It’s now September, and 2 weeks since my eCommerce Magnates course was launched. I’m fully back on track and will do my best to make this blog as lively as possible; I’ll be publishing loads of valuable articles, how to guides and videos.
So I thought this would be a perfect time to explore why so many people fail with their online ventures?
The reason behind 99% of failures is actually a very simple one – people don’t think long term and only want immediate success! After all, humans do a lot of dumb things for short-lived, immediate pleasure and ignore the long-term consequences – smoking, unhealthy eating, not exercising etc. and this mindset is the biggest cause of failures online.
This niche will make me rich!
No, I’m afraid it won’t! No niche automatically means that you’ll succeed and become rich as a result. Even if you have discovered a new product, it will take just a few months or even weeks for others to get in on it and start competing with you. Your niche or products alone DO NOT guarantee success!
Quite often people spend months and even years trying to find that ONE, perfect niche to work in. But little do they know that it’s NOT the most important element in the overall formula for success.
Of course the niche you chose should be suitable for your buying power, with enough demand and preferably not a huge amount of competition. But the niche itself will not determine whether or not your business succeeds – it’s only one part of the puzzle.
So what does separate online successes from failures?
PERSERVERANCE!
As simple as that…
It takes time to build a sustainable business – be it a blog, eBay store or online shop. It TAKES TIME!
But time is so hard to deal with. We get distracted from our ideas at every step, and while some people are better at handling this than others, the majority simply can’t stick with one idea long enough to make it a real success.
It takes time to establish a loyal customer base.
It takes time to get thousands of feedbacks and TRS status on eBay.
It takes time getting high rankings on Google.
It takes time expanding your product range.
It takes time to build a nice looking, perfectly optimised online shop.
Everything takes time!
You can’t expect to just start an online business and be rich within a few months. Sure, you can make instant profit on eBay following some simple concepts but I’m talking about a long term, sustainable business here. And that’s not something you can achieve in such a short time.
So there you have it – that is why people fail, they simply don’t stick with one idea for long enough.
I have personally consulted more than 100 start-ups in my 60 Day Blueprint coaching program and the results are very clear and constant – people who stick with the business long enough, and just keep going no matter what, succeed. And ones that quit as soon as they face problems, well – they just jump onto their next ‘BIG idea’.
If you truly want to make it online (and not just online, this can be applied to any aspect of your life – be it health, playing an instrument or learning a new language), you simply have to pick ONE idea, one business, and STICK with it until you reach your desired goals.
In the early days of my online career I made this same stupid mistake many times. I started project after project just to drop it after a few months. For example, at one stage I had 7 or 8 blogs running simultaneously! Obviously, that really wasn’t practical as it just isn’t possible to have 7 successful blogs running at the same time.
And this is even harder for people like me, who see business opportunities at every corner.
But you must learn to say NO. You will never be THE BEST at what you do if you dilute your efforts across multiple projects at the same time.
I know that’s easier said than done but you have no choice here – you have to decide whether you want to keep failing all your life or finally stick to one thing and achieve the results you have always dreamed of.
Now I know exactly what some of you will be thinking right now; “I don’t have that much time!”
Really?
Was it ok for you to spend 10+ years in school? Or how about your current day job?
Yes, it may take 1, 2 or even 3 years to build a highly successful online business, unless you have a significant amount of capital to invest initially which will speed up the process, but really – what is 1 or 2 years in the scope of your lifetime?
Compared to that bloody day job you have been stuck in for 5, 10 or 20 years?
It’s nothing!
As once you achieve financial independence, your life will turn around 180 degrees; trust me on this one as I have been on both sides.
So my advice starting this season is a very simple one – pick one idea / business concept and just stick with it! Small daily activities can have a HUGE positive effect in the long term. If only you stick with your idea long enough.
There will always be problems in ANY business! ANY BUSINESS! But it’s not a reason to quit. Problems are there for you to fix – so find solutions, implement them, and improve your business – do not just give up!
If you make even a tiny amount of progress each day but you stick at it, then you simply cannot fail!
Let’s stick with what we start and stop blaming everyone else for our problems. If you do this, you’ll succeed online no matter what.
Thanks,
Andrew
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