subject: How To Succeed In Business Online [print this page] Like the traditional entrepreneur, anyone starting an internet business needs certain characteristics in order to succeed. Here's a selection - see how you measure up.
Self belief. If you think you're going to fail, you probably will, but this doesn't mean blind faith will get you through. You must recognize when your business isn't working and be prepared to walk away from it, to try something else . Know that you will succeed, but be prepared to fail until you do.
Adaptability. Most business success comes after several failures. Learning from your mistakes is one of the most important characteristics of an entrepreneur.
The ability to learn is very important, but not just from failure. You need to learn everything about your product, your market and your customer in order to find a product and market it well. What's the difference between drop shipping and traditional wholesale purchase? If you don't know, you need to find out.
While it is reasonable and necessary to pay for good advice you need to learn enough about the technical aspects of life online to determine where to spend your money to the best effect.
Skepticism. There are so many scams ready to snare the unwary, you have to approach everything in your business with a healthy dose of skepticism. There are no shortcuts to success, if there were they'd cost a lot more than $97 for an email course.
Think like a customer. The best marketing is done by people who can think like a customer, understand what they want and give it to them. If you can find out what the customer values about your product you will find it much easier to sell.
Similar, but not quite the same as self belief is resilience. There are a lot of challenges in any business. You have to be able to withstand them without giving up, and that's harder than it sounds.
Insight. One way to succeed is to spot trends. Follow where the customer wants to take you, but be aware that trends don't last forever.
Creativity. Be creative, but not too creative. Don't pick a new market which doesn't yet exist, but pick an old market and approach it in a new way. It wasn't software that made a fortune for Bill Gates and Microsoft, it was the concept of software licensing.
Repetition. Once your business is succeeding, be prepared to start over with another business. You will have learned many lessons, and you may have earned everything you wanted from your online business, but the true entrepreneur never wants to stop, there's always room for the business empire to grow.
Support. Get your family's backing. Successful entrepreneurs need supportive families. There is no way to build a business without putting in hours of work, usually in addition to a day job.
While this takes determination on your part, it is also very hard on your family who may not understand your aims, or sympathize with them.
Finding ways to get your family actively involved can make a huge difference and reduce the stress on you and your loved ones.
