets but it’s much more than that and there’s a huge competition of web sites selling widgets.
No one goes online to buy something – they go online to search for a solution to a problem they have. You need to find “Niche Markets” whose needs are not being met and position your product in front of these people for huge profits.
The key to building a successful business online is to look for an existing market that needs something you can offer them. Don’t convince people to want what you’re selling. You need to find the problem FIRST before you start trying to find the solution. This is a critical step in guaranteeing the success of your business.
So make sure you know what your customers want BEFORE you build your business. This one simple tip will save you more time and money than any other piece of advice.
Your goal should be to find your own niche market that’s not being served and become the person that they go to before someone else does. If you do that, then you’ve got yourself a solid business that has a strong foundation for success.
Deadly Mistake #5: Building your web site before researching your market
Many people think that if you build a web site, people will just come to it. In fact, that’s a total misconception. This might work for famous celebrities but it won’t work for your business.
You can’t expect to succeed by just going ahead and build a great looking web site that’s packed with interesting and useful information. It doesn’t matter what your site looks like or what you have to offer because it is totally useless if no one wants what you have.
Think of it this way… How can you build a web site first if you don’t even know what your customers want because you haven’t done any market research yet?
Wouldn’t it be smart to know what they want first and then build your web site and company accordingly?
Deadly Mistake #4: Thinking you need to be an expert
How many times have you thought that you need to be some sort of expert or savvy marketer before you can start an Internet business?
You’re not alone… many people make the same mistake.
This is a shame because so many people put off starting an Internet business they’ve always wanted because they think they need to be a programmer, web designer, copy writer, search engine expert, etc. before they can get started.
Most successful entrepreneurs on the Internet don’t even have all those skills – and that’s the truth!
All you need to do is learn just one strategy really well and then move on to the next one, and so on. Besides, you can always outsource work to someone who has skill in certain areas.
Anyone with a little courage can start an Internet business. All you need is a positive attitude, self discipline and the drive to keep learning the strategies and techniques needed to grow your business.
Deadly Mistake #3: Not getting inside your potential prospects mind
Don’t make the mistake with just going with your gut feeling or what you think others need and want. You need to put yourself in your prospects shoes. How do they feel? What do they really need? What will solve their everyday problems?… an so on.
If you really want to be successful with your online business, you’ll need to get inside your prospects mind by asking questions, going into forums, finding out what they really need and testing the waters. When you find out all these things, you’ll start thinking like your prospect and what they really want and need. This will have a huge impact on your business as you’ll not only be able to provide the perfect product or service but you’ll also be able to speak to your prospects in a way where they’ll feel very comfortable with you.
They will feel a connection with you because you know where they are coming from and they can trust you to provide them with what they exactly need. Always use this technique throughout the course of your business and not just at start up as it will keep your prospects and customers connected to you in a way where they’ll always feel that you’re the one they need to go to.
Deadly Mistake #2: Not focusing on your market once you’ve found it to have profit potential
Don’t make the horrible mistake of losing focus on what you should be doing. Many people make the mistake of finding a potential profitable market and getting too excited where they want to explore other markets as well. They think that the more you have the better, but that’s not always the case.
When you do this, you end up losing focus and spreading yourself to thin across too many ideas and none will have the strong foundation to become successful and run smoothly.
When you find a market that hasn’t been tapped into, stick to it. Explore it further and really study it to find out as much as you can. You are more likely to become successful with one thing you know so much about and focus on, then many ideas that you know very little about and have to divide your time between each of them.
Once you’ve found something, you need to focus on it – and you’ll definitely become successful with it. Once you’re successful with one market, then you can expand within your market or other markets allowing you to create multiple streams of income.
Deadly Mistake #1: Not getting the help and education you need
This is the biggest mistake of them all.
Why would you want to run your business the wrong way when you can get expert help and do it right the first time?
Someone with experience is always the best teacher because they tried many things, learned from mistakes and did things much better after each time they’ve failed.
Why would you want to waste so much time trying, over and over again? Not to mention the expensive costs of failure. That’s why you should learn from others mistakes instead of making your own.
It’s so important to have all the information and knowledge you can so that you’ll be able to build and operate a successful business. This can easily be done by reading articles and blogs, joining discussion forums, online marketing courses, videos, guides, etc. that will teach you what you need to know. Just make sure that you’re learning from experts who’ve already proven their success.
You can have a rewarding and fun experience when you start your own Internet business. It’s much more fun when the rewards are financial because you’ll be laughing all the way to the bank.
Summary
You need the drive and to be enthusiastic to start an Internet business, but you also need to know what you’re doing and stay away from mistakes that could set up your business for failure before it even gets off the ground.
All the excitement you feel when starting an online business can make you want to jump in headfirst without testing the waters which will allow you to lose focus and target the wrong market.
You’ll get to where you’re going a lot faster if you take a few minutes to look where you need to be going.
So before you build an expensive web site, create a product that nobody needs or waste your time and money on complicated software you don’t need, make sure you start with the fundamentals and STAY AWAY from these top 10 MISTAKES!
