It takes a lot more than just a nice, new and flashy website to start an online business. In my line of work, I come across all sorts of different entrepreneurs who are ready to give their 110% in order to launch the next biggest online businesses. Although they all seem eager to succeed, more often than not, I recognize the same patterns in their behavior. Most of their takes on owning a successful online business are full of some serious holes and inconsistencies. They all look far into the future, without ever considering the fact on how they’re actually gonna get there.
All newbies make the same mistakes. They all focus on gathering as much advice as possible from experienced entrepreneurs while completely ignoring the fact that every business is a story for itself. Those tips on how to avoid some of the more common mistakes in business that veterans share with these beginners are only useful if their ship is fully ready to sail. If not, their words are nothing more than just plain old jibber.
Creating a successful online business is not an easy task. It doesn’t matter how good or unique your products and services are, you’ll have to compete with a lot of other businesses for your targeted audience’s attention. It’s a competitive world out there, and everyone is looking to make some money from their expertise.
I know that this might seem a bit much at first, but there’s no need for panic. Every 60 seconds, Google receives 4 million queries. Next to that, every minute, there are 2.5mil Facebook updates and 3000 tweets. These are some pretty scary numbers. These digits indicate that even if there are thousands of businesses out there who offer the same products and services as you do, there’s still enough room on the internet for you to make some serious money by doing what you do best.
Most people fail with their first online business. There are just too many factor that you need to think about if you’re interested in making some profit. In order to help you better understand where you need to go, and on what kind of elements you need to focus if you want to see some real fruits of your labor, I have decided to make a list of few of the biggest challenges that every entrepreneur comes across when starting an online business
1. Painful Start
Once you have chosen and tested your idea to see if there’s a real market out there for it, it’s important that you stick with it, even when things get a little rough. It takes time for businesses to grow and start making a profit. Most of the companies don’t make a single cent over what they invested until the end of the first year.
A lot of experienced online business owners say that the 60-day mark is the hardest. It’s where the real challenges start. If you survive this period, then you’ll have a real shot of owning a successful business.
2. Self Doubt / Self Realisation
“Am I really cut out to be an entrepreneur?” – Everything boils down to this. Not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur. If you don’t have that specific mindset, that confidence when you talk about your work, and that stature, things will get really hard for you. Real entrepreneurs think a little differently from people who are not cut out to be on their own in this cutthroat business world. They use effectual reasoning opposed to causal reasoning. They are like a bartender who makes you a great drink out of everything that he has already in the bar, opposed to the guy who has to out and shop for items for the “perfect cocktail”.
This thinking allows them to develop strategic relationships, sell before they buy and only risk what they can afford to lose. Further, they don’t have a set goal in mind, they go with the flow and change with the times.
3. Unrealistic Expectations / Uneducated Management
Founders of young and exciting companies tend to grandiose views of themselves and think that they can handle every single position within their company. Development, marketing, sales – they think that they can do it all, which you and me both is wrong. Most young entrepreneurs have huge ego problems that cloud their vision and judgment. They don’t realize what they lack or that their internal biases and opinions are creating problems in why they can or can’t succeed.
Next to that, they tend to have unrealistic expectations when it comes to their company’s success. They set high and almost unreachable goals, and then they get bummed out when they don’t reach them.
Let’s get something clear right away. You’ll always want to have more money and better results that you already have. You will if you work hard and give it some time.
These time/expectation problem usually affect young startup companies. They have this desire to get to market as fast as possible, prove their worth and make the millions. Thanks to that kind of enthusiasm, these early entrepreneurs typically fail to take the time to figure out specifically what they want to sell and thus they go awol.
It’s of crucial importance that you look at your work and your company from a realistic point of view. Focus more on what’s happening now, instead of what you’re planning for the future.
4. Security
This is the biggest one on this list. If you’re going to deal with customer data and even online payments, you better make sure that every part of your business is 100% safe. Even the big companies like Dropbox have an issue with safety, so how are you planning on protecting yourself from all sorts of data leaks and hacker attacks?
If you want to make your customers feel safe, you should really invest in your hosting. You should keep your website on a dedicated server, with over the clock Support.
5. Marketing
It’s insanely hard to market a new business. Who are my customers? Where do they hangout? What do they like? How do I approach them? What makes my business unique? What do I offer that other businesses who operate in the same niche don’t? How do I find my voice? How can I build brand authority? What kind of a tone and content speaks to my targeted audience? What grabs their attention? How do I make them come back for more? – These are just some of the more common challenges that every young entrepreneur has to face when creating a marketing strategy for his new business.
Rising above the crowd is no easy thing. Everyone can start an online business. Literally everyone. But, only a few will succeed and actually make some money from their web activities, products, and services.
A good marketing plan for an online business focuses on a lot more elements than just getting people to click on your website and read your content. You need to know what makes people who visit consider your services. You need to know what stimulates them to buy your products, spread the words about your business and in the end, come back for more.
You got to do a lot of research before you jump into this. You need to get your facts straight and when, where and how intensely to start marketing your business. Digital marketing is everything when it comes to owning a successful company that operates on the internet. Social media, blogs, email, Google AdWords, Facebook advertising – these your tools. Use them wisely.
Thank you for reading this post. I hope this content helped you better understand what are some of the biggest challenges every young entrepreneur has to face when starting a new and exciting online business. If I missed something, feel free to everything that comes to your mind in the comments section below.
Once again, thanks for reading.
See you soon again,
Goran @ AltusHost B.V.
The author is highly qualified and writes blog posts weekly.
