One question I am always asked is, "Is it really possible to profit online?” Before I set up an online business I worked in the Financial Services Industry running my business since 2003. The credit crunch arrived. Like many, I thought that we would face few months of hardship, there was no panic. Then, Banks started failing, business started suffering and consumers started reigning in their spending. The housing market, well, need I say more…!?!
All my business activities were ‘off-line’, traditional business with offices, a large presence, employees and clients. I had grown up with the idea that all businesses, large or small were like this. The ‘Credit-Crunch’ and following Recession put an end to that way of thinking.
Without boring you, I decided to close the business in spring 2008. For those of you that have been made redundant or have had to close your business, I am sure you know what was going through my mind. I wanted to run my own business. I looked at home based business opportunities as I felt they were the most resilient. I started researching the opportunities and after a while they all seemed to blend into one, with claims I could be a millionaire within 10 minutes.
Then there were the statistics, the scary statistics that 97% of home businesses fail because the owners don’t know what they are doing – I fell into that category as I had no idea! My search continued and through sheer luck, I caught up with an acquaintance. After a few hours discussion, I took the plunge.
I got involved and set up my own home based business. Accessing the system I started to panic, it was talking about forwarding URLs, Auto-Responders and hosting. I contacted my mentor and asked him what to do. After an hour, I had an understanding and got on with building my own website – bear in mind, I had only ever used word processors, so this was a big thing for me!
All I had to do now was get on with creating the sales or traffic as it is known now. If anyone tells you that it is easy, they are lying! But it is possible. It requires a great deal of ‘changing your mindset’. I was always sceptical of on-line businesses and the profits. However, if I was to be successful, I had to change the way I thought about the business. I needed to think, act and be positive if I was to profit online.
I got to work, creating ads, social networking. It took me about 3 weeks to get my first sale, but I was thrilled. By week 5, I was making a profit online.
The business had totally exceeded my expectations!! Less than 2 months from starting I was in profit. In my mind, the only way to profit from an online business is to embrace it 110%. Give it your all and work at it. Change your mindset and be positive and find a mentor that can relate to you.
