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What do you need to become an internet entrepreneur?
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An internet entrepreneur is essentially someone who operates their businesses online.
Compared to traditional business owners that require huge capitals, shop houses, ready-made products, and staff management, online entrepreneurs seem to have an inherent advantage when it comes to business management and start-up costs.
In fact, most online entrepreneurs start with zero start-up costs, or minimal investments.
The internet has made taking entrepreneurial risks less expensive and more accessible than in a brick-and-mortar business, which has had a democratizing effect on the field.
From social media to blogs to crowdfunding sites, the options for entrepreneurs are growing, which makes today the era of the internet startup.
Starting a business and becoming successful sounds very enticing, but in reality, building a profitable business takes tons of hard work, failures, and a bit of luck. Also, it’s necessary to build a good foundation and know the right tips before embarking on your business journey.
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Keep it visual
The internet has made visual design increasingly important for successful small businesses; a business can easily differentiate itself from its competition with attractive design and a clean interface. From Flickr’s strong emphasis on eye-catching photography to Netflix’s distinctive, bold red design, a unified visual theme is a powerful way to create brand identity.
Sell the experience
Entrepreneurship relies on filling a need. The key is finding that need and communicating to potential customers how a product or service can make their lives easier. Hootsuite founder Ryan Holmes saw a need among companies: Social media was a new, emerging idea and many companies had trouble managing it and using it effectively. HootSuite was sold as an easy way to handle all of a company’s social media with a single tool, and that approach quickly brought HootSuite business to life.
Follow netiquette
When building a community, it’s important to treat people the same way we would in real life. Flickr co-founder Caterina Fake suggests that budding entrepreneurs “observe communities to learn how people behave,” according to an interview with Entrepreneur. By learning how to treat customers with respect and authenticity, entrepreneurs can create a strong community around their product or service and build brand loyalty.
Embrace automation
Startups are often small when they’re first founded, sometimes with only one person working for the company. In the Harvard Business Review, Gina Trapani suggests automating repetitive tasks in order to streamline them. By doing so, entrepreneurs can offload menial tasks onto software, freeing them up to focus on the big picture.
1. You Are Your Own Boss
Yes, you are your own boss when you become an internet entrepreneur. No one gets to tell you what to do and how to do it. No one gets to yell at you for coming late to the office.
In this business, I get to make my own rules and choose when I work. I am happy when I sleep late at night because I know I don’t have anywhere to go the next morning if I wake up late.
If you have always dreamt of a day when you will be in charge of your time and still make money, then starting an internet business is your exit strategy.
2. You Get to Work in Your Pajamas
As an internet entrepreneur, you don’t need to wake up early to take your bath and get dressed. You can work right from your bed in your pajamas.
Most times, I don’t even get out of bed until I have done something that puts money into my bank account because my laptop is always by my side. This is how I start my day after my morning prayer!
3. Low Capital Startup Cost
You can start an online business for as low as $50. Some online business doesn’t even require up to that amount. Some are even free to start (freelance writing).
Unlike a brick-and-mortar business, you will be required to rent a store, acquire the products that you will be selling or buy equipment for the business, and you may end up spending up to 5 figures without hope that the business will be successful.
With an internet business, you spend less than $50 in acquiring a domain name and hosting and the rest is history.
4. All You Need is a Laptop and an Internet Connection
For a regular business, you will need more than just a computer. But for an online business, you will just need a computer (desktop or laptop), an internet connection, a target market, and a business mindset.
You can work from a coffee shop, on the beach, or work while you are traveling on the train, or anywhere. You don’t need a permanent office to work as an internet entrepreneur. My office is wherever I feel like putting my laptop down as far as there is an internet connection there.
5. You Market to the World
With the web, you can sell your products or services to anyone in the world as far as you can reach the person via the internet. You don’t need to travel to make deals, you do that with either your smartphone or laptop with an internet connection.
I have done business with people as far as South Africa, Indonesia, Malawi, Gambia, the United States of America, and many other countries.
6. Your Earning is on Autopilot
As an internet entrepreneur, you get to make money even while you are sleeping. You can be sleeping and you wake up to see that someone has bought one of your online products or has registered for one of your paid courses.
Autopilot software has made our business so easy that we don’t have to always stay glued to our system to get paid. This idea of making money while you sleep should be a motivating factor in why you should join the league.
7. You Must Not Have Your Own Products
There is an internet business called, affiliate marketing. With this kind of business, you don’t need to spend time creating your own products, all you need to do is just choose any products that you like to sell and get a commission after every sale.
With affiliate marketing, you get paid a commission from every sale you make. You can become an affiliate to Amazon, eBay, Clickbank, and sell any product that suits you.
Please, have it in mind that the products you will be selling must be related to your niche as an internet entrepreneur. For example, if I want to sell products as an affiliate marketer, I will have to sell products like ebooks that relate to either freelance writing or starting an online business.
8. There is NO Income Limit
There is no limit to how much you can make as an internet entrepreneur. You get to pick how much you want to make monthly and work towards it. Whatsoever you make online on a monthly basis depends on how you market your business and how much you are charging for your products or services.
9. More Free Time
I have a friend who is always hard to find because he is always at work until 8 at night from Monday to Friday. I have never loved this lifestyle from the beginning. I have never loved someone telling me where to be because I depend on that instruction to get paid.
I have always cherished my time. I have always wanted to be available to spend time with old school friends and family members when I wish. Thank God, my online business made it possible for me.
10.You Get to Create Jobs
You think becoming an internet entrepreneur means you have to work, work, work, work like Rihanna sang? That only happens at the early stage of the business. As your internet business begins to grow, you start outsourcing some work to freelancers.
Google started with only two people, but today, it has over 30,000 employees. What would those people be doing if Google had not employed them.
11. Start your online business at your spare time, but work on it consistently.
You don’t have to quit your day job just yet (and you are not recommended to), you just have to spend 1 to 2 hours after work each day to learn and build your business from home.
12. Beware of Pitfalls in Online Entrepreneurship
As good as operating an online business sounds, there are numerous traps and pitfalls that are lurking on the internet.
NEVER get involved in the “get-rich-quick schemes” that promise you quick returns with relatively no efforts at all. These schemes are most likely scams, and you are usually required to pay upfront to get access to the secret materials.
If you see an online business opportunity that tells you nothing but earning millions in a short period of time, avoid it at all cost.
As tempting as it may sound, as soon as you pay up the membership fees, you will no longer hear from them again. You won’t even get back your money despite a “30-days money back guarantee”.
It’s important to remember that there are rarely any true “get-rich-quick scheme” online. An online business is no different than an offline business, in terms of time and effort required to make it work.
Build an online business as you would a traditional business. In order to be successful, you have to be committed and work on it consistently, with minimal rewards in the early days.
You will be successful, only if you are dedicated and not expecting big rewards right off the bat.
13. Never Give up!
a story about Andries...click HERE
Are you up for the challenge?
Andries van Tonder
Serial Entrepreneur/investor since 2013.
South Africa.
Follow me on FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumbler & Markethive
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