So You Want To Be An Internet Entrepreneur

by Clarence Chan

DOING BUSINESS ONLINE COMPARED TO OFFLINE

What makes a successful internet entrepreneur? In some ways being an internet entrepreneur is no different from being an entrepreneur in any other field. The qualities of perseverance, business acumen, creativity, initiative, optimism, diligence, cooperativeness, work excellence etc are universally required for any entrepreneur. These qualities determine the success or failure of any business whether online or offline.

However in my personal experience, I have found that there is a distinct set of qualities the internet entrepreneur needs that the offline entrepreneur does not require. Doing business over the internet is quite different from doing business face-to-face. I have had first hand experience doing business both ways. In any offline business whether retail or wholesale, providing services or products, locally or internationally, business is often transacted and concluded because of personal contacts. Customer relationships are developed mostly through personal meetings or over the phone. This requires great skill in communication and negotiation on the part of the entrepreneur.

But for the internet entrepreneur, communication and negotiation is largely impersonal. Even with the advent of Web 2.0 technology, an internet entrepreneur can still remain anonymous by engaging ghostwriters and professional voice over experts or actors to do his communication and negotiation for him. Have you heard of the Rich Jerk? Very few people know his identity but he has made millions as an internet entrepreneur. Such a thing would hardly be possible in offline business.

THE KEY TO SUCCESSFUL INTERNET ENTREPRENEURSHIP

So what are the unique qualities needed by the internet entrepreneur which are not as crucial for the offline entrepreneur? Technical ability (able to create websites, knowing basic HTML etc), copywriting skills, marketing knowledge, list-building skills, ability to drive traffic to websites are just some of the abilities needed to succeed online. Some are more necessary than others.

Aside from these common skills which everyone knows, I would like to share four other skills which are more subtle, less-emphasized abilities essential to being a successful internet entrepreneur.

The ability to cope with loneliness

The internet entrepreneur spends many lonely hours for months, even years on end in front of his computer screen. This is especially so when you are just starting out. Many successful internet gurus today can tell you how they worked through the nights reading, trying to understand technical stuff, testing campaigns, writing articles or copy, scouring the Net, all the while drinking coffee to stay awake. The only communication they make is with faceless human beings through electronical means such as email or blogging. Been there, done that!

Even though such hard work is not unknown in offline businesses, but at least those who work offline often have colleagues or business associates to work with through the long hours of toil. Not the internet entrepreneur. His wife doesn’t know what a squeeze page is, his friends think he’s chasing an empty dream and his enemies sneer at his seemingly fruitless efforts.

Don’t believe the hype that says you can earn millions online working only a few hours a day. That becomes true only after your internet business has become successful, not before. Beginners and intermediate internet entrepreneurs must be prepared to work many long lonely hours.

The attitude of always over-delivering

People look for information on the Internet. The internet entrepreneur provides that information. The better you do that, the more successful you become. In the offline business world, this is called quality control. It is obviously important to deliver quality products to your customers whether online or offline.

But there is one big difference between online and offline businesses in the area of delivering quality. This is especially so when you are marketing intangible products such as info-products. In the online business world, you only have one chance to make a good impression. Your website visitor may never visit you again and you may have lost one customer. In the offline business world, you probably would be able to get more than one chance to sell your product because a potential customer can cross your path again quite easily.

That is why it is crucial for the internet entrepreneur to over-deliver each and every time. When it comes to information, over-delivering means presenting very good content. If you have a flair for writing, always try to create your own content. All my articles, copy and other content have been original up to today and I intend to keep it that way so that I can over-deliver.

The ability to remain focused on your primary goal

The Internet is a plethora of information of all sorts. When you are starting out as an internet entrepreneur, there’s so much to learn. I have discovered that it is vitally important to focus on what you want to achieve without getting sidetracked by endless information. This may be overstating the obvious but reading a lot does not profit your business! Good information is always useful but there’s so much out there that you can easily become swamped and in the process your internet business does not make money as quickly as it could.

As an internet entrepreneur, the bottom line is to make money. However there are many ways to do so. Do you create your own product or become an affiliate or start a blog or monetize a membership site or make money through eBay or what? The possibilities are endless. And if you get distracted in learning about all these business models without actually implementing one of them, then you end up with lots of information but no money! Have you ever bought ebooks that you have not even finished reading, let alone put into practice what they teach? I know I have! That is why it is imperative that you focus on one business model and implement it well to make money as quickly as possible.

This brings me to my final quality.

The attitude of being an expert in your chosen field or niche

An expert is one who knows a lot about very little. That’s just a play of words to define an expert as one who is very knowledgeable about only one thing. If you focus on one business model at a time and one chosen field or niche at a time, you will make money in the quickest possible time.

Read all you can, work as hard as you can and do whatever you can to build your internet business but in one niche at a time. This is the only way to become an expert in it. Once you are recognized as an expert, people will trust you and do business with you.

Only after you have mastered one niche should you move on to another niche. But make it a related niche as far as possible. Are you good at training dogs? Be an expert at that. Market yourself and your products expertly. Once you become known as an expert, move on to another related niche, for example dog food. Your existing customers who already recognize and trust you as an expert will obviously accept your recommendations on what kind of dog food to buy.

CONCLUSION

In many ways the Internet has leveled the playing field in business. It allows anyone to become a successful entrepreneur because business on the Internet can be conducted largely at home. Developing the above qualities will go a long way in helping you become successful in your internet business.

About the Author

Clarence Chan is an Internet Marketer and Entrepreneur. He is trained as a public speaker and counselor and has written on various topics including marketing, self-improvement, family and religion. He teaches many people how to have a successful online business.

John Kaighn is a Registered Investment Advisor with Jersey Benefits Advisors and writes articles on various business and investment information, ideas and opportunities. For more information about this and other topics you can visit http://www.johnkaighn.com/and http://www.jerseybenefits.com/

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